The reader sees the desperation in his penned letters to his youngest sister Emmy chronicling the abuses they endured.and the desperation of getting out. Why? Well, for one, Nancy Werlin places the reader right in the center of 14-year-old Matthew's experiences in protecting his siblings from a mother from heck and back. This book terrified me, but I would say such in the most constructive way possible. When you turn the final pages, as a reader you hope that the lives of these children are not completely broken and maybe as time passes they will find peace and recovery in the aftermath of their struggle. Truly a powerful story that’s both heartrending and daunting. The story revolves around Matthew, the oldest of the siblings and his struggle to keep his sisters Callie and Emmy safe from their unstable, viscous and unpredictable mother. As a reader, I feel I wasn’t given enough information to determine that, but I don’t think that was the point of this book. It was never quite clear if she was manic depressive, bipolar, an alcoholic or drug user. This book is about three children who are being raised by an abusive mother. This story, however, showed me that as humans when we truly love someone, we’ll neglect our most basic instinct and protect those we love even if it endangers our own life. When you’re in danger, your human instinct is to protect yourself. What did I learn from this book? Well, a very obvious lesson which is the rule of survival at its basic level is self –preservation. Undoubtedly five stars! I look forward to reading more by Nancy Werlin and of this genre. I actually felt as if I were listening to a teenage boy tell me his story. The voice of the character was unbelievable. The fact that it was written as a letter also made it different. Also, how someone can get used to an abnormal life somehow. I loved how it talked about reasons why Matt didn't tell anyone about the abuse. I felt emotions the characters were going through. The writing, the story, just everything was so beautiful. Even Nikki had a side that was understandable. They all had their flaws and they all had times of vulnerability. It may be something he just had to do but I felt as if it were something more than that. With the way he protected his little sisters. It didn't just occur suddenly but over a realistic period of time. This is one of the best character developments I have read. It's not only about an abusive mother but it involves outsiders who were dragged into it. Emmy was too young to fully understand her past and so Matt has taken it as his responsibility to tell her about it. This is the story of Matt, Callie, and Emmy, written as a letter. "Always remember: In the end, the survivor gets to tell the story."
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