On the surface, Melanie has the perfect life. Her house is modern and expensive, she already has a shiny new car for her birthday, and her family acts like the epitome of upper middle-class refinement.

And all that's true. But what goes on behind those grand oak doors defies expectations. Hidden from the world, past a manicured lawn and expensive drapes, Melanie's mother rules the house like a tyrant, prone to fits of screaming and abuse. Caught in the whirlwind of her mother's anger, Melanie's only true ally is her father, and even he can't weather the assault for much longer.

Some days, Melanie thinks everything is going to be alright. Some days, her mom goes to therapy, comes to a life-changing revelation, and returns home a new woman. Those days are good, and Melanie can almost believe they'll go on forever.

Then she stumbles on a shocking scene that reveals what her mother has really been doing with the doctor she visits. And her rock, her port in the storm, her father, is suddenly gone for good.

Built of a diverse cast of characters, Family Inflamed is a young-adult novel overflowing with intrigue, heartbreak, abuse, and assault, where, through one girl's eyes, we discover even the prettiest pictures can hide a simmering darkness beneath. In this coming-of-age drama, Melanie's struggles to hold herself together and build a life on her own terms as she fights against fate itself.

K.G. Wilkie

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