'I didna really want to leave Scotland. I wanted to have a red emergency button to press like they have on trains to stop them, but you have to pay a fifty-pound fine if you didna have a good reason for pressing it. I did. I wanted to make the pilot turn the plane around. I wanted to go back to ma old school. I didna even know what Maidstone looked like. It sounded grey. Grey, dull and dreary. No music, no castle, no Firth of Forth, no Lucy, no Helen, no Saturday trips into Princes Street on the bus for £1, except we got on for half ...'

When Isla moves down with her family from Scotland to England she instantly feels in an alien land. But then she meets Luke. Despite everything (Isla is a motor-mouth, Luke more measured), slowly their friendship blossoms ... and Isla finds that a boyfriend is not only great company but that he can also help soothe a deeper sorrow ...

Told in chapters alternating between Luke and Isla, Rhian Tracey helps to unravel the messy and confused relationships that are a big part of growing up.

A brilliant first novel from a very talented author.