Gil is an orphan and has spent his young life being passed from one foster home to another. His kind social worker Ms Lundy keeps him believing that one day he will be a part of a happy family.

He's on a journey being taken to his next foster family but when they stop at motorway services, he sees something that changes the course of his life forever.

Beside the motorway is an island of trees and scrubland, in full sight but invisible. Here Gil finds runaway brothers Riley and Grayson and the mysterious, silent Pez, and the dog, Junk.

Gil joins them as they make a life for themselves, all showing tremendous resourcefulness as they create shelters and pilfer and scavenge for food and drink. 

But one day they witness something which puts them all in great danger. 

This is an amazing book. It's not twee or fanciful, it feels genuine and authentic. Nostalgic but modern, fantasy but true to life, sophisticated but easy to read. It has a feel of 'Lord of the Flies' or 'Robinson Crusoe' and is perfect for today's young readers - wonderful writing, a perfectly paced adventure and some powerful messages about life too.

You really believe in these young characters and wish them well, wanting them to triumph over all the terrible things they've experienced under the care of adults in the past. And it illustrates how family can mean many things and how liberating it can be when life is stripped away to the essentials of survival. It's wonderful! Loved it.