by Kaye Gibbons
First published 1989
Ellen Foster thinks about killing her daddy. She runs different methods through her mind until they feel simple and real. This young girl lives in the rural South where survival means making hard choices. Ellen must navigate a world of unreliable adults and find her own way forward. Her voice cuts through the darkness with humor and fierce determination. She speaks with the wisdom of someone forced to grow up too fast, yet she keeps her heart open to love and hope. Ellen's journey takes her through foster care and family complications as she searches for a place to belong. Kaye Gibbons creates a narrator who refuses to be broken by circumstances beyond her control. Ellen's story reveals how courage can emerge from the most difficult beginnings.
Genres: american-fiction, abuse, 20th-century, coming-of-age
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Rural South
Period: 20th Century
Paperback · Pan Books
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse