Broken

Skunk is looking forward to the summer holidays. The bright eleven-year-old lives in London with her father Archie, brother Jed and au-pair Kasia. Though she suffers from diabetes and her mother has left, the world is still perfect in Skunk’s eyes. She also shares a special friendship with Rick, the curious young man who lives opposite. One day, another neighbour, Mr Oswald – who has become uncontrollably violent since the death of his wife – attacks Rick. Skunk’s peaceful world is left in tatters. Mr Oswald’s three daughters make Skunk’s life at school a living hell and Rick is transferred to a clinic. Kasia ends her relationship with Skunk’s favourite teacher, Mike, and her father pays her no attention whatsoever.