Sixteen-year-old Tracey Burns has been confined to a single room for two years. One night, amid chaotic spring winds, she slips to freedom and inad...
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Jun 19, 2011
Eva
rated it: 
Five stars all the way!! I have been so lucky with my FirstReads wins and am so thankful to GoodReads for bringing these books to me. I've won quite a few books so far and have only not liked one. Out of the others I've loved almost every single other one.
Birthday Girl is FANTASTIC! Tracey Burns is an intricate character, even though it seems at times like she's quite simple. There aren't many authors that I've seen that could have pulled Tracey off like Diane J. Wright did. For Tracey to More...
Birthday Girl is FANTASTIC! Tracey Burns is an intricate character, even though it seems at times like she's quite simple. There aren't many authors that I've seen that could have pulled Tracey off like Diane J. Wright did. For Tracey to More...
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Jun 17, 2010
Dawn
rated it:
I received Birthday Girl from a Goodreads giveaway and really enjoyed it.
I had a hard time understanding how Tracey could still be so naive after all that she had been through, but reminded myself Birthday Girl is a novel, not a memoir. Also, the seclusion she endured could have put her a little behind in her emotional development. The third-person narration threw me off a little bit at first, but it was very easy to get used to. Plus, I think it drove home the point that Tracey More...
I had a hard time understanding how Tracey could still be so naive after all that she had been through, but reminded myself Birthday Girl is a novel, not a memoir. Also, the seclusion she endured could have put her a little behind in her emotional development. The third-person narration threw me off a little bit at first, but it was very easy to get used to. Plus, I think it drove home the point that Tracey More...
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Feb 21, 2010
Tayyaba♥♫
rated it: 
i won this book in a first reads giveaway.
You're introduced to a sixteen year old girl, Tracey in the beginning who is running away from her fathers home, who by the way has had her locked away in a single room for two years (who would ever in their right mind do that to their daughter).
Tracey is taken to social services when she runs away and then is taken to a foster home which eventually burns down and then she's taken to another. This whole time she's begging for some More...
You're introduced to a sixteen year old girl, Tracey in the beginning who is running away from her fathers home, who by the way has had her locked away in a single room for two years (who would ever in their right mind do that to their daughter).
Tracey is taken to social services when she runs away and then is taken to a foster home which eventually burns down and then she's taken to another. This whole time she's begging for some More...
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Nov 04, 2010
Cathy
rated it:
I just got my book yesterday (I won it at the goodreads giveaway) and I'm extremely excited! I didn't believe it would really arrive here in Brazil, but it did!!! I started reading the moment I opened the package and it's really good so far.
---later---
I didn't think much of the book at first but now that I'm done I can say it surprised me , in a very good way. The way she tell's the story , first with Tracey narrating and then in the third person, was really unusual but it worked. The More...
---later---
I didn't think much of the book at first but now that I'm done I can say it surprised me , in a very good way. The way she tell's the story , first with Tracey narrating and then in the third person, was really unusual but it worked. The More...
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Mar 09, 2010
Erin
rated it:
3.75 Birthday Girl tells the story of Tracey Burns, who is abandoned by her mother as an adolescent and subsequently spends several years locked away in a single room in her father's home. The Tracey that we first meet in the novel is damaged, naive, and obsessed with finding her erstwhile mother. A disastrous road trip lands her in the middle of the desert, where she finds a supportive community of people who help her reach her full potential as a person.
The book feels a bit un More...
The book feels a bit un More...
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Jan 28, 2010
Kellyreaderofbooks
rated it: 
Birthday Girl tells the story of Tracey Burns, a teenager who has had a tough life, to say the least. Tracey has spent the last year or two (more about that later) locked in a room in her father's home. Her one big wish is to find the mother who left her there when she was a bit younger. Instead, she's put into foster care since no one can track Mom down.
I had some issues with this book. Most notably, with the time frames. It's not clear how many years Tracey even spends locked up: More...
I had some issues with this book. Most notably, with the time frames. It's not clear how many years Tracey even spends locked up: More...
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Mar 19, 2010
Jenni
rated it:
I received an e-book edition of this book from the publisher after not winning a first reads giveaway. I am very glad I have gotten to read this book!
Tracey is a neglected and abused teenager who unfortunately, due to those experiences is extremely naive and doesn't really know much about the "real world". When she runs away from her father's house in the beginning she is getting herself into a new life which ends in great emotional growth for her. She hits a lot of pot holes al More...
