Vicky Ball

Powerless

The #1 YA best-seller that went viral. Beth has it all: a grammar school education, a stay at home mother who dotes on her, a father who works hard on his own business, and a little sister who adores her. But when an older man takes an interest in her, the innocence she once had is slowly ripped away from her. A few days before Christmas, aged fifteen, she disappears leaving her parents wondering what happened. Seven years later, Abby, her younger sister, still has no idea what went on, not even knowing if she is still alive or not. When pink haired, skinny Beth turns up out of the blue on Christmas Eve, life starts to take a turn for the worse. Now a teenager herself Abby barely recognises this stranger, remembering the happy moments they had shared years ago. Waking up on Christmas Day with a half decorated tree and no presents, Abby feels like her life has been invaded by an alien. Beth won't talk about it but when a strange man keeps texting her and nightmares disturb her sleep, Abby knows it is not good news. Frustrated because everyone keeps saying it is too complicated, she is tired of explaining that she is not a little kid anymore. If she knew who this man was she might be able to help but she can't imagine the horrors that Beth wants to spare her of. In a world away from their comfortable life, Abby begins to see snippets of Beth's broken life and the men who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. With her parents' marriage on the brink of collapse, Abby wonders what happened to their carefree life before and whether life will ever return to normality.