Chloe had always been the perfect daughter. Diligent, obedient, good at caring for the other children when Mom wasn’t home. She always worked hard and did everything she was asked.
But she couldn’t please her mother and the parade of stepfathers. It seemed like the harder she tried, the worse the abuse got.
Chloe had known for a long time that she was two people. The Chloe who watched and the Chloe who experienced. She had been watching for so long, she wasn’t sure she could feel anything anymore. But if she can’t overcome her past and start living in the real world, she knows she will lose herself forever.
Placed on the In the Margins Committee Recommended Reads, 2018 by Library Services for Youth in Custody.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Chloe’s happy ending is hard-won, and a reminder that there are children (and adults) out there who need help, and that we should never look away when there may be signs of abuse or neglect.
Genre: JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Physical & Emotional Abuse4.5 star rating
Placed on the In the Margins Committee Recommended Reads, 2018 by Library Services for Youth in Custody.
Chloe was dragged out of sleep by shouting and by someone shaking her violently. Her head and shoulders flopped around, out of control, and she tried to go back to sleep instead of having to wake up and face whatever was going on. She thought maybe it was a family fight. She was no stranger to yelling in the middle of the night, to fights between her parents or between her mother and one of the other kids.
But the shaking and the shouting didn’t stop. Even when they fought at night, they didn’t come and shake her awake. She was supposed to be asleep in her bed. She didn’t get up in the night. It was against the rules. And Chloe always followed the rules, no matter how unreasonable they might seem.
“Wake up!” a harsh voice yelled. “You need to wake up! Right now!”
He pulled the blankets off of her and dragged her to the edge of the bed. Chloe put her feet on the floor, her head so foggy and thick that she still couldn’t force her eyes open enough to see what was going on.
The thick, strong fingers pulled her upright. Chloe’s knees sagged, refusing to take her weight. Why wouldn’t they just let her sleep? She was supposed to be sleeping. She wasn’t supposed to be getting out of bed. He continued to shake her and hold her upright while Chloe tried to find her feet and give her legs the command to hold her up.
“Come on. Open your eyes now,” the voice yelled in her ear. Chloe turned her head away from him, but he let go of one arm and grasped her chin, forcing her head to turn back, shaking it, slapping her lightly on the cheeks. “Open your eyes. You need to wake up. You need to get up now!”
