Me & Emma

By Elizabeth Flock

In many ways, Carrie Parker is like any other eight-year-oldplaying make-believe, going to school, dreaming of faraway places. But even in her imagination, she can't pretend away the hardships of her impoverished North Carolina home or protect her younger sister, Emma.

As the big sister, Carrie is determined to do anything to keep Emma safe from a life of neglect and abuse at the hands of their drunken stepfather, Richardabuse their momma can't seem to see, let alone stop.

But after the sisters' plan to run away from home unravels, Carrie's world takes a shocking turnand one shattering moment ultimately reveals a truth that leaves everyone reeling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
• Release date: Aug 1, 2012

Elizabeth Flock

ELIZABETH FLOCK is an Emmy Award–winning journalist whose work has been featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Atlantic, and on PBS NewsHour and Netflix, among other outlets. She is the host of Blind Plea, a podcast from Lemonada Media about criminalized survival. Her reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center, PEN America, and the International Women’s Media Foundation. Her first book, The Heart Is a Shifting Sea, won a Nautilus Book Award for books that inspire and make a difference. She lives in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Reviews for Me & Emma

[heatherlinc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Narrated by eight-year old Carrie, this is a gripping story of a young girl's struggle against harsh realities, violence and torment. Carrie's mother suffers depression and her step-father has alcoholic induced fits of rage. The only person she truly loves is her younger sister, Emma. Together they protect each other from the cruelties that surround them. However, throughout the book, the reader is given glimpses of a happier life, as Carrie remembers moments with her beloved father before he was murdered two years earlier.Carrie is a believable character who describes her life with simplicity and brutal honesty. She is also naively innocent about some of the events occurring in her life, but they give the reader further insight into the harshness and unpredictability that she and Emma have to try and survive inHeart-warming and heart-breaking, this is a beautifully written book with an incredible twist at the end that will remain with the reader long after the last page is finished.

[sharn_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. I loved both girls but thought Emma was my favorite - what a little whippersnapper. I'm sure I'll read more by this author. Held my interest all the way through with some very hard topics.

[melannc-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Both my daughter Meghan and I had heard good things about this book, so I was looking forward to reading it. About 100 pages in to the book, I wasn't so sure that I was going to keep reading it, but there was something compelling about a story told by an 8 year old girl. It wasn't a pretty life that she and her sister Emma led - verbal and physical abuse, poverty, teasing and bullying, neglect and violence. I needed to know what would happen to the two sisters, so I kept reading. I am so glad that I did. I can't write anything else that happened because I do not want to give away the ending. I will not only look for books by the same author, but also re-read this book! Meghan, you have to finish the book!

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 starsCarrie is 8 years old and Emma is her 6-year old sister. Their father was shot in a robbery, which Emma witnessed, and their mother remarried Richard, a man who drinks too much and abuses her and the girls. The book is from Carrie's point of view as she tries to deal with everything going on. I thought this book was really really good. It was one where I wanted to keep reading it, or if I wasn't, I wanted to get back to reading it. It gripped me from the start.

[mladies · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An 8-year-old girl and her little sister strive to survive in a traumatic situation. Her coping mechanisms and efforts to make sense of a chaotic living situation make for challenging but interesting reading. There are no simple solutions for these children.

[dorie.craig · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A story of two very different sisters, one eight and one six, who live with an extremely abusive stepfather and an uncaring mother. A heartbreaking book, simply written, with a surprising twist at the end that I didn’t foresee.

[Jessica Martin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Could not believe the ending

[Gael · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5

[betsy_crumley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can't put this down- written from a child's perspective- written well- 3/4 way through- nervous how the story is going to end

[cait815 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I figured out where this book was going by the third chapter, so the ending wasn't so much a climax as it was a confirmation. Interesting book, but ultimately disappointing.

[sparemethecensor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One of those books where the twist comes so far out of left field you are left somewhat shellshocked. I enjoyed the story, difficult as it was to read, but I had wished there were more hints -- something! -- along the way so that the twist made more sense. Definitely a tough read, considering the subject matter of domestic violence among a poverty-stricken family, but the narrator's voice perfectly captures the innocence of childhood despite her despicable conditions.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Haunting story of a young girl and her younger sister who live with an abusive stepfather and an emotionally detached mother.

[janismack · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Eventhough this book had a very difficult story, I kept on reading. The tone of the writting was matter of fact so you were spared the horror of what was happening. Ultimately it is a sad story because I'm sure this is happening to children all over the world.

