Wow What a Book This book is so good, I predict this book being a 2021 best seller as its so good.

This Book is the Debut book by the author and I look forward to reading many more books by the author.

This book tells the story of Lexi who is a successful Lawyer based in the USA Who has to return to the uk and face her past when her mother who is in prison dies, The story then starts with Lexi and her having to return to the house of horrors that she has been left in her mums will, where Lexi and her siblings suffered abused and other horror things without giving away too many spoilers.

Lexi has to get in contact with her siblings and try to built up relationships with them as she left home at 15.

I would give this book 5 stars

With Thanks to Netgalley & HarperCollins UK Harper Fiction for the arc of this book in exchange for this review.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of Girl A.

I don't know where to begin. On the one hand, I was hesitant to start the book, but when I did I finished it in one night.

Lexie thinks about her family's abuse at the hands of their father as she asks her siblings to convert their inherited home into a community center upon their mother's death.

This book messes you up because of the way the siblings and mother had to collaborate with their father in order to survive. We see how Ethan had so much more privilege just because their father valued his son above all others; he was the only one not in chains and starved half to death. He could have done something as well, as the oldest, but never tried. (Also this messes you up because Ethan is a terrible human being aside from that and I can't forgive him.) Delilah was able to get away with certain things because she could be pretty and pleasing and how that sparked some degree of a rivalry between herself and Lexie. We don't see what Lexie did to survive, but it's easier to brush over that in most of her memories. We realize towards the end that the mother had to as well.

But I guess that's the point, we all put the blame on those trying to survive under an abusive system and forget the one in charge; Lexie's focus is always on her siblings, and the father is the nightmare in the back.

There is, of course, the last chapter, and I will not get into that.

An absolute knockout, wow. Exceptional prose and study into Lex Gracie, a fully realized woman whose trauma is shared between her siblings. Really well done.

Girl A by Abigail Dean is fantastic. I was really looking forward to reading it and it did not disappoint. It is a very dark and emotional book which in some places is difficult to read due to the subject matter. It has twists and turns which kept me wanting to read more. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Phew. This is a difficult book to get through, but the twists and turns kept me glued to it.

Surprisingly, the fact that this bounces around in time without any warning didn't bother me. I usually need a flag of some kind so that I can keep track of when we are, but it didn't seem to matter this time, maybe because the narration was so clear and concise. The siblings each had their own way of talking, which helped as well.

The one thing that surprised me







SPOILER

























was that after everything else we saw, and all the detail put into everything, we didn't see how her father justified the Bindings. They were just there, one day. It rang strange to me, but it's equally possible I missed something.























END OF SPOILER























This is a heartfelt look at the different ways abuse can affect someone, and continue to affect them for years afterwards. It's not an easy read, but it's definitely worth it. Give it a try.

Alexandra is Girl A, a survivor of the Gracie House of Horrors. Under her father’s fanatical regime, she and her siblings were confined to their rooms, skeletal and chained to their beds. Lex was the one to escape and alert the authorities, turning their lives into the most fascinating true crime story in recent memory. Years later, following the death of her mother at a secure women’s unit, she is tasked with being the executor of her will. Lex wants to turn their old house into a force for good and to do so she must seek out each of her siblings, confronting the horrors of their shared past and the grim realities of the present.

Simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-racing, Abigail Dean has written a novel that maintains the pace and intrigue of a thriller but takes time to weave a complex story of trauma and grief. The present-day narrative is shot through with flashbacks to Alexandra’s childhood. These are the best parts of the book, showing us the slow creep of her father’s mania and her mother’s apathy, the momentum of religious hysteria that ends in Lex and her siblings chained to their beds, the house rotting from the inside out. These pages are grim and thoroughly disturbing in parts but gripping to read.

The present-day character studies of the Gracie siblings reminded me of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House. Each of the siblings has processed their trauma in different ways and have found themselves on different paths in life. While it is seen mostly through Alexandra’s eyes, we get a clear picture of who these characters are, and the events that got them to where they are now. It’s good storytelling and keeps the book fresh and compulsively readable. Throughout these present-day sections, there is also a background commentary from Dean on the true crime industry and the ways that it commodifies victims and their stories. Unfortunately, this is never truly doubled down on, but it was interesting to see the subject raised, particularly in a book marketed as a thriller.

