First published 1987
Allie Drew lives in a house where fear rules every day. Her stepfather Jim drinks heavily and his rage fills their rural home with constant threat. Beatings happen regularly. Terror becomes normal. Allie tries to navigate school and her relationship with her parents while this violence surrounds her. Jim's drinking makes him unpredictable and dangerous. When he begins making sexual advances toward Allie, her already difficult world becomes unbearable. She must find ways to survive in a home where the adult who should protect her has become her greatest threat. The violence escalates until Allie's entire world collapses around her. This story explores how a young person copes when the people meant to care for her become sources of pain and fear instead.
Genres: fiction, abuse, contemporary, young-adult, psychological-thriller, family-drama
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Rural Home
Period: Contemporary
292 pages · Hardcover · St Martins Pr
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse, domestic-violence, physical-abuse, sexual-assault