Lottery Boy by Michael Byrne

Bully has lived on the streets since his mum died. He has no one except his dog Jack, and every day they fight to survive. It seems there's no hope and no way out for him—until one day he finds a winning lottery ticket. Everything will change if only he can claim the prize; but he only has a few days left, and everyone wants the ticket. Who can Bully trust?

Soon he's on the run through a dark and dangerous London—a city that crawls with terrifyingly real evil. In one of the most tightly written novels of the year we find out what it means to face the most extreme dangers alone. Bully is an intensely convincing character: flawed, desperate, brave, ruthless and in the end, just a kid with nowhere to go. I can't remember the last time I cared about a character (and his dog) so much. Don't miss this; it's very good indeed. 12+