This was a great use of the double-timeline trick - it reads like a thriller, but it's actually a thriller-in-the-past, psychological-drama-in-the-present dealio. I enjoyed it very much, had forgotten I'd gotten the ARC but am returning to review it.

First, I would like to say thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm being generous with 2 stars.
I did not care for this book. I did not like the way it was written. It jumped timelines paragraph to paragraph. At the start of each paragraph, I wasn't sure which timeline I was in. Looking back there's not a whole lot that happened with exception of "Girl A" getting out of her parents' house. Which we knew from the start she would hence the title, Girl A. Bottom line - I had to make myself finish this.

This book can be difficult to read for those who suffer from trauma or abuse. While at times graphic, the horrors in which the main character lived and then survived make for a remarkable story. The dual timelines and twists in the story keep you turning the pages.

This was a well written book about child abuse, loosely based on the Turpin family but set in northern England, in the so-called House of Horrors where Girl A (the main character) and her siblings were kept chained to beds and malnourished. The book focuses on their life after Girl A manages to escape and the children are rescued. It shows how abuse can have lasting effects and how people deal with it differently. A very disturbing but good read.

Some great potential here but it fails to stick the landing. The individual children could have had stronger, more distinct personalities and the 'twist' was definitely something I'd already considered as a possibility.

True crime stories are interesting to me and although I know this is a fictional telling of the Turpin family I feel Dean did a great job of portraying how a family could descend into becoming a 'house of horrors' and also how difficult the survivors lives must be afterwards.

Girl A was an unexpected, bleak tale that centers on childhood abuse. A family of siblings who grew up imprisoned by their own parents and how that trauma impacted them all differently in their adult life.
I strongly believe this book was not marketed correctly to the proper audience. I was approached by the publicity team with a blurb in the press kit that read:
"and the Daily Mail asks if it’s next The Girl on the Train"
This book is not a comp in any way shape or form to The Girl on the Train. There's nothing "thriller murder mystery" about this book. Girl A is a trauma drama. So just know that going into it.

I do read scary/disturbing books, but I don't need gratuitous descriptions. However, the way things are just kind of touched on and hinted at in this book was frustrating. It's about the aftermath and the trauma that the narrator has endured, but it kind of jumps back and forth, and ends up a little jumbled.

Lex Gracie is a survivor. She is "Girl A" of the group of siblings that were rescued from the "House of Horrors" and Lex has been trying to put it behind her ever since. When their mother dies in prison, she leaves Lex in charge of her estate, forcing Lex to confront her past and her siblings. She has an idea to turn their childhood home into a community center, hoping to exorcise some demons along the way. And that starts by contacting each of her siblings and getting them to agree to the plan. They all went their different ways after escaping, each of them going to different foster homes, to be adopted in the end by people with very different motives. Will Lex be able to survive this trip down memory lane?


Girl A is a haunting novel about a young woman and her siblings that went through a horrific ordeal. Lex tells the story through flashbacks that are mingled with present-day events. She never is very explicit in her descriptions of what happened, but the reader's imagination does an excellent job of filling in the blanks. And it is enough to make you sick to your stomach. It was clear that Lex and her siblings were carrying scars from their childhood, but in different ways. As the main narrator, we get to see just how deeply troubled Lex is because of her childhood. CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.


Bottom Line - The disturbing nature of the story may be too much for some readers, but if you can handle the disturbing nature of the story, you will find a gripping story about survival.

Details:

Girl A: A Novel by Abigail Dean
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Pages: 352
Publisher: Viking
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for a review.

This book was not for me. Very depressing and graphic. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Lex Gracie is a survivor—she grew up in the House of Horrors, where she and her siblings were imprisoned, tortured and neglected. She is also the one who escaped, Girl A and rescued her siblings. When Lex’s mother dies in prison and leaves Lex as the executor, she must reconnect with her family and return to her past.

This was excellent and a realistic and heartbreaking telling of childhood trauma and what it takes to overcome this. The connection between the past narratives and the present are seamless and the descriptions of an abusive family are difficult to read but powerful.

