Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield

Friday is a seventeen-year-old who lives under a curse. Before her mother died of cancer, the pair travelled the country living a haphazard existence, and she would regale Friday with the story of the curse of the Brown women. For several generations, women in the Brown family have died by drowning. Now, with her mother recently deceased, Friday escapes the house of her grandfather and begins her life on the streets. She meets Silence, a mute boy who is part of a gang of kids living in a squat and supporting each other through their various traumas. But the leader of the gang, Arden, is threatened by the appearance of Friday and takes the group to a ghost town to start a new life.

This novel is taught as an English text in schools, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s not the usual experience for most teenagers to have to fend for themselves, and this concept is extremely popular in YA fiction. Friday is a compelling main character who is emotional and makes mistakes and the reader wants her to succeed; to find a way to a safe place where she can face both her past and future. There is a wide range of themes addressed in the book, yet it is still a great read.