Tracey is a neglected and abused teenager who unfortunately, due to those experiences is extremely naive and doesn't really know much about the "real world". When she runs away from her father's house in the beginning she is getting herself into a new life which ends in great emotional growth for her. She hits a lot of pot holes al More...
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Oct 25, 2010
Judy
rated it: 
Read it on my Kindle -- about a girl "abandoned" by her mother and the various people she is with -- her waiting for her mother to return to take her home to Juneau -- her mother seems to be a real "loser" but in the meantime, Tracey meets some lovely people who become her real family. Not great, but not "bad."
Jan 23, 2010
Susan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 26, 2010
Kathryn
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When we first meet sixteen-year-old Tracey she is running away from her father’s house, where she has been held captive for two years. She doesn’t really understand why she is running or where she’s going.
As the story goes on we learn more about how Tracey was held captive. Her mother, Adele, had left her at Roy’s house and told her to be good until she came back to pick her up. But Adele never came back. Even though Adele abandoned her, Tracey doesn’t want to believe that her mothe More...
As the story goes on we learn more about how Tracey was held captive. Her mother, Adele, had left her at Roy’s house and told her to be good until she came back to pick her up. But Adele never came back. Even though Adele abandoned her, Tracey doesn’t want to believe that her mothe More...
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Jan 22, 2010
Melissa
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 06, 2010
Melissa
rated it:
Got this one from a Goodreads Giveaway e-edition. I will let you know how it turns out.
I enjoyed Birthday Girl. The storyline takes us from a scared fourteen year old girl to an eighteen year old that is learning to trust people. At times I was a bit confused with the timeline of the story. Some of the story is told in flashbacks so the timeline comes together as the story is told. I loved the characters but felt the story could have been fleshed out a bit more. There were a lot of More...
I enjoyed Birthday Girl. The storyline takes us from a scared fourteen year old girl to an eighteen year old that is learning to trust people. At times I was a bit confused with the timeline of the story. Some of the story is told in flashbacks so the timeline comes together as the story is told. I loved the characters but felt the story could have been fleshed out a bit more. There were a lot of More...
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Feb 04, 2010
Beth
rated it:
I won this book in a First Reads giveaway. It was beautifully packaged and included a bookmark and an e-book. I did enjoy it but there were a few things that made the book difficult to read. The first were the grammatical and spelling errors that were prevalent throughout the book. At first, I attributed this to the book being an ARC but I realized it was published in 2008 so I don't know why the editing was so remiss. The other thing is the style of conversation used by the main character. The
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Jul 10, 2011
Trina
rated it:
I won this through giveaway.
I kept finding myself wanting to speak up and fight for Tracey Burns, the main character. It seemed like she couldn't get a break no matter what happened. Just when things started to look a little better for her, an innocent mishap throws her right back into a bad situation.
She was so naive and trusted everyone which didn't help her situation. I wanted her to yell & scream and stand up for herself, but she handled things inside of herself.
More...
I kept finding myself wanting to speak up and fight for Tracey Burns, the main character. It seemed like she couldn't get a break no matter what happened. Just when things started to look a little better for her, an innocent mishap throws her right back into a bad situation.
She was so naive and trusted everyone which didn't help her situation. I wanted her to yell & scream and stand up for herself, but she handled things inside of herself.
More...
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Feb 18, 2010
Nicole
rated it:
My first opinion of this book is: how did this get through an editor's review and published? I have never read a book with so many mistakes! It would be one thing if it were part of the dialect, but the error were mostly in the narration.
The biggest reason that this book is rated a 2 star and not 3 for me, is because of the errors throughout this book. I really don't feel like a reader should have to read entire paragraphs 4-5 times before understanding. There were actually times th More...
The biggest reason that this book is rated a 2 star and not 3 for me, is because of the errors throughout this book. I really don't feel like a reader should have to read entire paragraphs 4-5 times before understanding. There were actually times th More...
Mar 01, 2010
Sharon
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 28, 2010
Megan
rated it:
I read this book on my Kindle and obtained a free copy of it from Seedpod Publishing. Thanks Seedpod!
Honestly, I really wanted to enjoy the book more than I actually did. This is the story of a sixteen-year-old girl, Tracey, who was neglected and essentially unwanted by her mother. Her mother, Adele, was a talker who could con her way into, or out of, any situation. She got Tracey's hopes up, then left Tracey in a home where the caregivers kept her in a single room for two years. More...
