The title characters in are very nearly photographic opposites--8-year-old carrie, the raven-haired narrator, is timid and introverted, while her little sister emma is a tow-headed powerhouse with no sense of fear. The g...The title characters in are very nearly photographic opposites--8-year-old carrie, the raven-haired narrator, is timid and introverted, while her little sister emma is a tow-headed powerhouse with no sense of fear. The girls live in a terrible situation: they depend on an unstable mother that has never recovered from her husband's murder, their stepfather beats them regularly, and they must forage on their own for food.