Howe, James. The watcher

Howe, James. The watcher. Aladdin, 1999 [0-689-8533-7]
Every day a sad girl sits at the top of the stairs watching the beach. She watches the handsome lifeguard, and a family that comes to the beach every day and she thinks they have wonderful lives. The reader finds out while getting to know everyone in the book, that they all have their share of problems. The biggest problem though, the reader finds out at the end of the book with the shocking, harsh ending that "the watcher" has a terrible homelife and an abusive father. The shocking abuse described at the end of the 173 page book sneaks up on the reader. The author leaves the reader thinking.