Can anyone with green fingers give me advice about an acer tree please?

The poor thing is only 3 years old and is still very small. I went away for a week in the spring and it didn't rain at all and when I came back all the little leaf buds it had been growing had all shrivelled up and dried out. Since then I have been trying to feed and water it and took it out of direct sunlight, but so far, no more leaf buds have grown. Will it die without leaves? Or if I keep looking after it, will it stay ';dormant'; until next year? I'm desperate not to kill it, please please please someone help me!Can anyone with green fingers give me advice about an acer tree please?
Use your thumbnail to scratch a tiny bit of bark off the trunk. If it is green underneath the bark, it is alive and you can continue watering (I'd hold off on any more fertilizer for a while) to revive it. If it is brown, it's dead. Is it in a pot? If so, you'll need to set up some sort of automatic watering system or get someone to come by daily to water when you are away for more than a day or two. If it is alive it will start to bud up soon. It isn't dormant, it's in shock. It will either recover soon or won't make it.Can anyone with green fingers give me advice about an acer tree please?
Acers don't like prolonged dryness nor wind and will lose condition very quickly with either. Keep it in light shade, don't let it get too dry but don't overwater. You may be lucky but if it was that small it may be better to buy another and make sure you feed regularly so it will grow a little quicker.
All you can do is keep it out of the sun ( I imagine it is in a pot, you do not say what size or what soil). Do NOT overwater it, soil needs to be barely moist, and if roots are sound (not fried in a dry pot in the hot sun) it will recover. Trees in pots are very vulnerable to drought or overheating. It is also possible that biting winds can scorch leaves, and sudden frosts cause leaves to drop. Patience now.
if it had started to bud, then got too dry it is probably dead on top but you may get a shoot coming out of the roots so don't lose hope!
If it is dormant do not over water it. This can cause root rot. you can get a water meter that you can stick in the soil to tell you the water level .