This young-adult book focuses on child abuse, parental neglect, social stratification, and friendship and is structured as diary entries of the two girls Treasure and India.
Young Treasure lives with her mother and her abusive stepfather Terry who one day hits her with his belt and scars her forehead. Upon this incident, Treasure’s grandmother takes her in and cares for her. India comes from a wealthy family and lives with her alcoholic father, her successful children’s clothes designer mother, and her lazy au pair in a big house. India’s overweight constantly embarrasses her mother and she keeps teasing her daughter about it. Through a happy coincident Treasure and India meet and instantly become best friends. When Treasure’s parents want to take her home again and claim their custodial rights, Treasure has to flee and India hides her in her attic like her idol Anne Frank.

This book helps raise awareness for different social backgrounds and issues and can be used to sensitise regarding child abuse in the physical and psychological sense.

Novel · United Kingdom · 2002