Luke's mum is dead. He finds himself in a small, scruffy northern hill town, with a near silent father, who he fears might be trying to drink himself to death.

Then he meets Jon. Jon is massively strange. He wears 1950s clothes, has a side-parting and a twitch.

The kids at school call him 'Slackjaw'. When Luke discovers his secret, Jon changes his life in more ways than he can imagine. Luke and Jon is a coming of age novel about family, bereavement and how lives can change forever in a single second.

Written with great power, warmth and humour, it signals a hugely engaging and original new voice.

Compelling and emotionally acute, it is a unique debut.