All Julia Scheeres and her adopted brother David ever wanted was to be part of a normal, happy family. But when their fanatical mother decides they should all move to rural Indiana, both their lives begin to unravel. In the blistering heat of the isolating community, Julia and David struggle together through adolescence. But with a mother who whose first concern is her church missionaries, and a distant father whose rare presence is resented by some and feared by others, home for them both becomes a place of unspeakable secrets. Memoir Arrow Books ISBN 009949348 pound;6.99 www.randomhouse.co.

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