"...I know it sounds sick but right now we need all the deflection we can find, it's not easy hiding decomposing parents in your backyard." 
 This story begins with the impromptu burial of the parents of two young girls from Glasgow, by the girls themselves, in their own backyard. Little by little, the reader begins to see just how fucked up their lives have been under the parentage of their two addict parents. (I am going to allow myself to use curses here because it's one of those books. And frankly, if you're the type that is bothered by words such as fuck/shit/motherfucker, etc., maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be reading a book about two young girls burying their parents in their backyard. Just saying.) 
 The book is narrated by three exceedingly interesting people: 
 Marnie: 15 year old, If it wasn't bad enough that 15 years old is stuck in that incredibly awkward, not a girl, not yet a woman (heller, Britney Spears!) age, Marnie had to grow up faster, being the older sibling with no responsible parentage. Unfortunately, as you may expect, this means Marnie has fallen into drugs, sex, all of the usual at a tender age. The events that lead to her parents' deaths just accelerate her sudden need to grow up long before her time. To do anything to hold it all together. She's incredibly smart and hey, anyone who has this kind of humor at such a young age intrigues me: "The lie made me laugh, but only a little, he was obviously a hypocrite, but he's also a Christian and it's kind of the same thing." The fragility of her narrating chapters is so heartbreaking, as the reader struggles to marry her innocence and her actions. 
 Nelly: Marnie's 12(?) year old sister, possibly autistic, and so incredibly proper, I love when a writer can accurately and convincingly take on the voice of a child like Nelly to tell a story, juxtaposing Marnie's and Nelly's versions of the events that take place in the story is enlightening to say the least. In a way, they're both old beyond their years. "He smells of talcum powder, is possessed of china cups and matching saucers. How I love to hold a teacup." 
 Lennie: the neighbor, Lennie has a tainted history of his own which causes him to be isolated from the rest of the society in which he lives. However, he can't help but notice these two girls living next door. Lennie is suffering from heartbreak of his own - Maybe they need each other? 
 I guess you can say this is a common story idea; the misfits making a family of their own. But O'Donnell writes the story in a refreshingly new and interesting way, that, despite its darkness, is seemingly beautiful. As Marnie and Nelly try to get by on their own, more and more people are starting to wonder just what happened to their parents. No matter how used to being alone they are, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep secrets.