Teenage Em has been socially and emotionally deprived her entire life, but nothing has been harder than the past few year's spent living with her older sister. Her mother's death was difficult, it left her feeling empty and sad and somehow inadequate. But living with Pamela, who is deeply disturbed and frighteningly violent, isn't about emptiness, it's about danger and fear. It's about being made to feel you are worthless. It's about hatred. Then, as if Em's thoughts were read and acted upon, Pamela is dead, of heart failure. And now Em is alone. But even though Pamela is gone and can never come back, Em can still hear her voice--full of threats and spite and meanness, telling Em she's no good. Norma Fox Mazer's exquisite, acutely sensitive prose captures intense emotions and the tender, painful moments that mark Em's difficult emergence from darkness into light in this haunting, riveting novel. (Age 15 and older)

Discussion Points
1. Em always feels like an outsider, as though others are judging her for the differences they perceive in her. What causes this feeling of separateness in her? Do you think that she is correct in her assessment of other people's reactions to her? How does the voice that she hears--Pamela's voice, giving a running commentary in her head--affect how she relates to the world?
2. Why is Louise's friendship so important to Em? Why is Louise so opposed to the friendship? Why does she change her mind about Em?
3. At one point, Em refers to Pamela as a planet, burning through space and unable to change her course. Do you think that this is an apt description? Does Pamela mean to hurt her sister? Is it possible for Em to change her course, oris she as powerless as Pamela?
4. Why does Em decide to plant a garden? How does this act change her relationship to the past? In what ways does her garden change the way she relates to those around her?