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Oct 13, 2011

Shannon rated it:

Have you ever felt dirty after watching an episode of Law and Order that featured just a bit too little police work and a little too much voyeuristic stalking of the victim? That is exactly how I felt reading this book.

This book deals with a serious subject, sexual abuse, from the point of view of a girl who was abused by her father. While I am sure the book very accurately represents how such a girl might feel, (the OCD and number obsession was very well done) there was WAY too many More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jamie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

5 comments like (13 people liked it)

Dec 07, 2008

Kelsie rated it:

Although this book deals with a dark and demented issue, its style, readability, and theme of justice made it impossible for me to put down. Meredith, a 15-year-old girl, was promised nine years of protection from the government when her father was charged with molesting and raping her when she was 12 years old. Her father was sent to prison and was supposed to be locked up until Meredith was 18 and legally free from her father's guardianship. But to Meredith's horror, he is released after on More...

2 comments like (20 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2008

Nian rated it:

Meredith was promised nine years of safety—safety being her father getting locked up in jail for child molestation. But they let him out after three years for good behavior, threatening to shatter Meredith’s world once again. She’s sure he will try again, and she’s sure she can’t suffer through it once more. But how can she escape this man, her father?

Truly, one of the more disturbing books I’ve read in a while. Not exactly disturbing in a bad oh-my-God-this-book-is-horrifying! way, More...

0 comments like

Sep 11, 2008

Juushika rated it:

She was promised nine years of safety, but received only three: Meridith is fifteen, living with a mother who intentionally blinds herself to the truth, and her sexually abusive father is about to be released from jail. She must find a way to protect herself from her father—and protect the other children that he may abuse in her stead. Meridith's harrowing story is compulsively readable, but it's too short and the secondary characters and plotlines don't receive enough attention. Careful flashba More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2009

Laura rated it:

12-year-old Meredith's father is sent to prison for nine years for raping her repeatedly. But he's paroled in only three, when Meredith is 15, and, because Meredith's selfish, narcissistic mother wants her husband back, he sets about working his way back into Meredith's life and continuing where he left off.

Let's just get one thing out of the way: this book requires an enormous suspension of disbelief, at least if you have even the most tangential contact with the real justice system More...

6 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2008

Allanna rated it:

I almost didn't want to read this book. The premise is that Meredith, whose father was in prison for sexually abusing her (and others) is released early. And her mother wants (and gets permission) for him to move back in.

Meredith is still healing from her scars and knows that her father has not changed. And, to add to matters, her mother -- still giddy in love with him ... and in denial about the truth -- is working to have another child with him, a thought that tortures Meredith (who More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 25, 2007

Patrick rated it:

I'll start by saying that I was struck by the similarities between this novel and my spring 2007 book Chasing Tail Lights). The journey, the choices, the use of flashbacks, and the two main characters making similar cold blooded and calculated decisions on avenging their abuse. Yet, I was most struck by the middle section of this novel where Mer talks about what is supposed to happen to "girls like me" who have been abused. The book is loaded with creepy moments (the father touching More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jul 07, 2007

Erin rated it:

Meredith was promised 9 years with her father behind bars - by the time he got out, she'd be eighteen and free to leave him behind. Unfortunately, three years have passed, and he's about to get out.

Meredith's father was convicted of molesting her, as well as other children in their small town. Because she told, and because she testified, her mother has made her feel guilty for the past three years. And she has no idea what is going to happen now that her father is coming back.
More...

0 comments like

Mar 31, 2009

Adriana rated it:

This story revolves around Meredith, a 15 year old whose father sexually abused her and has just been released early after serving only 3 years of his 9 year sentence. Her mother turns the other way and is in major denial over the whole thing, and Meredith feels like she has to deal with it mainly on her own. However, she does have allies in her condo community, like her retired cop neighbor, her wheelchair bound boyfriend and his mother, and her grandmother (who happens to be the mayor). She More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2009

Terry rated it:

The wilted flower on the black-field cover is brilliantly honest packaging. In stories of incest, there is such a thin space between exploitation and maudlin that few books negotiate the hazards. “Such a Pretty Girl” expertly brings readers into that thin, claustrophobic space and holds them there. The pacing is solid, Meredith is all-too believable, and her mother is tragically realistic. Oh, and the Dad is dispicable.

