David Atlas

A messy, loud Australian family and an aloof, snobby American family who have nothing in common except the marriage of their daughters are stuck for six weeks on a tropical island off Queensland when a nearby volcano erupts.

Follows three teens who struggle with hardscrabble realities, from Luke, who works at the local supermarket and tries to stay out of trouble; to Bongo, who drinks to avoid his abusive family; to Casey, who longs to escape her controlling father.

"Susan Forward ... offers a powerful look at the devastating impact unloving mothers have on their daughters--and provides clear, effective techniques for overcoming that painful legacy. In more than 35 years as a therapist, Forward has worked with large numbers of women struggling to escape the emotional damage inflicted by the women who raised them. Subjected to years of criticism, competition, role-reversal, smothering control, emotional neglect...

"James Stevens was, at one time, a good man with a great life. After the tragic death of his wife and losing custody of his little girl, James is at the darkest crossroad of his life. Angry, desperate, and unable to hold down a steady job, he agrees to drive a box truck on a shady, one-time trip cross country for cash-no questions asked. When he discovers what he is delivering is actually a who, the questions in his mind begin haunting him mercilessly....