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The title characters inMe&Emma are very nearly photographic opposites--8-year-old Carrie, the raven-haired narrator, is timid and introverted, while her little sister Emma is a tow-headed powerhouse with no sense of fear. The girls live in a terrible situation: they depend on an unstable mother that has never recovered from her husband’s murder, their stepfather beats them regularly, and they must forage on their own for food.
Stop here and you have a story told many times before, as fiction and nonfiction in tales likeEllen Foster, orI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings --stories in which a young girl reveals the horrors of her childhood.Me&Emma differentiates itself with a spectacular finish, shocking the reader and turning the entire story on its head. Through several twists and turns the reader learns that things are not quite the way our narrator led us to believe and everything crescendos in a way that (like all good thrillers) immediately makes you want to go back and read the whole book again from the start.--Victoria Griffith
Loved it!!!!! I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The story is told from the eight year old little girl Carrie. It was written very well in my opinion. There were times when she is telling you something that she is not sure what it means but you will understand what she is saying. I laughed and cried through out the book. I finished it in 2 days. I could not put it down. And the ending was so unexpected. It almost made me feel like I needed to read it again to make sure I did not miss anything! I would totally recommend it!!!!
Engrossing to read, too depressing I'll start off by saying that I couldn't put this book down--it was quite captivating. Like some other readers, I, too, was deeply disturbed by the ongoing torture (for lack of a better word) the girls go through in this story, and my disgust at the neighbors and townspeople for standing mutely by while it occurred is beyond saddening: it's incomprehensible.
The writing isn't bad, but it seemed the cliches of the downtrodden and ill-educated were too good for Flock to pass up, and that lessens the novel's appeal in many ways (not too much complexity in characters' attitudes, actions).
STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SPOIL THE "SURPRISE TWIST." The Emma-as-Carrie's-alter-ago was something I didn't see coming, but looking back, all the signs were there. So this was good for the book as a whole. I only wish the mother in the story could've been killed, too, or that Carrie could've at least been removed from her care. The physical and sexual abuse she let her daughter endure make her complicit in the crimes, and she never has to answer for this behavior; does no one question Carrie alone or take her to a social worker or doctor?!?
Overall, the ending leaves the outcome murky for Carrie and her mother, which I can't stand. Makes me so sad to think the whole story could repeat itself with another "Richard," and that is extraordinarily depressing. I don't need a pat, happy ending, but a little optimism--especially for Carrie's psychosis--is a justifiable demand.
This book did reinforce my desire to become a foster parent someday ... something I wish Carrie could have had.Can't complain While this book left me completely puzzled at times, I did enjoy it for the most part. The ending was a true surprise for me.
