Known as Julia in school, Kibble to her father, and self-identifying as Turtle, the 14-year old female protagonist of Tallent's first novel is suffering the effects of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of her father. Turtle's coming of age, her challenge as she moves into young adulthood, is to see and understand that abuse for what it is, and to decide to take action against it. Tallent speeds the reader into a gut-wrenching thriller, as Turtle first fights to contain and control her reactions to her father's abusiveness; then has the realization that survival can only be achieved by breaking free of his influence. Ironically, he has trained her, inculcated the characteristics of strength, sense, and skill she will need to accomplish this.

Turtle's point of view is changed through several encounters: her middle school teacher, who fails in her attempts to reach out to Turtle; Jacob and Brett, two high school boys she meets in the woods; and a younger girl, whom her father brings home, picked up as a runaway. Martin, Turtle's father, is a psychopathic survivalist, raising her alone in a remote homestead in northern California. Her mother has died a questionable death that Turtle experiences in flashback. Her beloved grandfather, her father's father, is killed by Martin when he believes the grandfather will interfere in Turtle's life, to help her be free. In spite of all Turtle forces herself to endure at this man's hands, it is not until she sees Martin begin to train the young runaway in his twisted, abusive indoctrination that Turtle finally breaks free to save the young girl and herself.

The survivalist skills of marksmanship and hunting, knowing the predator's behavior, predicting its moves, thinking ahead and being prepared, all come into play in the dramatic liberation. Finally, the surprising epilogue, describing Turtle's efforts to find normalcy, healing, and her budding sense of self in the world, offers a note of hope much needed after her rigorous crucible.

While this novel is often painful to read, one feels pulled in by Martin's charisma, and the instinct one feels while rubber-necking while passing a car wreck, needing to see how bad things can get. We despair as Turtle refuses to take charge, missing opportunities to liberate herself, running down an inevitable path that can only lead to one of two alternatives: freedom or destruction. Tallent does a great job of providing greater depth, going beyond the level of a melodramatic tale of abuse, to a true psychological study of the mysterious relationship of abuser and abused, and what may motivate and enable a person to risk everything to smash the twisted, and strive for self-preservation.