The Arizona Game, by Georgina Hammick (Vintage, £5.99 in UK)

Hannah is brought up by her aunt, her uncle and her aunt's lesbian lover - in no particular order - after her mother is carted off to an asylum. Hannah - the grown-up one - has a fat, clever son whom she detests. The child Hannah lives in a ramshackle house called Arizona; the grown-up one plans an escape to the "real" Arizona, though she knows it can only be temporary. The tragedies of childhood and the stubbornness of childhood dreams are explored in this witty, caustic debut novel which was short-listed for last year's Whit bread First Novel award.