An unusual twist on the aftereffects of being raised in one of those House of Horrors. Lex, aka "Girl A", is the one who escaped, the one who brought the police to her family's door and rescued her siblings. Years later, she's been asked to be the executrix of her mother's will, and any decisions must be agreed upon by all the siblings. Of course this causes flashbacks to how the family went from a little "different" to absolutely tragic. Lex's interactions with her siblings, each of whom experienced the House through a different lens, bring up so many unresolved problems that she has to visit the psychologist assigned after the escape, Dr. K. At the same time, she's a high-powered lawyer working on a deal featuring a DNA testing company that somehow predicts your future (don't ask). While much of the book was unsurprising, there were twists that really surprised me.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

It's always so hard to read a book about neglect and abuse. However, it can be inspiring too. The children in this book suffered unspeakable atrocities but were able to confront their past and become strong and resilient. I kept having to remind myself that this was a work of fiction, so I wouldn't get too upset. But this is still a hard read. With that being said, I also couldn't put it down. This story will haunt you but it is also quite gripping. I'm awarding this book 4 stars.

Lex Gracie is a fighter. She escaped from her family’s House of Horrors and helped save her siblings from horrific abuse.

Pros:
Well-written
Telling the story from one sibling’s perspective, so we really know her
Insight into trauma
Not overly and gratuitously graphic

Cons:
Billed as a thriller, when it is literary fiction
Ambiguous ending (although I kind of like those)

I really enjoyed reading this book.

This book started out with a virtual dive off the high board: a mother in prison, children scattered and assigned aliases, a mysterious narrator. The pace is stilted, sometimes slow sometimes fast. But the suspense builds reliably...until about page 100. That's when I figured out the"big secret", and then finished reading the book simply to find out if I was right. I was.

Reading just to prove your theory is an exercise in agony, just trying to get to the end. That's no way to spend precious reading time.

I give it three stars for a good start and an interesting premise.

This book is an unputdownable thriller. Kept me reading late late late into the night because I just needed to know what would happen next. It’s a thriller!

Abigail Dean provides an unflinching glimpse of the enduring wreckage caused by child abuse in her novel, Girl A. The title refers to Alex, one of seven siblings rescued from a “House of Horrors,” where they suffered years of horrific abuse and neglect. Girl A is the name assigned to Alex, the oldest girl and the one who escaped her bindings, exposed their circumstances, and enabled their rescue. As the novel opens, Alex is now a successful lawyer with a new family and strong friendships. She has been informed that her birth mother has died in prison and she has been named executrix of her will. She needs to obtain signatures from her far-flung and estranged siblings to be convert the ramshackle house into a community center. She hopes that such a gesture would overwrite the story and serve as a type of repentance. The community is not exactly welcoming of a renewed association with their family name, and Alex has not spoken with some siblings since those days of captivity. As Alex deals with the estate, the novel jumps back and forth in time, slowly revealing the sordid story of the family’s descent into madness. Alex recalls new details the closer she gets to the house, and she comes to grips with some difficult memories that she had been repressing. Dean uses Alex’s investigations to explore the viewpoints of the surviving children-both during those years and following their emancipation. The medical and psychological scars, bad blood, shame and blame all work against Alex’s efforts but provide evidence of trauma’s lasting effects. Girl A might be a bit too graphic for more sensitive readers, but the author does an admirable job exploring themes of loyalty, created families, re-invention and self-deceit.

Thanks to the author, Viking, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Great read. Was drawn to it after listening to coworkers discussing.

Disturbing subject matter and you definitely need to pay attention because it an get confusing.

Well written and engrossing. Have already recommended to numerous customers.

This was a well written, character-driven novel loosely based on the Turpin family circumstances. The main character Lex was able to escape her "house of horrors" as a teen and in turn, her siblings become freed.

The story jumps between past and present to tell the story. It is a slow reveal of the story and it works to reveal characters and the changes in Lex. This is for those who appreciate more character driven books and can handle reading about abusive situations.

An intricately plotted thriller. The characters are engrossing. It was a realistic exploration of the possible repercussions of living through childhood trauma and the mental gymnastics we employ to keep going without losing our minds.