You Against Me

Downham focuses on conflicting loyalties, and the lengths to which siblings will go to defend each other when accused of something terrible. Mikey’s sister has alleged that a boy raped her, but that boy’s sister, Ellie, has convinced herself that he would never do that, and testified to that effect. Driven to revenge his sister, Mikey meets Ellie, and a bittersweet romance follows, during which each reassesses their relationship with their family, and how to face up to individual responsibility to both victim and perpetrator.

Mikey’s dysfunctional home life is particularly well drawn, and Downham creates characters with whom readers will engage and empathise, and charts the difficult process through which each travels.