I really enjoyed this story being told from both sisters perspectives. Jenny tells you her story leading up to her murder while Virginia tries to find out who her murderer was, while also coming to terms with her downward spiral in life, and finding out dark family secrets along the way.

I really liked Jenny and understood why she rebelled so much. I did feel that she seemed like she was wise beyond her years for thirteen, but otherwise she was extremely likable.

There were so many secrets- a broken family, creepy stalkers, broken friendships, and new friendships that kept you guessing til the very end who the murderer was.

Thank you @netgalley @duttonsbooks @randomhouse for an ARC for my honest review. This one was 4 🌟 for me.

This book was captivating and engrossing so i was able to read it quickly. I also wanted answers for the story line so I couldn’t put this book down. I thought it was very strong debut novel and enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Sisters, even half sisters, share a bond that can be stretched thin but not broken. Her sister the beauty queen has been murdered and she doesn't trust anyone else to figure out who and why. The story line doesn't sound original but Amy K Green has definitely given an original twist to the basic story that surprises readers when the clues lead down paths that seem to pop up out of nowhere. The Prized Girl is certainly a much better book than I expected. My friends are going to love this one!

Very twisty page turner! This book was an attention grabber right from the start, the only thing that left me wanting more was some of the dialog of the main characters. I wanted to know more into their minds and what they were thinking vs the somewhat predictable actions they were taking. That is the only reason I gave this book 4 stars. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a good read!

First BIG HUGE thank you to Dutton for this copy!!

So I this is "INSTRGRAM" Made me read it book. It was all over my feed so I read it and WOW! This book is going to be one I recommend to all. The twist left me speechless. If you love whodunit books this is the one to add to your list. I would love to say more but don't want to give anything away. Im totally going to have huge book hangover.

Scheduled to post 2/15/20.

So, okay. I liked the development and progression of Jenny's story. That was the most compelling part of THE PRIZED GIRL. I thought that was really well done and I like how it was interspersed with Virginia's unfolding of the plot on the current timeline. This is the part that kept me reading.

The thing is there are fundamental issues with the rest of the book that are keeping me from calling this a good thriller: the investigation by the police and FBI and Virginia.

First the law enforcement. Thing is their gross incompetence is used as a plot device for Virginia to solve the crime. Like basic crime scene investigation stuff is ignored right off the bat. Who's Gil? Well a basic sweep of Benjy's apartment would have turned up a shoebox full of Gil and would have pointed everyone right to him. Did no one search his apartment? There's so much build-up for Gil that once that's actually revealed somewhere in the middle of the book I look at it going . . . guys . . . you should have known about him immediately. Benjy was trading letters and photos of little girls with him. This should have been evidence marker #1.

And what rubbed salt in the wound was the book started to get self-aware toward the end, with Virginia asking herself whether the FBI guy there whose name escapes me at the moment got one lucky break in his career and got bumped up too soon and is he actually incompetent. No. You don't get that cheap out. Even if he was, the entire local police force would fall into that incompetence bucket, not just the FBI guy. It was such a huge plot device that I couldn't get over it.

And then Virginia. She's . . . kind of a shitty person . . .? I'm not sure how I'm actually supposed to feel about that ending, but I don't like her as a person because of it. I don't want to get too deep into the spoiler weeds here, but sexual assault victimhood is used as a solidarity moment to excuse the death of a child because Virginia didn't much like her sister anyway. And again, the book's self-aware because Virginia is very plain that she's not a good sister. But what kind of response is that supposed to illicit in me? Am I supposed to agree with her? Excuse her actions? Like, I really wasn't leaning one way or another on Virginia until the very end and then I was like ew. You're a bad person. And it made me not like the book because of how it was wrapped up.

Ultimately Jenny's portion of the story is the best. It's the most compelling, she's a sympathetic, relatable character who draws you in. Everything else, it's either a grossly self-serving plot or filled with heinously unlikeable characters. I was not impressed with THE PRIZED GIRL.

2.5

Very impressive debut novel from Amy K Green. A pageant queen is murdered. Now, in modern day, we see Virginia's story. Virginia is the half-sister of the murdered queen. She's estranged from the family but now, she wants to know what happened to Jenny.

