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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Girl A is about Lex, the girl who escaped a “House of Horrors” where she and her siblings were incarcerated, starved, and abuse by her Father. Not an easy read, it explores how trauma affects people differently and how people navigate their lives after trauma. It also expertly explores sibling dynamics in the face of shared trauma. A well-written and emotional book, but definitely not the true-crime thriller I was expecting. Somewhere between 3.5-4/5 stars from me!
Loved the concept, not the biggest fan of the writing style. It felt kind of all over the place at times. Once I got used to this style of writing, I was able to get more into it but overall not my favorite.
I was given this book as a birthday present. I picked it up fairly quickly afterwards as the blurb sounded intriguing - a novel about a family who had escaped abusive parents.
The book was well written, with each chapter focussing on a different sibling. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and the sibling dynamics. A strong first book of the year - would read more from the author.
The book was well written, with each chapter focussing on a different sibling. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and the sibling dynamics. A strong first book of the year - would read more from the author.
3 stars.
Well....it wasn't bad. There are probably better books to spend your time on though.
The subject matter is difficult obviously, and mostly I thought the author did a good job dealing with it.
However, I actually found it easier to read the past scenes than the present ones. The present was just boring and depressing. It took me way longer to read this than it should have considering the length. I just dreaded picking it up most of the time. The timeline jumped around a little too much, I would have preferred them to be in separate chapters. Also, I was kind of mad that nothing was said to Ethan's wife before the wedding? And the ending felt a bit clichéd. Additionally, the Book of the Month site had this labelled as suspense which....it just was not.
On a positive note, I was happy for Delilah and Lex's last intereactions near the end. I also was happy with Lex's attitude toward her mom. It felt like a nice change of pace from stories of endless forgiveness and a realistic reaction.
side note: I have been very underwhelmed with the book of the month picks lately.
Well....it wasn't bad. There are probably better books to spend your time on though.
The subject matter is difficult obviously, and mostly I thought the author did a good job dealing with it.
However, I actually found it easier to read the past scenes than the present ones. The present was just boring and depressing. It took me way longer to read this than it should have considering the length. I just dreaded picking it up most of the time. The timeline jumped around a little too much, I would have preferred them to be in separate chapters. Also, I was kind of mad that nothing was said to Ethan's wife before the wedding? And the ending felt a bit clichéd. Additionally, the Book of the Month site had this labelled as suspense which....it just was not.
On a positive note, I was happy for Delilah and Lex's last intereactions near the end. I also was happy with Lex's attitude toward her mom. It felt like a nice change of pace from stories of endless forgiveness and a realistic reaction.
side note: I have been very underwhelmed with the book of the month picks lately.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The most important thing to note about this book is that it most definitely is not a thriller. This is a hard-hitting contemporary and I think I would have enjoyed this book significantly more if my expectations were more in line with the genre. In total honesty, this book felt slow and was much more of a character study and info dump than I was expecting. While there was a big ‘twist’ at the end, it felt too little too late to be of any redeeming quality for me.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not what I expected but happily surprised. Very dark/tragic and not necessarily “thrilling” but held my attention. Very cult-adjacent; comparable to The Family Upstairs.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF @ 36%. I'm just not following it at all, it doesn't make sense to me and the time jumps seem to happen constantly and with no pause or anything, it's unnerving.