In all, I really enjoyed this novel. It’s a solid debut and memorable for its character-centred approach to what could otherwise be a very plot-heavy story. I can imagine this being one of the biggest books of the year, and it will absolutely deserve it. People are going to eat this book up!

Girl A is a dark and harrowing tale of one family’s descent into child neglect and abuse; one which I can’t say I enjoyed per se, but it does continue to haunt me long after I finished reading it.

Lex Gracie, or Girl A has she has been known for a large proportion of her life, is appointed as the executor of her mother’s will. Now moved away and in a respectable career, she gains possession of the House of Horrors where she and her siblings were subjected to the most despicable abuse, until Lex managed to escape and alert the authorities. She has a plan for the house but in order to carry it through she has to make contact with her siblings and get them to agree to it. In doing so, she comes face to face with some ghosts she thought she’d already laid to rest.

As you might imagine, this is not an easy read. It’s heartbreaking, tense, and actually sickening in places. Certainly not one for the faint-hearted. The storytelling is exceptionally vivid through Dean’s stunning writing, and the characters are well-drawn and totally believable, in the most horrifying way.

It is marketed as a thriller, though I’d say that it wasn’t as conventionally “thrilling” as I was expecting. It’s a slower burn, and a book I had to take my time over owing to the heavy subject matter. I guessed part of the ending, which possibly did impact on my enjoyment a little, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes a compelling, well-written, very dark read.

Dark and disturbing, Girl A is the story of Lex, and her traumatic childhood experience in the House of Horrors.

I have been loving dark reads this year, so Girl A felt right up my street. I was intrigued throughout, especially as we learnt more about each of the character's and their past.

Abigail Dean is a great writer, I truly felt as though I was there witnessing the horrors that happened - a great read.

Girl A is another much hyped book and I was intern see how it would play out. It is a heartbreaking and disturbing read, focusing on a tough subject so it was never going to be hearts and flowers. It was a hard read at times but one that I am glad I have read.

This is the story of Girl A. Her real name is Lex and she survived the House of Horrors. She managed to escape from her parents and was separated from her siblings. Now she must reconnect with them in order to execute her mother’s will. She dies in prison and leave the kids a house and money. We hear the story, past and present through her travels to find her brothers and sisters. Not easy to read about how the kids were treated and how they survived it.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

A nicely, fluently written book about a subject I hate. Not particularly thrilling. Lots and lots of disconnected vignettes. The reveal at the end was fairly good. I'm sure people will love this, but for me it's average. I don't particularly remember anything that happened in it, but an easy book to read.

What an incredible book. It is so well written, pacy with interesting characters. So often we see the horror story of children that have been imprisoned and abused within a family and then released into a media circus. However, we do not see or hear their stories of later life. This is Girl A's story. It is not a macabre or noir tale, but interesting, involving journey which finishes with a real twist. This is the authors first book, and as such augurs well for her future endeavours.Highly recommended.

This book was hard to read at times because it touches so many difficult topics and the main heroine is really considered a survivor.
Told in then and now times, the story goes back and forward to all the unimaginable abuses that her and her siblings had to go through all those years from her parents.
It’s not a story for everyone but it’s a good book overall especially if you don’t have any triggers.

I was a little sceptical about this book when I first started reading it, however I am very glad I carried on as I really enjoyed it. Lex along with her siblings suffered an outstanding amount of abuse from their parents, the book switches between two time zones, going back to the past when they are growing up and the things they suffered and then present day where Lex reflects and goes back to their “family” home after her mother dies in prison. This book sure does get those emotions going.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Wow, this book is heartbreaking, harrowing and hopeful all at once. The twist at the end was set up but I definitely didn't see it coming and it packs a major punch. To achieve any semblance of normality after a childhood like that is laudable and Dean explores the effort it takes to recover from such a trauma. A book that will stay with you.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this torturous book.

This is a good, dark, book, I read it over the course of two days and there were moments I did not want to put it down. There were also moments when I did want to put it away, these were times when the subject matter itself became too hard going or I just didn’t feel that the book was going anywhere.

I know this book will be a success, there’s no doubt about it. The subject matter appears to have been very “popular” for a few years now. The only reason this book is not a favourite for me is that some of the writing choices are not to my taste (and to be honest, probably not a big deal to most readers). The chapters were a little too long, making it harder to find a suitable place to stop reading and sometimes the timeline jumped suddenly meaning I had to re read the last few sentences to work out where in the story I was. I have seen other reviews that suggest the author has done this on purpose to demonstrate a damaged, and sometimes confused mind, if that’s the case then I applaud her because I was certainly confused too! Unfortunately the ending left me feeling a little flat as it was a bit too vague for my liking.

