Olive

Olivia likes to be called Olive, but she's never gotten the chance to tell anyone that.

Olive never got to be happy, like all the other children. She's lived in hell her entire life, and she no longer has any hope for a happy ending. That's one of the reasons why she stopped talking. Her classmates think she's a diagnosed mute. Her brother thinks she needs a psychiatrist. Only her father knows the truth, but he's the one who wants her to keep quiet.

He calls it "our little secret."

Olive calls it hell. She thinks that keeping silent will save her from his wrath, but the unlikeliest group of friends (and maybe a little romance) may have to teach her that silence isn't her savior. It's a prison, and only she can set herself free.

Will Olive learn to speak up before things go too far? Can she trust the people around her with her secrets, or will they only let her down? And, after everything is said and done, can Olive learn to love again?