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Book Review of Such a Pretty Girl

Such a Pretty Girl
Such a Pretty Girl
Author: Laura Wiess
Genre: Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Paperback
reviewed on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9


Meredith Shale, 15, lives in a world that no child should ever have to live in. She was sexually abused by her father as a young girl, and the monster is about to be let out of prison early. As Meredith says, they promised her nine years of safety but gave her only three.

While it is nearly impossible to imagine one's life with a sexual predator back on the loose, it is disgusting to realize that your own mother won't even protect you. Meredith's mother, Sharon, has been with Charles since she was a young girl, and has lived in her world of tunnel-vision love and delusion. She calls what happened between her daughter and her husband âa mistake,â is angry that Meredith reported him, and feels that now that Charles is out of prison, they can be one, big happy family.

Laura Wiess has created a story and characters that are raw and real, sometimes almost too real to bear, but you dare not put the book down. Meredith's anger, pain and fright are on full display, although she might not outwardly share her fears with the people in her life. They know she is concerned, but she lets only the reader past her tough-exterior shell and see the scared little girl that very much lives inside her.

Meredith gains her strength through the support of her boyfriend and a few neighbors in the condo neighborhood in which she lives. But the most strength comes from herself.

This no-holds-barred novel, told in present day and flashbacks, suspends the reader in Meredith's state of unrest. With trepidation, fear and resolve, both reader and protagonist gear up for the final confrontation between abuser and victim.