Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Williams (The Chosen One) opens her latest novel with a bang%E2%80%94almost. Written in spare yet resonant verse (""Last night/ me and Lizzie/ sit/ in the dark,/ sit on my bed,/ in the quiet of/ night./ We're all grown up,/ I think./ But we are/ having us some/ troubles""), the book is told from the unreliable perspective of 12-year-old Hope, whose 14-year-old sister, Lizzie, threatens to shoot herself on page one. Lizzie is hauled off to a mental hospital, but the reason behind the suicide attempt remains unclear%E2%80%94even to Hope. As the story progresses, clues about the girls' upbringing are revealed in a series of flashbacks. Hope's memories paint a picture of sporadic sisterly bonding (secret club meetings in the attic, lip-synching to Jesus Christ Superstar), while other incidents (their father's death, Lizzie's crying spells, their alcoholic mother's abusive temper and prostitution) hint at a darker reality. Williams's decision to wait until the end to divulge the cause of Lizzie's misery is a gamble, but one that works. The truth%E2%80%94 exposed after Hope reads her sister's diary%E2%80%94is appalling. Ages 12%E2%80%93up. (June)

ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Sisters Hope and Lizzie are also best friends; Lizzie, the elder sibling, has looked after Hope since she was an infant. When Lizzie suddenly becomes suicidal, though, Hope is bewildered, but she gradually realizes that she may have some insight into the roots of Lizzie's depression. Glimpses into her memories and her dreams unfold a story of neglect and abuse that will haunt both Hope and the reader alike. Williams tells a brutal, gripping story through the veiled language of free verse, choosing her words and Hope's memories with careful intent. Although the descriptions are not graphic, Williams leaves little doubt about Lizzie's trauma, their mother's role in her older daughter's fate, and the lack of a perfect resolution to both girls' pain. The unresolved ending is realistic, but it is hopeful, too, and it includes a tribute to caring friends and adults who struggle daily to rescue children from untenable situations.

Kirkus Reviews

From the middle of page one, when Hope walks in on her sister holding a shotgun and "thinking about // leaving" (killing herself), emotional velocity never slows. They've grown up intricately bonded: "It is your job, / Liz, / to take care of your / little sister. // And you, Hope, / Momma said / her finger pointing like / she meant it, / you take care of Lizzie." Momma's harsh (musing that she should've aborted them), money's short and Daddy's dead; but the girls have each other and the freedom to roam around their Florida town, so what's causing this new violent depression that forces Lizzie into hospital lockdown? Despite the close first-person narration, hints emerge before Hope quite comprehends them; readers may envision two possibilities about the nature of Lizzie's trauma, by the time dedicated Hope figures it out. Williams leans hard on her free-verse line breaks for drama ("And I almost / forget / every / awful / thing / in / my / life"), and it works. A page-turner for Ellen Hopkins fans. (Fiction. YA)

School Library Journal (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Gr 9 Up-Lizzie and Hope learned long ago that they had to watch out for one another. Their neglectful mother, who turns tricks for a living, has left the girls to fend for themselves for nearly as long as they can remember. Yet when Hope walks in on Lizzie and finds her holding a gun, everything changes. After Lizzie is sent to a psych ward, her sister is left to wonder when and why things got so bad. Though Lizzie's terrible secret will be quickly evident to readers, Hope's painful, yet poignant, self-realizations unfold more slowly. This well-paced, raw novel-in-verse is a worthy purchase, especially for Ellen Hopkins's fans who are looking for another verse novel in which teens overcome dire circumstances. Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT