Larceny in Care Factor Zero is a portrait of a girl Clark came to know through her work in an alcohol and drug centre. I got very angry because the public didn't understand about such a marginalised person who'd gone through a hell of a lot. I was trying to show there was hope, you can make different choices, but this girl didn't choose them. Teenagers offer a very different response, Clark says. Many teenage girls constantly e-mail her with their problems.
Young people are far more flexible.
They can cope with this stuff if it's out in the open. Adults don't want to face this. In teenage years, you go through periods of utter despair, it's normal. Or contact the phone numbers in the book - or contact me. Linton is schizophrenic, a victim of school bullies who is eventually driven to hang himself.