I’m judging a 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

“You don’t know me, but you’ll have seen my face. In the earlier pictures, they bludgeoned our features with pixels, right node to our waists; even our hair was too distinctive to disclose.” this is from the first sentence and first graph but this novel gripped me right from the start. Not putdownable.

Very dark and atmospheric, and not what I was expecting at all. This is no psychological thriller, as the cover and title made me think.... (I went in blind.)
This is a character study...a survivor story...a story of what comes after unthinkable trauma. The writing is fantastic, blunt and unsettling. Recommended, but just know what to expect. I truly couldn’t put it down.

Girl A, or Lex, is about the story of a girl and her siblings who survived the cruel abuse and neglect of her parents. We've seen many stories of children who are victims of such horrific abuse, most notably the Turpin children, and wondered how they will cope in their future lives. Essentially, this is that story. It has been 15 years since Lex's rescue and she is successful but naturally haunted by her past. When her mother passes away in prison, she is left to deal with her childhood home. She and her siblings must reunite with each other and face their past and try to make some peace with it. At times it can be a very hard book to read emotionally but the overall theme of the book is one of hope. I found it riveting.

This novel is a masterpiece in heart-wrenching sadness, hope and loss. Not since Flowers in the Attic has a book so thoroughly moved me and disgusted me, torn me apart and pieced me back together, delicately and indelibly. This is a book I do not want to read again, but will never forget. It is a worthy journey.

This was TOUGH to read. The amount of detail the author created around the abuse these characters went through as children is sometimes overwhelming. I don't recommend it to anyone who is overly empathetic or sensitive to graphic & traumatic content. That said, it was well-written and thought provoking, though sometimes the transition between timelines was confusing.

Tl:dr; Girl A isn't an easy read, but it's one you absolutely should read. Yes, even now.

Girl A is an unflinching look at the long term effects of child abuse and it's an intense and well-written novel.

I've seen some comparisons of Girl A to Room but Girl A is much darker and less sentimental about family as Girl A dives deep into what it would be like to be an abused sibling in a house full of other abused siblings.

I think it's very easy to assume that when a sibling group in an extremely abusive situation is rescued, the result will be siblings who tried to protect each other and thought as a unit. It's a nice way to conclude something horrific and makes us feel better about how horrific family can be.

And there's the rub. Are siblings who grow up together with each fighting to survive, really all going to be close? Sibling dynamics are never sunshine and roses in any family and throw in the abuse in Girl A, in which children are subject to horrific psychological and physical abuse, and the relationships get very murky indeed.

Girl A, Lex, has come to England, where she was "raised," as she's been appointed the executor of their mother's estate following her death in prison. As Lex goes to see each sibling--Ethan, Delilah, Gabriel, Noah, and Evie--readers slowly come to realize that all of them are still suffering from what they lived through, but each of their relationships with Lex and among each other are either close in various unhealthy ways, and that as they were growing up, some of them suffered at the hands of each other and not just their parents..

I did not see the big twist coming even as it had become clear to me over the course of Girl A that Lex, the Girl A of the title, and the eldest girl of the seven abused siblings, who has grown into a savvy, smart, and successful woman, has some very strong and unaddressed issues with her siblings (and they with her*) as well as some even stronger and equally unaddressed issues with herself.

And when the twist did come it made me realize that when we construct narratives of happily ever after for well publicized abuse victims (or any abuse victims) we do it out of a desire for happily ever after even. But the reality is that happily ever after is impossible and any long-term abuse survivor is always, always going to carry what they lived through. And when you've lived under a system of extreme physical and psychological torture, what you carry is so large and heavy. In other words, the deeper the wound, the bigger the scar (and scar tissue)

Is Girl A an easy read? No. But it's the rawest and most unflinching look at being an abuse survivor I've read in a long time as well as a honest and scathing examination of all the ways we, as a society, turn away from what we don't want to see, that instead of doing something or even just asking someone if they need help, we pretend away. (The whole "he/she/they were totally normal...well, except for X, Y, and/or Z" that always comes out when the neighbors of a horror are interviewed)

Girl A is a novel I'll never forget and am glad I read. It reminded me that the worst things I can do is also one of the easiest--to look away. Girl A is a powerful and gripping reminder of why I (and you) shouldn't do that. An absolute must read.

