First published 2010
Jillian Maxwell sits in her bedroom, staring at her report card filled with failing grades. The twelve-year-old knows her parents will be disappointed, but she cannot focus on schoolwork when a terrible secret weighs on her mind. She believes telling anyone will make everything worse, that somehow she will be blamed for what happened. Her teachers notice her withdrawal. Her grades continue to drop. Her family sees her pulling away but cannot understand why their once-bright daughter has become so distant and angry. Jillian feels trapped between protecting the people she loves and protecting herself. As her world grows smaller and darker, she must find the courage to break her silence. Only by facing the truth can she save herself and keep her family together. But first, she needs to believe she deserves to be saved.
Genres: fiction, abuse, contemporary, adolescence, psychological-thriller, family-drama
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
248 pages · Hardcover · Thorndike Press
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse, depression, mental-illness