I've intentionally left the plot details here really sparse as there's an early plot occurence which absolutely blew me away and I think it's probably best if you're reading this without too much knowledge of what's going to happen. Because of that, I'm left unable to go into as many details as I normally would about characters for fear of giving parts of the plot away. What I will say about them is that Daisy is an excellent narrator, being really sympathetic and well-drawn, while the supporting cast is strong as well. The dialogue is particularly good - each character seems to have a really strong voice, Earle's writing style is uncompromising - while never too horrendously graphic, he deals with some brutal issues and this is a really intense read as a result. It's uncomfortable stuff at times, partly because of how realistic Earle's characters and scenarios are, but it's never less than completely gripping.
I should mention that this is a 'companion book' to Earle's debut, [[Being Billy by Phil Earle|Being Billy]] - however I hadn't read that one (in which Daisy apparently also features) and don't feel this detracted from my enjoyment of this one at all. Highly recommended, and I'll certainly be tracking down Being Billy and keeping an eager eye out for more by this author.
For another incredibly powerful teen read dealing with difficult issues, I thought [[This Is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees]] was excellent.