This story is engrossing and I read quickly because I wanted to know the truth as well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Prized Girl by Amy K Green is a story about a teen named Jenny who is found murdered in a small New England town. Her half-sister, Virginia, decides to investigate. She isn’t satisfied the man the police fingered is really the murderer and she is determined to get to the bottom of things. This book had alternating chapters from before 14 year old Jenny’s death and then after. It was confusing and irritating at times. The story was well written but the family was a nasty lot. There were many twists and turns and the killer was a surprise.

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Title: The Prized Girl
Author: Amy K. Green
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5

Virginia lives on sarcasm and depression, with a side helping of torture in the form of weekly dinners with her distant father, overly controlling and needy stepmother, and her annoying younger half-sister, Jenny.

But when pageant queen Jenny is found murdered, Virginia decides the cut-and-dried answer of who killed her—the cops say it’s the most obvious suspect, an obsessive fan—might not be the truth, and decides to investigate herself. So Virginia starts asking questions. And the answers she finds lead her both back to her own path and down a path that is far more twisted than she imagined.

I finished reading this just to find out who killed Jenny. But…I didn’t like any of these characters. Virginia has issues-with-a-capital-I, and these issues get in the way of life for her, much less seeing the truth of any situation involving a figure from her past. Her Dad is a jerk, and his secret doesn’t make his treatment of his family okay. Her stepmother was horrible. Even the scenes from Jenny’s viewpoint didn’t make me like her. Did I figure out who the killer was? No. Did I have any liking for any of these characters, also no. The writing was solid, but the characters made me dislike the whole story.

Amy K. Green lives in California. The Prized Girl is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin/Dutton in exchange for an honest review.)

I have reviewed this book on the New York Journal of Books site.

"The Prized Girl" by Amy K. Green
Dutton
January 14, 2020
10-1524745103
384 Pages
Thriller Suspense

When she was young, Virginia Kennedy, an only child suffered the loss of her mother who committed suicide. Never causing her parents any problems, after this tragic incident, her father became aloof and Virginia as no longer well-behaved. Then when her father married Linda who gave birth to Jenny when Virginia was thirteen, all focus was placed on Jenny. “The perfect child."

The difference in years made it hard for Virginia to feel close to Jenny, and the praise and expectations thrust on Jenny to enter pageants where she excelled became Linda's fixation. At the age of 13, Jenny decided she had enough of her mother's obsessive and constant hovering, deciding to give up her beauty-queen status causing animosity between her and Linda.

Meanwhile, Virginia, now 27, still lives in her small hometown of Wrenton, MA in a tiny studio apartment. She can't seem to hold a job, and she spends her weekends drinking and self-medicating with pills. As a teen, she engaged in an illicit affair with her teacher, Mark Renkin, which now, after all these years still has her thrown off balance. He was her one true love, and she truly believed when she graduated, he would marry her. However, he stated she needed to experience life without him, to find herself, and be sure of what she wanted. He disclosed this to her on her 18th birthday when he was 32. Even though Virginia is still fixated on him, he has moved on to a relationship with Hunter Willoughby, the school guidance counselor, and a woman only a few years older than Virginia.

Jenny begins to act out by skipping school and sneaking out in the middle of the night. She befriends JP, an older classmate and somewhat of an outcast and she starts to ridicule her friendship of her life-long friend, Mallory and the other girls in her class. Jenny is headed on a collision course, which later causes her brutal murder, with the main suspect being Benjy, an emotionally handicapped man who followed Jenny's "career" as a young beauty queen, by attending every event.

If the family had not disintegrated before, it is way off the tracks now. Linda hides in the bottle, the girl's father is never at home, allegedly working, yet Virginia is expected to attend their usual Sunday dinners, which have become a nightmare.

Though Virginia was never close to Jenny, she is filled with guilt and remorse. Could she have done something to help her sister? As her own culpability plagues her, she becomes suspect, thus making it her mission to learn the truth.

Virginia does not believe Benjy is responsible, though he may be holding a clue as to who committed the crime. But can his information be believed? Did a drifter kill Jenny? A friend of hers; like PJ, the boy she befriended from school? Maybe even Mark? After all, he has a penchant for underage girls, so did Jenny confront him about this? Or worse, did an intoxicated Virginia unknowingly kill her sister?

Her fascination with Mark has had her phoning him in a drunken haze over the years, which has her wondering if he had any involvement in Jenny's death. She confronts him, and he goes soft, telling her he's miserable without her though he's now with Hunter. Is this supposed to be part of his charm? To lure her back, so she won't ask questions about Jenny? He tells her he's aware she's been calling him for years.

"'The calls, almost every Saturday. I know it's you. I have caller ID.'

