Alone and on the run from Social Services, fourteen-year-old Berry has nowhere to go. Until she meets an old man who entrusts her with a package containing a mysterious item with unbelievable powers. It is a meeting that will change her life. For others also want the item and will stop at nothing to get it. Pursued by the FBI and a vicious terrorist group, Berry hides out at the Glastonbury Festival where she meets fellow outcast, Elle. Escaping over the Atlantic, they soon find themselves dodging bullets in a desperate race across America. But what is in the package? And why is it so important? Hunted through cities and deserts, Berry knows that she must stay alive long enough to find the item's rightful owner - whoever, or whatever, they may be.

 

 

There are 320 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2008 by Faber & Faber .

Steve Voake grew up in Midsomer Norton, near Bath. After leaving school he sold ice-creams in the south of France for a while, and before becoming a full time writer, he was head teacher of a village school in Somerset.