Review: Pretty Girl-13

Mar •  14 •  2013
Title: Pretty Girl-13

Series: Stand-Alone
Genre: Young Adult-Thriller
Author: Liz Coley
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: March 19, 2013
Book: ARC sent by publisher
Video Review: HERE

“Reminiscent of the Elizabeth Smart case, Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological mystery about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity.
Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Now she’s returned home…only to find that it’s three years later and she’s sixteen-or at least that’s what everyone tells her.
What happened to the past three years of her life?
Angie doesn’t know.
But there are people who do—people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren’t locked inside her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her personality, otherwise known as her “alters.” As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: When you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the parts of yourself that are responsible?
Liz Coley’s alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing-and ultimately empowering-page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.”

Let me take a minute to catch my breath and my mind. I love reading stories that are based on real facts, but this story is soo powerful it plagued me for days.
The plot of the book is so sad and hurtful that it fills me with anger. I had to set the book aside sometimes cause I found myself grinding my teeth or worse, raising my blood pressure. The plot is about a girl, Angie, who gets abducted at 13 years old and returns home a few years later. She doesn’t remember anything. But she knows that something horrible has happened to her. Through the help of her parents and a psychologist, Angie must search her enclosed mind and unlock what has happened to her. 
Watching or rather reading Angie unlock each part of her mind hurts. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I cringed, looked away or even find myself sooo freaking angry that I had to set the book down and walk away. I did come back to it, only cause I had hope in Angie that she will overcome this.
This is not a pretty story. Written beautifully that captures every single heartbreaking moment, Pretty Girl-13 fulfills every element. The unsettling of drama and darkness that follows Angie, this story will leave you changed. 
I give it 4 BITES!
Happy Reading!
Posted by on Mar 14, 2013 in 2013, Liz Coley, Review, Video Review, Young Adult | 3 comments

3 Comments

  1. Amy
    Mar 14, 2013

    I really liked this book too. It was so disturbing at times, but I was so hooked. I thought it was done really well. It could have been confusing, but it wasn’t at all. Great review!

  2. Maji Bookshelf
    Mar 14, 2013

    oh wow this sounds INTENSE, but I’m one who looks for that in books. I have a feeling I will like this very, very much. Great review!
    – Farah @ MajiBookshelf

  3. Melissa (Books and Things)
    Mar 14, 2013

    Oh I know books like that. You have to walk away or the book will go flying. I also have to remember not to get this in ebook form so I don’t end up chucking my ebook reader! LOL