Other reviewers have done an excellent job delineating streng More...

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Jun 13, 2010

BookWhisperer rated it:

Very heartwrenching and disturbing book portraying one of the true evils lurking in today's world. Meredith is a true survivor, and although fictional a great example for all of the victims. [return][return]Meredith is 15 years old, and trying to recover and move on after testify againist her own father for molestation. Only they told her she would have nine years, and today she just recieved the call that he is being release six years early.[return][return]While this is a quick read, it contain More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 13, 2009

Barky rated it:

Meredith, age fourteen, learns that her father has been released from jail – several years early. Her mom is ecstatic (and in serious denial), but Meredith is sick to her stomach. Her father went to jail three years ago for sexually abusing her and several other children in town. She thought she would be safe from him, and then safely away from him (she’d be eighteen by the time he was supposed to have been released), before this happened. Not only is he getting out, but he’s also going to b More...

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Dec 08, 2008

Erica rated it:

Ok, prepare yourself before you read this heart-wrenching tale of incest and child molestation. It was recommended to me by Kelsie and at times I wanted to kill her for having me read it. It is just so sad. The story centers on Meredith, a 15 year old girl whose father, after having been convicted as a child rapist, is being released from prison after 3 years. Her mother is no help to the situation and is in fact a frustrating instigator of further difficulties. The book deals with Meredith’s More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Cornesha rated it:

Warning: Plot Spoilers and Discussion Follow Below

Setting: there at Meredith’s house most of the time, and then Meredith is sometimes at her friend Andy’s house

Protagonist: The good person in my book such a pretty girl is Meredith and her friend Andy , they are the good people an my book because when Meredith was just a little girl her own father rape her and was supposed to get nine years in prison but instead of getting all of the nine years he only had to do three of t More...

0 comments like

Dec 31, 2011

Lauren rated it:

if Living Dead Girl had a happy ending, it would be this book.

you know, as happy as a book about sexual abuse can be.

sexual abuse is not an easy subject to write about, nor is it easy easy to read about. it's compounded when the abuse is perpetrated by a parent of the victim, as it is here.

i feel weird reading these novels - i understand that the point of literature isn't always to be easy, breezy, and readily digestible. heck, it doesn't even have to be enjo More...

0 comments like

Sep 26, 2011

Jenni rated it:

I loved Such a Pretty Girl with the same deeply personal portion of me that felt M. Night Shyamalan's Signs was an awesome movie.

My favorite passage is as follows:

"...I know how bad the odds are for girls like me.

We wait to be rescued, but for whatever reason, no one comes. We figure that if no one protects us then we must not be worth protecting so we become prey and are easily picked off. Our wounded, kicked-puppy gazes attract sly predators and we sell our More...

0 comments like

Sep 11, 2011

Bhagirathy rated it:

In Such A Pretty Girl, Laura Wiess grabbed and held my attention from the first page to the last. New Jersey teenager Meredith was supposed to have nine years of safety from her father, so she'd be eighteen and out of the house when he was released from prison, but three years later, when Meredith is fifteen, her father gets out for good behavior. No matter what he did to Meredith and to other children before, Meredith's mother is more than ready to take him back.

Meredith isn't alone, More...

0 comments like

Apr 15, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Meredith's father was sent to jail for molesting her and several other children in their town. Although he was supposed to serve a nine year sentence, he is released on parole after only three years. Meredith thought she would be safe from her abuser until at least the age of eighteen, but her mother welcomes her father back with open arms, saying she wants them to be a family again. What options are there for 15-year-old girl when she is forced to allow the man who raped her back into her life More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 07, 2011

Katyh rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 05, 2010

JoYee rated it:

I grabbed this book off the shelves because i thought it was Living Dead Girl which i have read, which actually got me to join goodreads.com in the first place. Anyway, i picked it up, and immediately i thought, "child molestation". And i was (sadly) right. The book cover screamed volumes on the content, considering what i've read from Living Dead Girl and just the phrase, i knew what it was.

