It’s been 10 years since it happened. When Tash was 8 years old she saw her imaginary friend (who she named Sparrow after he appeared on her windowsill one night), lead a 6 year old girl away from the town carnival. The girl re-appeared 5 days later, mute, dirty and wandering in the bush alone.

Since then, Tash’s life has been a whirl of therapy, accusations of attention seeking, confusion and tension. And now the girl’s family have moved back to town. Tash thought she was better, but now she’s beginning to see Sparrow in the shadows. She can’t tell anyone because they’ll think she’s crazy again. All Tash wants to do is go to Uni and escape it all.

But when she is at breaking point, she forces herself to look deeper and into places she never thought to look. Is Sparrow real or not? Is the girl’s brother involved? The deeper she digs, the more real everything becomes, until lives are on the line – including hers.

A YA thriller that swaps between Then – showing therapy sessions and police reports, and Now – Tash’s journey back into the nightmare of her childhood. But she’s not a child anymore, and this time she fights back. Gripping!

Author – Sarah Epstein

Age – 14+

(Imaginary Friend, Fears, Claustrophobia, Family, Aunt, Drugs, Secret, School, Loyalty, Thriller)