*I can't be the only person who finished this and thought about how much damage Ethan will end up inflicting on his family. Father, indeed. (Shudders)

Alexandra is “Girl A”, the oldest girl and the “hero” of her siblings. When they were younger, Lex bravely escaped their childhood house of horrors and found help to rescue them. Chained to their beds, severely malnourished, living in filth and forced to sleep in dirty clothes and beds, beaten, and brainwashed -- these children went through hell. All grown up now, Lex and her siblings are dealing with their mother’s death and the decision of what to do with the house that brought them so much pain. Lex must reach out to each sibling despite how far apart they’ve grown and the new families they have become a part of in order to close this chapter of their lives for good. But as she realizes just how different they have all become, childhood memories assault her well-fought-for peace. Alternating between present-day and the horrors of Lex’s childhood, this page turner will keep readers up at night.

Thoughts: I’d put this in lists with Room (but with more captivity and abuse) and The Dark Places (seriously messed up family dynamics). Lex’s father is clearly mentally ill and very unstable, and moreso as the story goes on. Her mother seems to have some kind of disconnect and it’s unclear how he holds power over her or where she is most of the time. These parents reminded me so much of Tara Westover’s mother and father from her memoir, Educated, as did the severe poverty they lived in and the father’s religious fanaticism acting as a precursor to his mental illness reaching dangerous heights.
Despite the horrific childhood flashbacks in Girl A, I didn’t find this as compelling if it had been a true story. Perhaps that was a roadblock for me -- I’ve read some dark and ugly memoirs (i.e. Educated) and therefore, while this was a disturbing story, it didn’t impact me quite as much as someone else who maybe isn’t as desensitized as I am as a reader. There are a few twists and turns along the way, but only one big “reveal”. There’s nothing predictable about this story, which I appreciate, but I was also looking for a bit more drama in Lex’s current life, especially given the juxtaposition of her childhood. I thought Abigail Dean did an amazing job showing readers how Lex’s childhood affected her adult relationships, both in good and bad ways. That said, this book is not for the faint of heart, and there are numerous trigger warnings -- this is not to be read lightly or for “fun” if you’re sensitive to tough subjects. This one will stick with you for a while and could keep up with many a crime documentary on Netflix.

**Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.**

Really struggled with this one. The pace was way too slow for my taste, and the characters were difficult to engage with, which made it hard to care about what was happening.

I don’t know that I want to say much about this book except that this was a book I read in one sitting. The debut novel about a girl who escaped and then freed her younger brothers and sisters from the horror that their parents inflicted upon the kids. As the story unfolds its more about the relationships of the siblings as adults. If you liked Room, you’ll like this psychological thriller.

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

Loved this! Could not put it down. I highly recommend this book. The topic was intriguing and the writing was excellent. The character development was well done. The author gave you everything you needed to understand the subjects in the book. I felt like I was watching an episode of 20/20 without all the extras. Can't wait for the next book by this author.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

An abusive family situation. An escape. A forced revisitation, decades later, when the surviving parent dies in prison.
Lex, the Girl A of the title, managed to free herself and her siblings from an horrifically abusive family situation fueled by a twisted sort of religious fundamentalism. Now, a successful business negotiator, after years of physical therapy and intensive mental therapy with a Dr. K, she finds herself named executor to the estate of her estranged mother, who has died while serving out a prison sentence. Decisions about the fate of a house and sum of money require input from her brothers and sisters, each of whom suffered varying degrees of criminal neglect while held prisoner during their childhood. In the course of contacting and meeting with her siblings, some of which she had not seen or spoken to in years, we are faced with memories of the house, houses before, and family life leading up to and during the abuse.
As the memories play out and the story unravels, we see threads leading to other stories, glimpses of possibility. Memory is important to Dr. K, and through memory and anecdote, questions arise which blend the roles of victim and villain, and ultimately, who is saved and who is lost.