Whilst that's the case, i couldn't put the book down, i know it is no use trying to h More...

0 comments like

Aug 12, 2010

Judy rated it:

Meredith is a 15 year old girl who spent 3 years without her father's sexual abuse. Now, her father has just been released from prison, and Meredith's life is once again in turmoil.

I was engaged by Wiess' writing style and I enjoyed getting inside Meredith's head. I thought she was mature for her age because of all that she has been through, and I liked the characterization of her spiraling out of control. Her mother was someone I despised and the way she fought with her daughter fo More...

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May 07, 2010

Angie rated it:

SUCH A PRETTY GIRL has only been out for three and a half years now, but I kind of get the impression that--similar to Julia Hoban's Willow--it hasn't reached the wider audience it deserves as a result of its somewhat disturbing subject matter. I know I held off picking it up for awhile. Well, make that several days. I would have gone longer, I'm sure, but I read two absolutely stellar reviews of it and wanted to try it so bad. However, I have a very hard time reading stories about child abuse. More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2009

Kari rated it:

Okay bear with me on this one because I have a lot to say despite how short this book was. It is powerful, emotional, and gripping. This is, of course, I very rough subject but Wiess broached it beautifully. The premise is something that occurs entirely too often and as they say in the book- a child molester is still a human and therefore still has rights under our laws despite how repulsive it is.

The plot: Incredibly hard to read. This book is a very, very fast read and while More...

0 comments like

Oct 05, 2009

Jeni rated it:

I read this book in about 3 hours. It's a small book and the story takes place over about 4 days, so it makes sense that I could get through it quickly.

There are some books that I read that I don't feel strongly about-one way or the other. Such a pretty girl by Laura Wiess was one of those books. It's not a bad book. It's well written. The story is compelling. Unfortunately, for Wiess, the characters on SVU are more developed and sympathetic. Well, it's not that Meredith isn't sympat More...

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Jun 12, 2009

Suki added it

This book is about a girl named Meredith who is nine years old and has a very abusing father. Her father at this time is in jail because of all the bad things he has done and it scares Meredith. Her father has abused her and other children and also harassed them as well in the town. One day, her father is released from prison and this is when Meredith is scared because she doesn't know what she should do when her father comes back home after abusing her. She thinks to herself and wonders if More...

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May 01, 2009

Sarah rated it:

This book is raw and painful, and although it hurt to read it, I couldn't put it down. After being sent to prison for raping his 12-year-old daughter Meredith and other children, Meredith's father is released. She was promised a sentence of nine years but he's home in three and back to the same abuse. Meredith, is now fifteen and she's losing it.

The characters were all incredibly well-drawn, especially Meredith, but also the supporting characters. (I hate, hate, hate Meredith's moth More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 29, 2011

Allyson rated it:

This was a very good story, although at times it was a little difficult to read because of the subject of the book. Meredith is a 15 year old year, who ever since she was a little girl was molested by her father. When she was 12 he was sent away to jail and was supposed to be there until she turned 18. Certain circumstances led to his release date being changed, and he got out early. Now Meredith is having to deal with the emotional pain of her father being released early and coming to live with More...

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Jul 09, 2010

bjneary rated it:

This book was so compelling, I couldn't put it down. Meredith is a teen who has been molested by her father while he has molested lots of other children, boys and girls alike. When her father gets a nine year sentence, Meredith feels safe even though she is a pariah in her town. Imagine her disgust and fear when he is released after only 3 years!!! And her mother can't wait to be one big happy family. Meredith has been spending time with Andy, a teen who is now paralyzed but was once one of More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)