My Absolute Darling Summary
Tallent, Gabriel

My Absolute Darling Overview

In My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent, 14-year-old Julia “Turtle” Alveston knows little of life beyond her relationship with her father. Then, she meets Jacob Learner. Jacob is kind and optimistic, but Turtle’s father is always cruel and negative. After finding one of Jacob's shirts in Turtle's room, her father beats her with an iron poker. It is at this point that Turtle begins to realize that the way her father is treating her is wrong. Themes in the novel include Turtle’s coming of age, the signs of abuse, and the relationship between the abuser and the abused.