I loved the premise of this book which is what drew me to it in the first place. I’m a big true crime fan, so I always find fiction books about crime to be interesting. I loved that this book is told from the perspective of one narrator, and it is only her thoughts. Overall I really enjoyed this book, however I did find it to be a bit hard to follow in some spots. I would recommend this to patrons who love gritty, crime related books.

I went into Girl A not fully remembering what the book was about. All I knew that I wanted to read it. And I’m so happy I did. This book really kept me guessing. I wasn’t expecting the twist, despite having thought more books should have that sort of twist to it. 
Lex is one of seven children. She is Girl A, the one that escaped her father and the house of horrors where she and her siblings were being held captive, tied down and starved. We see current Lex and past Lex, living through her memories of that life with the death of her mother and her mother’s final wishes for Lex to carry out her will. Within it we meet Lex’s siblings and the lives they are now trying to live despite the horrors they experienced, some worse than others. There’s Ethan who has profited off his past who is about to be happily married. There’s Delilah, who has seemingly moved forward with her life, she’s married and has found her faith once again. There’s Gabriel who has been dealing with his trauma and the fact he wasn’t set up to succeed due to the family that took him in after. There’s Noah who was a baby when it all happened and has no memory of it. He’s a happy teenager completely unaware of what had happened. And then there’s Evie, the younger sister that Lex loved the most. They had shared a room together during all of this and they forged a bond. It’s Evie who convinces Lex that they should turn the house of their pain into something good, a community center. She just has to get her siblings to sign off on it.
This book is full of twists and horrifying details including a lot of abuse, trauma, PTSD, alcoholism, drug use, and so much more. Despite that, I somehow ate up this book. It went by so quickly, and as I mentioned, I didn’t see the twist coming, which I normally try to keep an eye out for in books like this. I think I enjoyed it because Lex is morally gray. You can’t say she’s fully a good person, but that she does try to be for the most part. She isn’t trying to be anyone’s friend. But she does slowly come back to her family, to look past the horrors and how her siblings had managed to survive after it all. She finds her own happiness in the fact she has amazing foster parents and a good job and slowly, her family, even if she has to face a hard truth that she’d been avoiding since the day she got free.

As disturbing as the subject matter was, I couldn't put this down. It grabbed me from the first page and never let go. Through one narrator and multiple timelines the story unfolds at an even pace with a surprise twist that I didn't see coming. This book will stick with me for a long time. Highly recommended

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin Books for the ARC of Girl A by Abigail Dean. This book was both heartbreaking and difficult to read. 

A dark, upsetting novel of a young girl and the horrific abuse that she and her siblings suffered at the hands of their parents. The author writes about damaging loss of trust between sisters and brothers and how each of them survived in their own way. But this book is not for everyone. 

The chapters are long with timeframes shifting by paragraph making it confusing. The writing style often threw me off and also made the pacing a bit slow and disjointed. Characters lacked development. Throughout the novel I wanted more from each of them. I kept hoping the author would flesh out more of the family's experience in the house and the motivations of the parents. The pay off for this story comes at the very end but it barely registered.
It is being marketed as a thriller and crime fiction but it is really more of a drama. If you like drama and heart wrenching stories of child abuse, I would recommend it.

Girl A is a gripping, horrifying story of survival. Lexi, aka Girl A,  is made executor of her Mom 's will, when her mother died in jail. Lexi and her siblings endured years of abuse and neglect at the hands of their father and mother, until Lexi escaped. This story tells of the horrors of the past and how Lexi and her siblings have dealt with healing and survival. There is a shocking twist I didn't see coming. 

This is a book I will not soon forget. The intertwining timelines did confuse me at times, but I got used to it the further I got into the book. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Vicking  for this ARC in exchange for  my honest feedback.

This was much hyped for me but fell flat. It was very much like a real life story that I knew a lot about and I felt like bits were too similar to get into it. I felt like the twist was easy to guess. Would have almost been better just being a true crime story about the Turpin family if that was the inspiration.

Lex Gracie is Girl A, the eldest daughter that escaped her parents’ “House of Horrors,” in England in order to save herself and her siblings from abuse and starvation. Now a successful New York lawyer, Lex is made executor of her mother’s will after she dies in prison, and this forces her to confront her siblings, the home that held her captive, and the trauma she buried deep. Girl A is a stunning thriller that focuses on the effects of child abuse long after surviving it. Mentally prepare yourself, this is not a book for the light-hearted.

First book by this author.   It was good but confusing at first.  Once I got the premise of the book, then I started to like it.  Sensitive subjects so not for just anyone, but that doesn’t bother me too much.  I enjoyed. most of this book and will recommend to friends.  Thanks for the advanced read!

After escaping her family's house of horrors, Lex is known by the media as Girl A.  The oldest sister who escaped and freed her siblings.  Years after escaping, her mother dies in prison, leaving Lex and her siblings the house and a substantial sum of money.  Deciding that the best use would be a community center, Lex begins convincing her siblings to accept the plan.

Although the premise of the story was interesting, the book itself was a bit lacking.  It rambled all over the place and spent considerable time in the past, without giving any details of the past.  Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend.

I was intrigued by the premise of this: several siblings living in a “house of horrors” until one day one of the sisters, Girl A, escapes. The story goes back and forth in time, highlighting the lives of each of the children. There are many parallels to the real life Turpin family members who survived horrible atrocities, most notably the parents making the children wear matching t-shirts on the very few occasions that they ventured outside as family. Though the plot initially held my interest, this book just did not work for me. I found the writing style to be clunky and meandering most of the time. The book was divided up into very long sections for each of the children but there were no chapters, per se, which made for very long, confusing passages with little transitional cues to indicate a different time period. I’m ok with long chapters in books, but it was hard to find a stopping point in between reads where I could actually remember what was going on. The story itself was ok and definitely had some remarkable qualities but the writing style was completely unappealing to me.

This gripping page turner packs an emotional punch that’s unsettling.   Girl A recounts the experiences of Lex (known as Girl A) and her six siblings who suffered and ultimately escaped horrifying abuse from their parents. The story explores  abuse, loss and survival while examining the after effects of trauma.  Although the timeline jumps were often disorienting, the storyline and twists made it hard to put down.

Absolutely excellent. Girl A is one of the must-read thrillers of 2021. A recommended first purchase for all general fiction collections

I was extremely excited to read this book, but I think it fell short. The story was so slow that it was really difficult to keep going, and the momentum never seemed to pick up. I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to enjoy this book as much as I had hoped, but I do typically prefer books that raise the stakes about halfway through.

Feels weird to say that a book about such tough subject matter was enjoyable to read.   But I enjoyed the story format and definitely didn't see the twist til almost the last minute.

A fast-moving mystery that will scratch the "escape the cult" memoir itch! I loved the way the story was told in flashbacks.

I was so excited for this book and requested a copy as soon as I heard about it. I even made it my book  of the month picked so I can have a hardcover copy too. Unfortunately, this book was such a disappointment. I don't understand all of the positive reviews honestly. I found myself bored, confused and just over all let down. I really wanted to know about the House of Horrors and we learned basically nothing. I ended the book feeling like I didn't know any of the characters or their stories. This book was just not for me.

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.