"'I call you?'

"'Jesus, how messed up are you? You don't know you're calling me?'

"I choked hard on the emptiness in my throat. Is this what I was doing when I was blacking out? I was embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid of myself. I didn't want to hear anymore. I started walking away again, as fast as I could without actually breathing. . . .'

". . . I swung my arms, trying to get back to my car as quickly as possible. I knew I was blacking out—that was the point—but how could my unconscious self build such a wall from my conscious self? Was I insane? Was I on the verge of a mental breakdown, or was I just a raging addict? I didn't feel like an addict. I didn't crave alcohol or drugs. My Saturday-night drinking binge was more of a ritual."

As both Virginia and Jenny state their explanations, backstories are intertwined with the list of suspects growing and giving no real clue as to who the killer is. "The Prized Girl" digs deep into the psyches of most of the characters, many of whom are flawed with secrets and insecurities. The conclusion offers an unexpected twist which is sure to surprise, but the core of the tale independent of the murder introduces sibling rivalry and parents loving one child over another, causing jealousy and heartache that ends with regret.

Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!! This book was most assuredly “whip lash city”! And I mean that in the best possible way!

Even with all the stylistic elements I usually complain about – shallow and unlikable characters, dysfunctional families, stupid lawmen, demanding women, flip-flopping back and forth in the time line and between characters’ POV to name a few – this was first rate suspense all the way.

I will definitely look forward to additional books from Amy Green. This was an outstanding debut!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Group-Dutton, for this ARC.

Jenny was a pageant beauty queen from the time she was a young girl into her teens when she rebelled against her mother and refused to compete. She begins acting out on other ways as well and is found murdered.
Her older step sister Virginia feels guilt at her lack of a relationship and the resentment she had towards Jenny and decides to find her killer.
The story is told through the two sisters POV, Jenny’s leading up to the murder and Virginia’s after.
There are parts of the story that move quickly and keep the reader engaged but the plot veers into the absurd and ridiculous as Jenny gets into one implausible scenario after another. It is hard to connect to any character as they are all selfish or scheming to take advantage of someone else.
There is the elements for a good story here but this one needed trimming. I am torn about the ending, some characters deserved their fate but others did not.
Thank you to #netgalley and #edelweiss for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Prized Girl is a well written thriller about a dead beauty pageant contestant and the search for her killer. The story alternates between the victims POV leading up to the murder and her distant step-sister in the present day. I really liked the way this was set up because it let the reader see just how misunderstood the pageant girl was and that things were not as they seemed.
I would recommend this book to someone who doesn’t read much from the thriller genre. However, it was pretty basic and predictable for me as someone who reads a lot of thrillers. Overall it’s a good book that could be great to the right audience.

There are two points of view told for this story. There is Jenny and her older sister, Virginia. Jenny's point of view/voice was more "raw". Plus, I found Jenny's story to be a sad but intriguing one. It was Virginia that I found to be more broken than her sister. However, her voice was not as interesting.

When it came to the two sisters; it felt like I was reading two different stories and not two storylines that ran concurrently to mesh into one final ending. Despite this factor, I did read this book within a few days. When it came to the ending; I was sad for Jenny. It seemed like revenge for her death fell flat. I did not think Virginia got justice for her. This book was light on the psychological thriller.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
From debut author Amy K. Green comes a devastating tale of psychological suspense: a teen pageant queen is found murdered in a small New England town, and her sister's search for answers unearths more than she bargained for.

——
The Prized Girl is told from 2 POV. One is the little sister Jenny, 5 weeks before leading up to the murder and the other is the big sister Virginia, starting 5 days after the murder. Green does a great job seamlessly weaving their stories together. I was not a fan of Virginia, she is a hot mess and just made me cringe. I know that’s part of her character and certain things happened in her life to cause her to be that way but I would often find myself rolling my eyes. I really liked Jenny, she is quite resourceful and I loved her rebellious nature. I will say, I had to keep reminding myself she was 14 and not 16/17. She thinks and does things that I’m quite sure most 14 year olds would not do but that’s just me.
The reason this book is rated at a 3.5 instead of a 4 is because the ending is not good. It is not realistic and left me frustrated and thinking “Yeah right, what the heck? That would never happen.” Overall, I still enjoyed this book because it truly kept me guessing way longer than it normally takes me and even then I was still surprised. Green if off to a good start, hopefully she can keep me guessing until the end and things will be a little more realistic in her future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for a copy in exchange for my honest review!

