When She Was Good.

Sure I'm 18. I'm just really short and haven't hit puberty yet.

 Em is small for her age. Probably because she keeps lying about it. Though she is too young to work, Em is forced to grow up early after running away with her sister, Pamela. Years of abuse at Pamela's hands follow, from beatings to verbal insults. After Pamela dies, she finds herself completely alone for the first time and unable to cope with life's basic tasks. Jobless, friendless, and almost homeless, Em desperately searches for a job to support herself.

See Em sleep, see Em think, see Em get harassed, see Em become hopelessly depressing.

^ There's the storyline.

The story itself could have been more solid if there was an explanation for Pamela's crudeness, but there wasn't. There seemed to be no character development in her at all. In fact, there wasn't any character development for anyone and instead all of the development went into Em (with the exception of Louise in the last 3 pages of the book). Which is understandable, most people want to fully display their main character's growth and maturity throughout the novel, but these authors also include others.
I feel bad, but I didn't enjoy the story at all. I found it painfully depressing and boring. I'd really hoped for more.

1 depressing star out of 5.