Eight-year-old "Scary Carrie" Parker and her six-year-old sister Emma have more than a tough life in Toast, NC -- it's damn near impossible to survive. After the tragic death of their father, Carrie's mother goes into a mourning period that lasts several months. Dishes go unwashed, the pantry dwindles in supply and the two little heroines are forced to raise themselves as best they can, even if it means eating dog food stolen from the neighbor's house.

Soon enough, the mother remarries an evil man, the vile Richard. The story wanders through an alcoholic blur, spiked with moments of abusive terror as Richard infects this frail family with his redneck, backwater brand of cruelty. As the two girls struggle to get through school, stay out of their parents' way and manage to feed their growling bellies, the story wanders into darker and darker territory.

Not for the faint of heart, ME & EMMA covers the gamut of alcoholism, child abuse, rape and murder. Although the plot plodded along, I remained interested with the hope that the two little girls would either run away and be adopted by a kind, loving family, or die, just so that the pain of their brutal lives would end. The twist ending was rushed, but enough of a surprise to make me think, "Did I read what I think I just read?"