A tense twisted dark thriller. Amy K. Green’s debut was clever and addictive. Sisters, a murder, a small town, a pageant queen, teenage drama, a sick stalker, Bad behavior, dark secrets, missed opportunities, lost memories, obsession, coverups, lies. The story bounces back-and-forth between the perspectives of sisters Virginia and Jenny. We learn about the events leading up to the murder through the eyes of 14-year-old Jenny. We learn about the aftermath of the murder through the actions of older sister Virginia, who is in her late 20s. As we got to know these sisters better the layers began to peel away and the truth began to reveal itself. I was completely captivated by Miss greens excellent storytelling. I truly was not certain how this was going to end and was very surprised. The ending while twisted still has me thinking. It really gave me a lot to chew on, and I am not sure how I feel about it quite yet. I felt like a lot of the story was left a little open ended, left up to my own moral compass. And I think I like that.... I think.

This was a good solid thriller. Extremely well written and very well plotted. Having said that I think this will probably appeal to the less seasoned thriller Reader. It was a very good book but thriller lovers are a tough crowd.... you know what I’m talking about. And if I’m being honest there are a couple things that didn’t sit with me entirely. First of all Jenny’s age. Now I realize she was in the pageant world and she probably was forced to grow up a little quicker than others, but I thought she acted much more like a junior or possibly a sophomore in high school, I thought eighth grade was pushing it. In fact I forgot she was that young until they mentioned it again. Then there was Virginia. I just thought some of her actions (the alcohol, the pills) were a little cliché. Not a big deal in an otherwise extremely well done thriller. Looking forward to the next one from this talented author.

This book in emojis. 👑 🎒 🔪 🍸

*** Big thank you to Dutton for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Great book. Very enjoyable read. New author...looking forward to more from her. No pressure. Fascinating characters. Good sense of place. Great story pace. Surprised by the ending!

The Prized Girl is a standalone mystery thriller and debut from Amy K. Green. Due out 14th Jan 2020 from Penguin on their Dutton imprint, it's 384 pages and will be available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a darkly taut psychological thriller told in alternating PoV between two sisters in a small town. Their family dynamic is extremely dysfunctional, with themes of emotional and physical abuse, substance abuse, alcoholism added into a narrative which also contains pedophilia, rape, torture, blackmail, and multiple murders.

The contrapuntal point of view worked very well and the author's use of alternating third person PoV (for the murdered sister, Jenny) and first person (for the living sister, Virginia), was technically flawless. This is a very well written and very readable book. The plot threads are interwoven as the book progresses until they merge into a single twisty denouement and resolution. That the majority of the plot twists were expected before they were revealed is more a consequence of having read hundreds of books in the genre and not because the author lacked proficiency (she's quite adept as a writer).

I didn't find myself really warming to any of the characters, they were all quite flawed. This was undoubtedly intentional on the part of the author. The epilogue and resolution stuck with me all day.

Four stars.

Just finished. Twisty twisty, twisty. Perverse. Pedophilia, alcoholism, secret lives, more lies than you can count. Snappy, sarcastic dialogue. Main character who you feel sorry for, dislike, but like at the same time. Skeeved out but really enjoyed! #dutton

Two Sisters, A Dysfunctional Family, and Murder

Virginia is messed up. She drinks too much, takes pills, and avoids her family. She’s the older sister and has always felt second best to Jenny. Jenny, her younger sister, is the beauty queen, her mother’s favorite. Then Jenny quits the pageant circuit and her mother begins to fall apart.

The family disintegration really begins when Jenny is found murdered and the family secrets threaten to be exposed. The rape and murder of a thirteen-year-old pageant queen is big news, and the family is in the spotlight. The primary suspect is an older man who has followed all of Jenny’s pageants. Because of her own background, Virginia doesn’t believe he’s guilty and sets out to find out what really happened.

In this psychological thriller, the focus in on the sisters. Chapters are told in alternating points of view between Virginia and Jenny. I thought this was a very effective presentation. We get a chance to know both sisters. However, aside from the two girls, I thought there were too many characters. This may have been designed to increase the number of potential suspects, but for me it diluted the suspense.

The plot was easy to follow. The murderer was obvious to me from fairly early in the story. However, that may be because I read a lot of psychological thrillers and this book followed the pattern. The ending does have a twist, but if you already suspected the killer, it doesn’t work as well as it might.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.