Girl A by Abigail Dean is a psychological drama that’s been likened to hit novels like Room and Sharp Objects.
It follows a group of children, mainly the oldest girl (labeled Girl A), during and after their severe neglect and abuse at the hands of their parents. From the beginning of this story, we know that they eventually escaped, and were each adopted by different families. Their experience was named the ‘House of Horrors’, a crime story that’s well known and followed by the media.
*I received this book for free from the publisher (Viking Books) in exchange for an honest review.
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Girl A by Abigail Dean: My Thoughts
Girl A is a fascinating character study on childhood trauma and its lingering effects. There’s not a ton of pulse-pounding action (it’s more a drama than a thriller), but that isn’t a bad thing! I was entranced by this beautifully written and haunting, yet hopeful, story.
It switches back and forth in time a lot, which was a bit confusing at first. At times, it would be hard to place if we were in the past or present from one paragraph to the next. But the changes in time got clearer as the story progressed.
I loved the structure, how each character is introduced in a new chapter as you go along, and it somehow all ties together into an overarching story – including the past and present.
Overall, this is an impeccably written, gripping story that will stay with you long after you read it. Highly recommended!
Rating: 5 (out of 5) stars
Release date: February 2nd, 2021
Looking for more great book recommendations? Check out my list of exciting New Book Releases in February 2021!
