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The Girl in Between
by
I know the mill has a story cos there’s something strange going on. I heard something. I’ve decided that I’m going to find out what it is later today when Ma leaves. Cos even if it is scary, we live here and we’re never leaving. So if there’s something going on, I need to know.
In an old, abandoned mill in the heart of Dublin, Sam and her ma take shelter from their memorie ...more
In an old, abandoned mill in the heart of Dublin, Sam and her ma take shelter from their memorie ...more
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Paperback, 239 pages
Published
May 4th 2017
by Simon & Schuster Children's UK
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Community Reviews
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Start your review of The Girl in Between

Actual rating: 2.5*'s.
I'm incredibly mixed in my rating...
This book is confusing to say the least - I have to say that even after finishing it I'm still extremely perplexed and confused as to what actually happened. I understand the "twist" and all, but before that I'm not exactly sure. I don't understand. I think, honestly, this book is a big question mark for me wherein it'll take a while for it to sink in and for me to genuinely soak it all up.
Despite my confusion at the plot, I did enjoy th ...more
I'm incredibly mixed in my rating...
This book is confusing to say the least - I have to say that even after finishing it I'm still extremely perplexed and confused as to what actually happened. I understand the "twist" and all, but before that I'm not exactly sure. I don't understand. I think, honestly, this book is a big question mark for me wherein it'll take a while for it to sink in and for me to genuinely soak it all up.
Despite my confusion at the plot, I did enjoy th ...more

Life is good when the girl lives with her grandmother, but Ma wants them to move out. They don't have any money and they have nowhere to go. The girl and her mother end up on the streets until they move into an old mill they call The Castle. Ma forgets to feed the girl, she takes her daughter to scary places she doesn't want to be and the girl doesn't go to school. Ma has told the girl to stay away from the Authorities, they're after her and want to take her with them, while leaving Ma behind. E
...more

3.5 stars.
Wow. That ending was not what I expected at all. This story started off slow, but once I got about halfway things started picking up. I had no idea I would be so surprised with the ending. I was a little confused as to what was going on throughout, but the conclusion clears up all that confusion. All I have to say is don't let the slow start put you off from finishing this book. The ending makes this book worth reading from beginning to end. ...more
Wow. That ending was not what I expected at all. This story started off slow, but once I got about halfway things started picking up. I had no idea I would be so surprised with the ending. I was a little confused as to what was going on throughout, but the conclusion clears up all that confusion. All I have to say is don't let the slow start put you off from finishing this book. The ending makes this book worth reading from beginning to end. ...more

It didn't take me long to read this. I loved it! In the beginning it was slow but once it picked up I couldn't put it down. The ending was little disturbing and not what i expected!
...more

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

Thanks to the #kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.
The main draws into this book are definitely going to be the characters and the story. The main character, the girl mentioned in the title, drew me in from the start. She had an innocence about her, a precociousness that comes with childhood, but also an underlying sense of understanding and that innate self-preservation that comes with a difficult life.
And then there’s the story. Told from the girl ...more
The main draws into this book are definitely going to be the characters and the story. The main character, the girl mentioned in the title, drew me in from the start. She had an innocence about her, a precociousness that comes with childhood, but also an underlying sense of understanding and that innate self-preservation that comes with a difficult life.
And then there’s the story. Told from the girl ...more

This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
I received an ecopy of this book via First To Read
ACTUAL RATING: 3.5 Stars. Aka: My I Don't Know How To Feel About This Rating
MY THOUGHTS
This was a very interesting read and even now, weeks after finishing it, I am finding a hard time collecting my thoughts.
The book centers around a young girl and her mother, who are homeless. They live within an abandoned mill which the girl sees as her own castle. She explores the Castle, building h ...more
I received an ecopy of this book via First To Read
ACTUAL RATING: 3.5 Stars. Aka: My I Don't Know How To Feel About This Rating
MY THOUGHTS
This was a very interesting read and even now, weeks after finishing it, I am finding a hard time collecting my thoughts.
The book centers around a young girl and her mother, who are homeless. They live within an abandoned mill which the girl sees as her own castle. She explores the Castle, building h ...more

I'll be honest with you. I'm confused as heck about the ending of this book.
(view spoiler)
I don't know. I just know that I liked it until I got confused. xD
I love the author's style of writing, and even though there isn't much plot to the book, I found myself drawn in completely by the characters and the story that was being told t ...more
(view spoiler)
I don't know. I just know that I liked it until I got confused. xD
I love the author's style of writing, and even though there isn't much plot to the book, I found myself drawn in completely by the characters and the story that was being told t ...more

Jul 21, 2017
Yolanda Sfetsos
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
ya-contemporary,
mystery
I borrowed this book from the library because the blurb sounded intriguing, the cover is amazing (not this one, the other one) and it was added on a YA must-read list. :)
Sam and Ma live in an abandoned mill in the city. Their home is old, boarded up, the floorboards are in bad shape and the old machinery is mostly still there. Sam doesn't care about that because this is their Castle, and they live a somewhat comfortable life. But the best thing is that Sam feels safe, because as long as she stay ...more
Sam and Ma live in an abandoned mill in the city. Their home is old, boarded up, the floorboards are in bad shape and the old machinery is mostly still there. Sam doesn't care about that because this is their Castle, and they live a somewhat comfortable life. But the best thing is that Sam feels safe, because as long as she stay ...more