Honestly, I really wanted to enjoy the book more than I actually did. This is the story of a sixteen-year-old girl, Tracey, who was neglected and essentially unwanted by her mother. Her mother, Adele, was a talker who could con her way into, or out of, any situation. She got Tracey's hopes up, then left Tracey in a home where the caregivers kept her in a single room for two years. More...
May 26, 2010
Lizzy
rated it:
I won this book from a First Reads giveaway. The story is told from the point of view of a teenage girl who is basically abandoned by her mother when she is fourteen or fifteen and left with her father, whose crazy girlfriend locks her in a room for two years until she manages to escape. After she escapes, her main goal is to find her mother and return to Juneau, where they lived with her grandmother (she deludes herself into thinking her mom always meant to come back for her and was kept away f
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May 22, 2010
JC
rated it:
I got this as a free ebook after not winning the giveaway. First thoughts on the book are that it is pretty depressing. Most of the book follows a teenager, Tracey, as she tries to find her mother. This was certainly a depressing search. So many bad things happen to Tracey and it just feels like she can't break it at first. The book focuses on her birthdays (16th, 17th, 18th).
There are several problems with this book. First off, the narration jumps all over the place. Since it is foc More...
There are several problems with this book. First off, the narration jumps all over the place. Since it is foc More...
Feb 21, 2010
Leigh
rated it:
I received a free download of an ebook version of this novel from the publisher, after not having won the GoodReads giveaway. I loved the main character. I thought she was very sympathetic, and though the book was somewhat predictable, she was easy to root for. I did, however, hesitate when giving this book four stars. It was littered with typos, something that always ruins the momentum for me. In the end, the characters won out over my inner grammarian. =)
Mar 19, 2010
I'd like to thank the author, Diane Wright, for giving me a free e-book copy of Birthday Girl. It was a wonderful read that really touched home for me. I have worked with children in just this type of situation, which I won't go into because I want you all to go out and buy it, and even though it's a difficult read at times, due to the situations, it's a fast paced, root-for-the-character type of book. Actually I read it out loud to my hubby and he also enjoyed it, and he rarely likes much besid
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Jan 30, 2010
UKDana
rated it: 
Tracey is abandon by her mother at the age of fourteen. She is left with her father and his girlfriend and they force her to live in one room for 2 years until she escapes. As a result of this she rarely speaks and shows virtually no emotions. I simply felt no attachment to the character and couldn't get beyond page 100.
Nov 13, 2010
Battyjac
rated it:
I really got engrossed in this book. I couldn't put it down. The story pulls you in and you become very involved with the main character. The writing bothered me at times. It needs better editing but the story is definitely worth reading.
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Feb 14, 2010
Mary
rated it:
I couldn't get into this book no matter how hard I tried. I found I had little sympathy or liking or caring about Tracey. I persevered but to no avail.
Feb 25, 2010
Tiffany
rated it:
The plot of this book was amazing and well thought out. I never knew what was going to happen to this girl next.
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Feb 13, 2010
Brent
rated it:
i got this book in the goodreads book giveaway.
i liked this book. even though tracey was a bit strange at times, i feel that every other character was really well developped, which made up for tracey being a bit too naive.
characters i didnt like: sanjeev and adele
both of them got on my nerves.
i liked this book. even though tracey was a bit strange at times, i feel that every other character was really well developped, which made up for tracey being a bit too naive.
characters i didnt like: sanjeev and adele
both of them got on my nerves.
Jan 23, 2010
Just received this book as a goodreads giveaway. Looking forward to reading it. The story sounds intriguing.
Mar 20, 2010
Kathleen
rated it:
I went back and forth on whether I liked this book. At the beginning of the book, I really found it hard to get into and thought the main character was not really developed well. And really even having finished the book I still don't really feel like I know much about the main character Tracy Burns. That said, about half way through the book I really got drawn into the story. I couldn't help feeling at times like I was watching a movie so I wasn't surprised to find out that the author is a s
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Oct 02, 2009
Tara
rated it:
I kept trying to guess where this story was going, but I was usually wrong.
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Mar 01, 2010
Beth
rated it:
If I hadn't received the ebook for free through First Reads, I probably would have given up very early on. The plot is slow-moving and uninteresting. It was easy to feel for Tracey after all that she goes through, but otherwise the story is unengaging.
