As Linda speaks about the chain of events that led to the murder-suicide of two men she knew, the tragic story of the 13-year- old's life unfolds. To hear Linda tell it, these are the facts of her existence; nothing to feel bad about. In fact, Linda doesn't feel anything at all. In Brock Cole's somber, skillful narrative, the reader supplies what Linda, at first, cannot--an emotional response to the hard and horrifying facts of Linda's life, which has been characterized by abuse and abandonment. But at the group home for girl's where Linda is staying, the barrier to emotions that Linda has built over the years in self defense shows signs of cracking, and in those small spaces, fragile signs of hope emerge for this bright yet battered child. (Age 14 and older)

This is the story of how thirteen-year-old Linda came to be involved in the murder of one man and the suicide of another. The police and her social worker think they know the answer, but they've got it wrong. Here Linda tells her own story. She sees her world and what has happened to her with compelling clarity. Her voice is direct, cool, and ruthlessly honest. She'll persuade you that she is neither victim nor fool - that the facts speak for themselves in this National Book Award Finalist.