A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey's younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.
Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won't let her go -- a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn't spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.
"First-time author Murdoch has written a painful, hopeful, surprisingly quiet book that charts the best and worst of humanity, especially family, with characters who worm their way into your heart—or repulse the reader’s very nature. Her narrative is full of unique yet breathtaking similes, detailed descriptions, and unflinching dialogue all masquerading as backwoods Tennessee dialect. Exposing child abuse, sexual abuse, and drug abuse for the terrors they are, she validates the courage and ingenuity of young people the world over for whom survival is instinctive, protection of siblings is nonnegotiable, and love is both a right and a gift bestowed upon those fortunate enough to find it." -- Frances Bradburn, Booklist
Recommended Age | 14 and up |
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Author | Emily Murdoch |
ISBN | 1250033276 |
Publication Date | Mar 26, 2013 |
Publisher | St. Martin's Griffin |
Language | English |