[erin5mast · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Overall, I really liked this book. The characters were one's you fall in love with. I found myself wanting to protect them. I also found myself angry when so many adults seemed to let them down. This is a book that evokes emotion, so tissues are recommended. With all that culminated, I was a little let down by the anticlamactic ending. Overall, definitely worth the read.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Some people should not be allowed to have children as this book clearly defines. A young girl, parental abuse from a stepfather and a non caring mother make this a hard story to read and my heart just went out to little Caroline. Actually went back to read this one because I had started Flock's new one, "What happened to my sister" and found I was a bit lost. Glad I did though as I said the subject matter makes it a hard read. Reminded me a little of Girl Child, in the writing and tone. Think this book will definitely stay with me.

[indygo88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I inadvertently read a spoiler prior to beginning this novel, so I think that impacted my judgment, and ultimately, my enjoyment of this story. Though I felt it was fairly well written, it was an overwhelmingly sad tale & I just couldn't shake that feeling of sadness. I'd had this book on my shelf for quite a while waiting to be read, but was prompted to pick it up recently after receiving an ARC of its follow-up, "What Happened to My Sister". So now I'm off to read that one!

[justablondemoment · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I could NOT put this book down. Tears flowed with this one. The kind of book that grabs you in the guts. 

[rachelpenso · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The ending made the book. It was just an okay book all along until I hit the end, which made the book instantly better.

[kelawrence · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unbelievable - read it in a day.

[nicx27 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a heartbreaking story, told by 8 year old Carrie. Her mother has remarried following the death of Carrie's father, and her new stepfather Richard is a brute. Carrie feels responsible for protecting her little sister Emma from Richard's abuse and their mother's neglect, and of course Carrie is experiencing all of this too. As the story is told by Carrie, the reader gets the story in a matter of fact, childlike way, and this works well. I felt so sorry for Carrie, as she just carries on with her life despite all that is thrown at her. I felt the book was a little slow, particularly from the half way mark but it picked up again towards the end. All in all, a very good story with a clever ending.

[carmarie_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A nice read, written with nice flow. I have to say, that while the twist at the end may have entered my mind once while reading the book, I was still surprised. The mother totally pissed me off throughout the whole book. Read it, you'll know what I mean.

[maryintexas39 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not nearly as good as I expected. I knew the "suprise" ending 50 pages in. Oh well.

[mustreet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a terribly quick read for me and I liked it, but I found it incredibly predictable. I guessed one of the major plot points only a chapter in and thought the ending was visible a few chapters earlier. This book was very sad and moving at times. I liked the author's writing style and thought the voice being that of Carrie, an eight year old, really made the book what it was.

[mandolin_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I have read all year. Had it not been for all the buzz about it, I probably would have never picked it up, but once I finished reading it, I was blown away. It wasn't just the ending that surprised me, but the enormity and complexity of the main character's situation. Having her, an eight year old abused child, narrate the story, makes it that much more intriguing.

[pdebolt_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a book that is deceptively simple in the beginning, seemingly by design. I found the dilemma of the sisters heartbreaking, but their having each other was a solace to both of them. Carrie's multiple personality developed as a defense mechanism in response to the monstrous situation in which she lived. To be surrounded by mental illness and abuse would lead to any form of self-preservation possible. I think that its being written from a child's perspective made it even more effective.

[jadesbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I totally did not see the end coming. One review that I saw on this book stated that if you liked Lovely Bones than you would like Me & Emma, and that was spot on! The whole story line centered around two sisters, where the younger sister was always looking out for her older sister - the older sister was soft, sad and weak, while the younger sister was stong willed, determined and resiliant. It was a great story about two girls who have more in common than the reader will ever know. It was worth the read.

[bibliophile26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of two sisters living in rural North Carolina who have to deal with being poor and having an abusive mother and stepfather. It was boring at times and I was going to rate this book a 3, but the end shocked the hell out of me.

[sonshine1296 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm going to have to re-read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it but was completely and utterly shocked at the ending. Never has a book so easily tricked my mind. I must say that Elizabeth Flock is a master at the art of writing real characters.

[kathywoodall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Carrie and Emma have only each other to depend on. Carrie misses her father who was shot to death in front of her. Her step-father abuses her and Emma horribly bad. The girls finally take all they can take and decide to run away from home. I won't say much more about the book without giving away to much of the ending. When you get to the end of the book you will be shaking your head and saying "I should have seen that coming". Excellent story with a very surprising/shocking ending.

[wittyreaderli · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book, I really did. But when I realized that it had a plot twist after reading a review and I guessed it within the first 3 pages, it lost its appeal. But give it a shot!