Girl A was an excellent, heartbreaking novel. Deep family trauma is difficult subject matter, and Abigail Dean's portrayal of the characters was both sensitive and visceral. I read this in one day, though it took two sittings so I could stop and eat. The physical and emotional hunger within Girl A spilled out and into my life. Really well done.

Get your tissues. This book is an all too real portrait of how something can go very wrong. The family dynamics and timeline are so well written and thought out that you can see feel just how it all came to be, and how close they came to being found out. An amazing read that NEEDS to be read.

Girl A by Abigail Dean, to be released on 2/2/2021. A story of survival, heroism and the lasting effects of psychological abuse. It sounds bleak, which, yes, it is, but it’s a page turner and sure to be a top read of 2021.
What does it mean to be under the control of a religious zealot? To be imprisoned in squalor and violence and starvation by a man you know as your father? Or, how does a mother find herself held captive by a husband, and allow an entire family to waste away within the confines of the home? Girl A is this story: A family of seven children fall victim, day by day, into a nightmare of abuse and neglect brought on by the decisions and the actions of the mentally ill father. The heart stopping escape does not come without further damage, some of which is not even apparent until the very end.
This book, for me, is five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin Books for the ARC of Girl A by Abigail Dean. I had the good fortune of participating in a Zoom interview with the author and publisher before reading this book.

Lex is Girl A, a survivor of the House of Horrors. When her mother dies in prison, she and her siblings inherit the family home. Consequently, she is forced to come to terms with what happened to herself and her siblings in that house long ago. She vows to turn the house into a community center in order to help other troubled youth, as she wants it to become a symbol of hope instead of despair. Lex embarks on a journey to collect her siblings’ blessings and signatures to legally make her idea come true. In the process, she rediscovers her past as well as long lost family. What really happened in the House of Horrors all those years ago?

This story greatly resembles that of the Turpin family, the Californians who graced the headlines in 2018 for their own House of Horrors. In her interview, Dean did not make mention of this story as inspiration for her own writing, but the similarities are obvious. That being said, Dean does a fantastic job of depicting the psychological torment and abuse in the fictional Gracie household. She thoroughly explores the the complex and complicated relationships between the siblings and parents, as well as the trauma suffered in the aftermath. It took me a while to really get into this book, as it was very difficult to follow the constantly shifting perspectives and timelines within a single chapter. Breaking up the very long chapters could have improved the flow of the story. However, I found myself fully invested in Lex’s story and tearing up at the end, which is always a sign of a well-written book. This is a very disturbing story that will stay with me for a long time.

4/5 stars

This is the story of horrific child abuse suffered by Alexandra (Lex) Gracie and her siblings and its aftermath. The story is told by Alexandra (Girl A) and begins when her mother, who is in prison in England, dies and names Lex as the executor of her estate. Lex, living in New York, travels to England where she grew up and visits the prison, meets with the warden, and a solicitor who gives her details of her mother’s estate - 20,000 pounds and the home in which the abuse occurred. What she intends to do with the house and the memories it reawakens, both for her and her siblings, forms the remainder of the novel.

Weaving between Lex’s memories and present day, the story ebbs and flows. The beginning is riveting and I found Lex to be a very complex and interesting character. However, I found myself bored in many of the descriptive chapters and feel that the author could have tightened the plot more to maintain reader interest. Also, the novel is very UK and, as an American reader, much of the language used was unfamiliar to me (UK slang, etc.). All in all, in my opinion, I found Girl A to be a good, but not a great read.

Lex grew up the the infamous 'house of horrors' where her religious father starved and restrained her and her siblings. The story alternates between the present as Lex gets ready to attend her brother's wedding and snippets from her past. This was tantalizingly written-always leaving the reader wanting to know more!

An amazing and riveting tale of psychological trauma. See my review on GoodReads for details. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3712006275