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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars. Felt like the author wanted to tell the story of the house of horrors (the past storyline) but didn't have enough material for a full novel, so ended up telling two stories at once, with multiple timeskips throughout that were jarring.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
A slow burning literary thriller with a psychological twist.
Lex Gracie doesn't want to think about her family. She doesn't want to think about growing up in her parents' House of Horrors. And she doesn't want to think about her identity as Girl A: the girl who escaped, the eldest sister who freed her older brother and four younger siblings. It's been easy enough to avoid her parents--her father never made it out of the House of Horrors he created, and her mother spent the rest of her life behind bars. But when her mother dies in prison and leaves Lex and her siblings the family home, she can't run from her past any longer. Together with her sister, Evie, Lex intends to turn the home into a force for good. But first she must come to terms with her siblings--and with the childhood they shared.
Abigail Dean’s haunting debut—Girl A—focuses on the aftermath rather than the actual abuse inflicted on the characters, reflected within the current timeline as flashbacks. We follow Alexandra Gracie; a survivor—now a successful lawyer—and learn about the conditions her and her siblings were subjected to, including the lengths they went to survive, depicting the ugly truths of human nature.
Dean’s razor sharp prose and use of flashback (which I found somewhat confusing at times) gives the reader a shocking glimpse into Lex’s cruel past and highlights an overarching theme around the psychological implications of childhood trauma. The story is well researched so I wasn’t surprised to learn of of the author’s fascination for true crime, focusing on several cases--the most recent being the Turpin case in 2018—in which she selectively drew inspiration for her characters. The one shining light in this story is the protagonist’s wish to create a positive from a negative with the creation of a therapeutic space on the land where their childhood home stood.
While I do agree that this book is a wonderful literary accomplishment, I found the topic triggering to read about. I also found the length of each chapter a bit too long (personal preference) to get through in one sitting. I would recommend this book to those readers who enjoy a much slower burn with less action. It’s a very different pace than I’m used to reading but there is a lot of well-deserved praise surrounding this book. Each character is unique and I found it extremely interesting to learn how far they'd all come after having experienced such profound trauma.
Lex Gracie doesn't want to think about her family. She doesn't want to think about growing up in her parents' House of Horrors. And she doesn't want to think about her identity as Girl A: the girl who escaped, the eldest sister who freed her older brother and four younger siblings. It's been easy enough to avoid her parents--her father never made it out of the House of Horrors he created, and her mother spent the rest of her life behind bars. But when her mother dies in prison and leaves Lex and her siblings the family home, she can't run from her past any longer. Together with her sister, Evie, Lex intends to turn the home into a force for good. But first she must come to terms with her siblings--and with the childhood they shared.
Abigail Dean’s haunting debut—Girl A—focuses on the aftermath rather than the actual abuse inflicted on the characters, reflected within the current timeline as flashbacks. We follow Alexandra Gracie; a survivor—now a successful lawyer—and learn about the conditions her and her siblings were subjected to, including the lengths they went to survive, depicting the ugly truths of human nature.
Dean’s razor sharp prose and use of flashback (which I found somewhat confusing at times) gives the reader a shocking glimpse into Lex’s cruel past and highlights an overarching theme around the psychological implications of childhood trauma. The story is well researched so I wasn’t surprised to learn of of the author’s fascination for true crime, focusing on several cases--the most recent being the Turpin case in 2018—in which she selectively drew inspiration for her characters. The one shining light in this story is the protagonist’s wish to create a positive from a negative with the creation of a therapeutic space on the land where their childhood home stood.
While I do agree that this book is a wonderful literary accomplishment, I found the topic triggering to read about. I also found the length of each chapter a bit too long (personal preference) to get through in one sitting. I would recommend this book to those readers who enjoy a much slower burn with less action. It’s a very different pace than I’m used to reading but there is a lot of well-deserved praise surrounding this book. Each character is unique and I found it extremely interesting to learn how far they'd all come after having experienced such profound trauma.
A bit slow at times but the tough topics were handled really well and it was an intriguing concept!
I liked this book and it kept me hooked throughout, but I did have a bit of an issue with how ambiguous a lot of things were left. The book painted a very blurry picture of what exactly went on in the house of horrors (I don’t need a blow by blow description of the abuse but there are quite a few things that you’re left to infer or question and I would have liked at least a few explanations or definite answers.) I also would have liked a more definite sense of what was happening at the end as I think there are quite a few ways you could interpret the last scene.
An excellent thriller, but a difficult read. This book is genuinely disturbing, and because of that I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.
If you like true crime podcasts, I think you’ll like this book. It was a surprisingly quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed how the book delved into chapters focusing on one character at a time while still evolving the overall story.