Such a Pretty Girl in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 17, 2012 Kimberly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library-books-read-2013, 2013-bookshelf, ya

After having this book on my tbr pile for a whole year I finally got a chance to read it and I'm really glad I did. This book can be a difficult read because it deals with a difficult subject. Meredith, the heroine of the novel is faced with the horrors of having her sexually abusive father back in the picture 3 years after he was sent to prison. The legal system failed Meredith once and now she, not the people who are supposed to protect the victims must face her new reality with more courage t After having this book on my tbr pile for a whole year I finally got a chance to read it and I'm really glad I did. This book can be a difficult read because it deals with a difficult subject. Meredith, the heroine of the novel is faced with the horrors of having her sexually abusive father back in the picture 3 years after he was sent to prison. The legal system failed Meredith once and now she, not the people who are supposed to protect the victims must face her new reality with more courage than you can imagine.

I absolutely loved Such a Pretty Girl. It's a great book about an ugly subject but the author handled the subject matter with a lot of grace. Not many authors will touch this subject and even fewer who do it properly but Laura Wiess is one of those who was able to tell her story remarkably well.

While Such a Pretty Girl is a very short read at only 212 pages it certainly packs an emotional punch. I found myself cheering Meredith on through out the whole novel and was happy with the outcome at the end but I also found myself in somewhat of a murderous rage when it came to her parents. It's not every day that I actually find a character let alone two that I would mind putting in a tiger's pen and hoping for the worst. Harsh? Maybe. But completely deserved. Meredith's idiot of a mother failed her even more than her abusive father did. She turned a blind eye to Meredith's horrors for years and she should be in jail just as much as her husband.

However, Meredith does have a small cluster of people around her that do love, support, cherish and are willing to protect her but they all have their own lives as well so I could understand much of Meredith's frustrations in the book of feeling alone.

I thought that the story line of Such a Pretty Girl was perfectly paced and I'm glad it wasn't overly long. 212 pages was the perfect length for this story and I'm afraid that if it were longer it wouldn't have packed as much punch as it did. The characters were though provoking albeit sometimes I had violent thoughts towards some but other I loved.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy contemporary young adult fiction especially novels that deal with the darker subjects. It's one that will make you feel a bevy of different emotions and send you on a roller coaster ride you won't forget. Laura Wiess should be applauded for handling this subject the way she did and I can't wait to read more of her novels. ...more

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Jul 31, 2010 Ruth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya-read, favorites

From the first page of "Such A Pretty Girl", I was hooked. Meredith is a true heroine along with an ecentric set of neighbors. A deeply moving debut that you'll never forget. ...more

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