I think it is written well with believable characters. It’s harrowing and disturbing without giving you too much information. I certainly felt a range of emotions reading it. The author has achieved a good body of debut writing here and I would certainly like to read something else by her to see what else she can bring.

3.5 stars

A brilliant dark and frighteningly real story. I absolutely loved the character of Lex and was fascinated by her story. Dark and disturbing at parts. A brilliant book.

Such an interesting story! I was hooked from the first page. We follow Lex Gracie as she finds her siblings to turn their old house into something good for the community. We see the horrors and traumatic events that happened to the Gracie family under their father's control. Each chapter gives us insight into each sibling and we see how these terrible events has impacted them as adults. It is an intense but breathtaking story and we explore how this abuse and childhood trauma affected each individual Gracie child. Dean does a fantastic job taking us through the journey of Girl A (Lex), the survivor. The one who escaped. Her writing is fantastic! Throughout the novel, we travel between past and present but it flows beautifully and isnt disjointed. Terrible things happened to the Gracie kids but its amazing how sometimes  good can from the bad. Brilliant book! Couldn't put it down!

Its out in Jan 2021 and its a must read in 2021!

5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

A dark and compelling read, that has excellent character development and is, at times, heartbreaking. This story moves seamlessly back and forward from the time when seven young children are growing up in their abusive family home to them seen 15 years later. One of the siblings Alexandra Gracie (Lex) wants to use the inheritance from the parents estate to turn their old 'house of horrors' into a centre that can benefit the community. This means she will need to be back in touch with her siblings for their approval - bringing to the surface those demons of the past that she thought she had left behind. This is a superb, if uncomfortable, read that will stay with you for a long time. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK, HarperFiction for my early read.

Very well-written, which switches deftly between the past and present to unravel the story of exactly what happened to the Gracie family. I enjoyed it but found myself wanting more: more questions, more answers, and more substance. All in all a very good read.

To say that I ‘enjoyed’ this book would be disingenuous. It is not a story to be enjoyed. It is sad, horrific and touching. It’s a hard and brutal read at times. Having said that it is brilliantly written – the language is exquisite – but I found it very stressful to read. I was constantly dreading what ‘Father’ might do next. Would there be no light in the darkness?

If you live near me in Gloucestershire you will no doubt remember the story of ‘Britain’s most sadistic mother’ – Eunice Spry – and the three foster children who she starved, beat, tried to drown, shoved sticks and knives down their throats and made them eat their own vomit. They were ‘tortured in the name of God.’ I met one of them in 2014. What a lovely person – I hope he has a better life than the Gracie children. Spry was jailed in 2005, after being convicted of 26 counts of child abuse. She was sentenced to 14 years, but only served seven and was released in 2014. Who would sympathise or forgive her? So why would anyone forgive Lex’s mother? I was annoyed that Bill expected Lex to visit and try to understand. At one point he says that Mother suffered too but obviously not enough to keep her out of prison.

But back to the story. I don’t understand why the children were separated after they escaped and advised not to find each other. They were each placed with a different family and treated by different doctors and psychiatrists in different ways. They had no contact with each other for years. I am not an expert so I am sure there was a good reason but it felt like something from the 1950s. Keep them apart for their own good.

Initially I wasn’t too keen. It’s all a bit depressing with no resolution in sight. How could there be? Lex is quite hard to like initially, as is Ethan. But just over half way through I became more and more engrossed until I really couldn’t put it down. It’s written from Lex’s point of view, even the stories that involve the others. Most of it is about now – Mother has died and left Lex and her siblings the house and £20,000 which Lex wants to use to build a Community Centre. But she must get the others to sign an agreement and therefore has to contact them one by one. The story of their childhood is told in flashbacks. Mother forever pregnant, Father unsuccessful in all his ventures, descending further into madness. The children moved and then home-schooled, eventually bound, chained and starved.

I read till well past midnight, leaving only the last few pages so I wouldn’t wake up having totally forgotten what I had been reading. I kept thinking of Eunice Spry’s children and hope they have fared better. I pray they are happy.

Many thanks to #NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.