Book: Such A Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

Rating: 5 Stars

Release Date: January 2, 2007

Summary:
They promised Meredith nine years of safety, but only gave her three.

Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had time to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison.

Today her time has run out.

Overall:
Meredith thought she had time: time to be free, time to grow, time to love. Then she found out that her father was coming home. After three years of freedom and safety, her time is up. Now she will be forced to face her worst nightmare all over again.

Meredith’s father was put in jail for sexually assaulting her and four other kids. She thought that her testimony would be enough to put him away until she was old enough to get away. Instead, the courts decide to let him out early, on parole. What they don’t know is that that isn’t nearly enough to stop him from going back to his old ways.

Meredith does everything she can to keep him away from her but nothing works. Her mom doesn’t care and she is running out of time before it will be just him and her. Her mom will have to return to work soon and then they will be alone. It’s just like before, almost. What her father doesn’t know is that this time Meredith has friends. She has people to talk to and places to hide. But will that be enough to save her and if it is, will he just pick a new victim?

The only word I can think of to describe this book is fantastic. Laura Wiess addresses such a hard topic but she does it with compassion and amazing skill. I read the whole book in two sittings. It was such a hard book to put down.

I have to say, though, this may not be a book for everyone. It addresses topiocs such as incest, pedophilia, and molestation. It was kind of hard for me to get into in the beginning just because I knew it would be a sad story. Even knowing this made it better. I kept turning the pages because I just had to know what happened with Meredith and her dad.

Such A Pretty Girl is a realistic, gripping story about finding the strength in yourself to face your fears, not just for yourself but for everybody else who has to go through the same or similar things every day of their lives. If you have’nt already read it, I highly recommend it.

Such A Pretty Girl can be ordered here.

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