A gripping thriller from the highly acclaimed author of Unspeakable. CONSUMED is the story of two remarkable teenagers, trying to break free from the anxieties and fears that are holding them hostage.
Myla used to love spending long, hot days on the beach with her sister, Asha. Until the day Asha was taken from her and the sun went out. Forever.
That was two years ago. Myla hasn't been down to the beach - or even left the house - since. Crippling agoraphobia and panic attacks keep her locked inside a nightmare of the day she can never forget. Her main contact with the outside world is online - until she meets Jamie.
Jamie is new in town and also struggles with things most people find easy. Nobody gets why it's so hard for him to eat. But, like Myla, Jamie is trapped by his fears and feels anxious, awkward and alone.
Gradually the pair begin to trust each other. Are they willing to reveal their secrets - and risk discovering the truth? Or will they let their pasts consume them for good...
Helen Grant on Unspeakable: I loved Unspeakable. It's an engrossing thriller about dangerous secrets and the toxicity of guilt; it's also an immensely sympathetic portrayal of someone feeling her way towards a love she wasn't expecting. Megan is wonderful - a heroine haunted into silence by the past, who can find it in her heart to forgive everyone except herself. - Helen Grant, author of The Vanishing of Katharina Linden and The Glass
UKYA is just getting better. And with this stunning debut by British author, Abbie Rushton, this is no longer an opinion, but a fact ... Rushton has totally smashed this one: she pulls Unspeakable off with total sensitivity, a narrative that is excitingly enticing, which draws you in from page one. - Guardian Children's Books on Unspeakable