Scan barcode
A review by sbojo32
The Girls: An All-American Town, a Predatory Doctor, and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Brought Him Down by Abigail Pesta
1.0
1.5 stars, rounded up
This is an unpopular opinion, I realize, but I do not think this book was well-written at all. I think the subject matter is extremely important and I think that the women that were interviewed for this book are incredibly brave. I can't even imagine the horrors they went through at the hands of Larry Nassar. His name is all over the news; it's about time the survivors (not victims) get their name out there (if they want) as well.
However, the writing is repetitive and confusing. The author writes in the first person, which distracts from the story. Lines like "when I met with" and including herself in each survivor's story takes away from them. She also introduces each girl and then ends with "as you'll find out about later" or something similar. This would have been much more cohesive if she told each woman's story in its entirety instead of trying to have the reader remember each girl.
In addition, a solid edit is needed on this book. For example on page 160, a paragraph ends with: "Jamie got to work, he says, writing the new pieces of legislation behind the scenese." There is another paragraph and then this sentence: "Jamie got to work writing the two new pieces of legislation behind the scenes, he says, recalling..."
Literally the same sentence twice on the same page. This happened multiple times throughout the books (I remember the author explaining "oversplits" at least twice). Between the writing style and the need for an edit, I felt disconnected from the stories, which took away from the book.
I read Rachael Denhollander's book, What's a Girl Worth? last year and it was MUCH better than this one.
This is an unpopular opinion, I realize, but I do not think this book was well-written at all. I think the subject matter is extremely important and I think that the women that were interviewed for this book are incredibly brave. I can't even imagine the horrors they went through at the hands of Larry Nassar. His name is all over the news; it's about time the survivors (not victims) get their name out there (if they want) as well.
However, the writing is repetitive and confusing. The author writes in the first person, which distracts from the story. Lines like "when I met with" and including herself in each survivor's story takes away from them. She also introduces each girl and then ends with "as you'll find out about later" or something similar. This would have been much more cohesive if she told each woman's story in its entirety instead of trying to have the reader remember each girl.
In addition, a solid edit is needed on this book. For example on page 160, a paragraph ends with: "Jamie got to work, he says, writing the new pieces of legislation behind the scenese." There is another paragraph and then this sentence: "Jamie got to work writing the two new pieces of legislation behind the scenes, he says, recalling..."
Literally the same sentence twice on the same page. This happened multiple times throughout the books (I remember the author explaining "oversplits" at least twice). Between the writing style and the need for an edit, I felt disconnected from the stories, which took away from the book.
I read Rachael Denhollander's book, What's a Girl Worth? last year and it was MUCH better than this one.