Ok this book was alright and yes I enjoyed it, however the ending really blew me away. I had to really think about ending and clear past the confusion (and I'm still a bit confused because I have different interpretations on what it really means) but the ending was still really powerful and left me in awe.
...more

I enjoyed most of this and it was an interesting look at poverty, homelessness, and addiction. I really liked how it was written (and it's a quick and easy read), but honestly the twist at the end ruined it a bit for me.
...more

A beautifully crafted, haunting story full of heartbreak.

Life is good when the girl lives with her grandmother, but Ma wants them to move out. They don't have any money and they have nowhere to go. The girl and her mother end up on the streets until they move into an old mill they call The Castle. Ma forgets to feed the girl, she takes her daughter to scary places she doesn't want to be and the girl doesn't go to school. Ma has told the girl to stay away from the Authorities, they're after her and want to take her with them, while leaving Ma behind. E
...more

Homes offer a sense of identity, particularly for those in their formative years. Sarah Carroll's The Girl In Between depicts life on the street and on the move for a young girl and her mother from the eyes of the young girl.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Within the walls of her Castle, a young girl can dream of the fairy tale life she wants instead of the harsh reality of homelessness she faces every day. While she has free reign ...more
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Within the walls of her Castle, a young girl can dream of the fairy tale life she wants instead of the harsh reality of homelessness she faces every day. While she has free reign ...more

May 16, 2017
Marla
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
penguin-first-to-read,
first-reads
This book is sad in so many different ways. It shines a spotlight on addiction, parenting on the streets, the relationship between a mother and daughter and how drugs can make someone selfish. No child should live on the streets. I kind of suspected the ending but not until I had about 40 pages to read. Definitely recommend this book. It was such a good story.
I received a copy from Penguin Random House First To Read Program.
I received a copy from Penguin Random House First To Read Program.

No, just no. For some reason this is hard for me to put into words. I feel like this isn't true to life, something like this would probably not happen! And again, let's put this mother into the "worst mom" list.....just bad. This is one of those books that looked intriguing but was actually terrible. But this is just my opinion.
...more

Aug 03, 2017
Laura
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
old-reads,
mt-bookpile-2017
Homeless teens are a rarity in YA lit, which makes this story so important and yet it's presented almost as an adventure thus lessening any impact it may have had on readers. It's clear that Ma has problems, and that our unnamed main character is scared (and hungry) but beyond that? Perhaps this was better in outline than fleshed out.
...more

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

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

After slugging through some disappointing reads I am happy to finally find one that fills me with happiness as I am writing this review. This book was a slow burn read as you the narrator explains how she and her mother come to live on the streets, what they had to do to survive, all the way to the heart-wrenching reveal at the end. I loved the overall tone of this book. It's calming. It doesn't pull you into the story, more so, it holds your hand and gently leads you from one scene to the next.
...more

A girl and her alcoholic, mentally ill mother (ma) are homeless, living in an abandoned building that is going to be torn down. We don't know all that at first, though; we are slowly introduced to all this through the young girl whose name is never mentioned. We see the path that brought she and her mother to this place and the stress the young girl is under on a daily basis. Food, safety and shelter are all at risk here. The girl is constantly afraid of the Authorities, but she also sort of wis ...more

3.5/5
I was browsing my library app and this caught my eye, because it's set in modern day Dublin and the main characters are homeless.
"I had always seen people begging on the streets. The guy with the straggly beard who sat beneath the cash machine. The woman with the baby that never cried, begging outside the place where they sold theatre tickets. I just didn't know we were like them."
It's the story of a mother and daughter, both unnamed, told from the young daughter's point of view. The mothe ...more
I was browsing my library app and this caught my eye, because it's set in modern day Dublin and the main characters are homeless.
"I had always seen people begging on the streets. The guy with the straggly beard who sat beneath the cash machine. The woman with the baby that never cried, begging outside the place where they sold theatre tickets. I just didn't know we were like them."
It's the story of a mother and daughter, both unnamed, told from the young daughter's point of view. The mothe ...more

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

****I received a copy of this ARC as a part of Penguin's FirstToRead program in exchange for an honest review!****
So many emotions. I personally know people who are like Ma in this story and it tore me up so badly watching her continue to drink, make mistakes and put her daughter in danger repeatedly and the situation with the Monkey Man just made me so mad. She couldn't get her to stop, yet couldn't leave her either, because she's just a kid. I also appreciated the naiveté of the narration, bec ...more
So many emotions. I personally know people who are like Ma in this story and it tore me up so badly watching her continue to drink, make mistakes and put her daughter in danger repeatedly and the situation with the Monkey Man just made me so mad. She couldn't get her to stop, yet couldn't leave her either, because she's just a kid. I also appreciated the naiveté of the narration, bec ...more
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