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annashiv's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved this. The premise was only mildly interesting but the writing and characters really made it wonderful. It may not be for everyone but it was for me at this time. I'll definitely check out something else by this author.
araskov's review against another edition
4.0
A gripping story of manic abuse from a parent. When you're the oldest sibling of three, you often find yourself responsible for protecting and helping your younger siblings. This tale has a lot of that and is mild in comparison to some of the stories I've read over my lifetime, but still so very gripping that I finished it in just over a day.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
2/5
This is one of the last books on my summer reading for school and it wasn’t my favorite out of the others I have read. The plot was good but I just found the way it was written was hard to follow.
This is one of the last books on my summer reading for school and it wasn’t my favorite out of the others I have read. The plot was good but I just found the way it was written was hard to follow.
4saradouglas's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good read. Matt, through a VERY long letter to his little sister Emmy, recounts their years with their abusive mother. I found it to be very similar to A Child Called It and am sure people who liked that one would also enjoy this. I would have given it more stars, but I just didn't relate to the main character very well.
mmotleyu's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this book and chose it because one of our English teachers was reading it with his students. He said that, in the past, reluctant readers devoured this book. I found it quite compelling-- the crazy, abusive (bipolar?) mother's actions were so unpredictable and horrific that I was sucked in right away. It is written as a letter from the brother to his youngest sister, explaining what living with their mom had been like. I found the character of Murdoch to be unrealistic, but I would like to believe that there are good people like him in the world who will do the hard things that need to be done in order to protect children. Ben, the wimpy dad, made me crazy, but this is probably a realistic portrait of how some people behave to protect themselves (and convince themselves that they are helping the kids by staying away). I would definitely recommend this to reluctant readers.
aliciasirois's review against another edition
4.0
I read a book by Nancy Werlin 2 years ago with my Soph. English class called Double Helix, and when I saw this in the library, I decided to see what else she was writing. It sort of reminded me of A Child Called It.
mbrandmaier's review against another edition
3.0
Children in abusive household try to get one of mother's former boyfriends to help get mother arrested. Painfully sad.
krytygr's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
So dark and heartbreaking. This happens so often nowadays, it's frightening. I grew up with kids that came from homes like this... my kids have made friends with kids like this. It's fucking tragic that children have to deal with this, and it's not going away. This definitely struck a chord with me. My bestie from HS had an alcoholic mother who lost custody of all her kids.. my parents "adopted" her and have always welcomed her into their home, even to this day. Some family aren't blood related, and that's perfectly fine. Loved this, and I hope you enjoy it too.
kice7788's review against another edition
2.0
This wasn't what I thought it would be. I liked the story and how it was written but the plot didn't really go anywhere for me. I predicted everything that happened and didnt like the ending at all. The characters were just people, I didn't like how you didnt really get to know them. I also didn't like that the story was only told in one light. Over all it was an okay book but not one I would tell people to read.