SUCH A PRETTY GIRL by Laura Wiess – REVIEW January 3, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: love, religion, sexual abuse, young adult
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MTV Books (January 2007)
Meredith is fifteen and has already lived through nightmares worse than anything most people could even imagine. Her father sexually abused her and her mother didn’t do anything to stop it. Meredith wasn’t alone though; he abused several other young children, but it was Meredith being injured to the point of needing an emergency room visit and Meredith finally admitting to what was going on that put him in jail. Her father received nine years in prison – long enough for her to turn eighteen and move away on her own.
The only problem…the justice system doesn’t always work the way it is supposed to. Because of progress during therapy and good behavior, Meredith’s father is released just three years after his incarceration. Meredith is scared to death. Her only salvation is Andy, a young man with whom she has a strange connection. He makes her feel calm when nothing else can. Andy is fighting his own demons though and plans to leave for Iowa to see a victim soul – someone who takes on the pain and suffering of another. Andy is paralyzed and he and his mother put their faith in God to cure him. He is leaving just when Meredith needs him the most. Meredith will have to find strength in herself to overcome her newest nightmare.
SUCH A PRETTY GIRL is an intense and emotional novel. It will catch the reader’s attention quickly. However, there are a few details will cause the reader to question the plot. For instance, it just so happens that her father’s arresting officer is now retired and lives in the same condo complex as Meredith. Also, her father can’t live with Meredith and her mother right away, but he does buy a condo on the other side of the complex. All in all, SUCH A PRETTY GIRL is a book to read. If you’ve enjoyed Ellen Hopkins’ IDENTICAL or Elizabeth Scott’s LIVING DEAD GIRL you probably will enjoy SUCH A PRETTY GIRL.
Good to know this is worth the read, I had been interested in the plot but wondered what an MTV YA book would be like.
A victim soul? egads! This sounds extremely intense. and fascinating.
This was incredibly intense, gripping and extremely moving. Wiess does an amazing job at crafting a powerful story from a very delicate and upsetting topic. Loved this one.
[...] 1. SUCH A PRETTY GIRL by Laura Wiess (Jan. 1, 2009) 2. DEADLY LITTLE SECRETS by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Jan. 3, 2009) 3. BETWIXT by Tara Bray Smith (Jan. 8, 2009) 4. LORD OF MISRULE by Rachel Caine (Jan. 11, 2009) 5. KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO by Patrick Ness (Jan. 16, 2009) 6. EVERYTHING IS FINE by Ann Dee Ellis (Jan. 17, 2009) 7. CRACKED UP TO BE by Courtney Summers (Jan. 17, 2009) 8. BECAUSE I AM FURNITURE by Thalia Chaltas (Jan. 19, 2009) 9. THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan (Jan. 21, 2009) 10. THE RULE OF WON by Stefan Petrucha (Jan. 22, 2009) 11. LOOKS by Madeleine George (Jan. 25, 2009) 12. ACADEMY 7 by Anne Osterlund (Jan. 28, 2009) 13. VIBES by Amy Kathleen Ryan (Jan. 30, 2009) [...]
I wanna read this book so badly i have always had something with books that have such hardships and fears it always captures my interest.
This book is one of my absolute favourites! It’s among Before I Die by Jenny Downham, Let’s Get Lost by Sara Manning, and many more novels written by Joyce Carol Oates.
In my school, we have to do book talks, where a student chooses a book to share with the class. This is going to be my first one this year.
Such A Pretty Girl leaves you begging for more. I can’t believe Laura Wiess created such a dark, interesting, and not-so-vulnerable-now tough girl. Meredith is one of the fictional book heroines whom I look up to.