Jake Walton and the Tree of Souls

Just when you think life can’t possibly get any worse, it usually does. Jake Walton is an ordinary boy longing for adventure and an escape from the drudgery of homework, school bullies, and his distant parents. But when the family moves to the mysterious village of Whetchilowe Cleave, Jake’s former life suddenly seems a delight. Plunged into a living nightmare, he yearns for his former existence, which he now realises wasn’t so bad after all. More surprising, he is forced to tap into hidden strengths he never knew he had. Now, Jake must use all his wits and guile to escape a world intent on making his already miserable life that much more dismal, not to mention drastically shorter. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, he still has to go to school...