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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
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Meredith thought she had three more years. Three more years of her father being locked away in prison. Three more years until she turned 18 and could finally be safe from him. But he's released early for good behavior, and Meredith's hopes of being safe are shattered. When Meredith was young her father abused her, as well as other children on his popular youth baseball team.

He's released with orders to never be alone with his daughter, but he returns to the same complex where Meredith and her mother live. Even though Meredith is distraught over her father's return, her mother is ecstatic and giddy to return to her "normal" life and wants to start it off by having another child with him.

It doesn't take long for her father to start in on her again, but with the help from her neighbor Nigel, and boyfriend Andy and his mother things may just turn out okay.

This was an interesting and very personal look into what can happen when children are the victims (or should I say survivors?) of pedophilia and incest. It was awful how Meredith's mother reacted to her daughter's pain. She refused to see her husband in a bad light, and had total disregard for Meredith's suffering over her father moving back into their home.

Sometimes I thought it was poorly researched in that the neighbor is on the police force, and knows the background of Meredith's story. Yet, he doesn't report it when her father moves back into the house when he's by law not supposed to live under the same roof. I do think Weiss deserves major kudos for taking this subject and writing about it in a way that will reach out to children/teens that may be going through the same things.

I thought Such a Pretty Girl was good, but it definitely isn't a book for lighthearted reading. It will make your heart ache.