as real as it gets When I first read this book, I was entranced by the real language and experience that Evelyn shared. Since I have become a social worker, I have passed numerous copies onto my teenage runaway clients, who all report having truly enjoyed the book as a real life experience. I highly recommend the book and the movie. The movie did an excellent job of putting the story into motion picture. The story shows the viewer/reader that child abuse comes in many forms. The emotional abuse Evelyn suffered from her mother happens all the time and is not always recognized for the real harm that it does. Many of my youth clients often say they would have preferred a smack in the face over the hurtful comments their parents made about them.