When She Was Good

About this book

At the start of this startling heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting novel a young woman named Pamela lies dead on the living room floor with her younger sister Em wondering if shes responsible. Is she? How did Em get to this point in her life? How did she survive? The answer is revealed in the direct open and remarkably hopeful voice of a teenage girl whose basically sunny disposition outlives some of the darkest circumstances imaginable. The ups and downs of the sisters life on their own is chronicled with humour pathos and unflinching honesty; from the moment Pamelas anger first turns to physical violence to Ems triumphant reconnections to people and things in the world outside their apartment. This is the extraordinary book that launched the Arthur A. Levine Books imprint ten years ago. Its a book you wont be able to put down. And one youll never forget.