A painful story of a childhood of abuse - but told through the matter-of-fact eyes of the child, to whom "playing grown-ups" sexually or enduring horrific beatings is seemingly no more important than playing dressup with her sisters or running the fields with the pet deer. Meg Tilly has a powerful voice. ( )

I was mainly interested in this book because of its connection to The Big Chill, one of my all-time favorite movies. The author, Meg Tilly, played the ditsy Chloe in that film, and won awards for her performance in Agnes of God a few years later. Then she sort of dropped out of sight. Apparently she has been writing instead of acting.

This book was quite readable, and although the story it tells is one of poverty and abuse, the narrator is so tough and resilient that it remains a hopeful tale. I understand that it is quite thinly veiled autobiography; if so, Tilly is admirable for having overcome her less-than-stellar beginnings. The novel is fairly well written, although at times there is inconsistency between the narrator's typical simple, childish voice and her choice of advanced, poetic words. She doesn't always understand what is happening but she uses some pretty creative language to describe it. ( )

This is a book about child abuse. Anna and her siblings are abused by their father in every way: physically, emotionally, and sexually. Her brothers are not allowed to sleep in the house, and all of the children attend school only sporadically. The family continues to move to rural areas to avoid contact with the authorities. Anna's mother is not as guilty of abuse, but she is certainly guilty of neglect and failure to protect her children.

The book is narrated in Anna's voice, and it is quite believable. Through Anna's experience we can see how an abused child struggles to sort out what is right and wrong. Hers is a world in which the wrong has become normative. It is a startling reminder of how easy it is to hide a family's darkest secrets. It was shocking to me just how easily Anna's parents avoided schools, doctors, social workers, and anyone else who might interfere. Anna is a charming and believable narrator. It is hard not to feel for her plight. ( )

I liked this book a lot in the beginning and the characters felt real to me, like characters from non-fiction books of this type that I have read. As I got closer to the end, the book became less interesting and I just wanted to be done with it. It's interesting that this book is actually based on facts because it seemed read to me up until the last couple of chapters. At the end it just seemed rushed and then it seemed to end a bit abruptly. ( )