The levels of cruelty from members of the human race towards one another never fails to sicken me.
Made for an uneasy read in parts but decent story well told
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

My thanks to HarperCollins Fiction U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Girl A’ by Abigail Dean in exchange for an honest review.

There’s been a great deal of prepublication buzz about this novel and after reading its sampler l was excited about it, immediately preordering its audiobook edition, narrated by Holliday Grainger.

Alexandra (Lex) Gracie has distanced herself from her identity as ‘Girl A’: the girl who escaped from her parents’ House of Horrors where she and her six siblings were imprisoned.

Lex is now a lawyer based in New York. When her mother dies in prison Lex returns to the U.K.. She finds that she has been named executor of her mother’s estate and that she and her siblings have been left the family home as well as some money.

Together with her sister, Evie, Lex wants to turn the former House of Horrors into a force for good. Yet to move forward with these plans she must come to terms with her six siblings and with the traumas of their shared childhood.

Lex is the narrator of the novel and there are flashbacks to past events that fills in details of the collective past of the family.

It was clearly inspired by a number of true crime cases, especially the Turpin family of California, whose parents, like the fictional Gracie family, had starved and shackled their children. Their situation came to light in 2018 when one daughter escaped and raised the alarm.

I had assumed before reading that ‘Girl A’ was going to be a thriller but found it to be a literary novel that sensitively addressed the long term effects of childhood trauma. I felt that it was well written and a compelling read.

While it is intense and dark there is much more than sensation to the narrative. I have read other novels about surviving troubled childhoods that seem more like fictional misery memoirs. However, I felt that Abigail Dean was more restrained focusing on the bonds of love, hope, and humanity rather than overly dwelling on explicit details of the abuses.

Certainly an important novel that I feel will be of interest to reading groups for its themes and possibilities for discussion.

This book did really pull me in. Some of the chapters had me a little confused as to who's point of view I was reading but all in all it was very good. Parts were heartbreaking but the resilience shone through. I would've liked to have had more of the story of Ethan, and maybe a happily ever faster for Lex.

A subject which we’ve sadly seen too much of in the media. Well written, sensitive and a great read. My heart was literally banging at times

WOW! What a riveting read!!
When I finished the book I had to sit still for a bit to take everything in. I felt so many emotions it is actually difficult to describe. I was sad and emotional. I was thankful for the fact that I had a wonderful childhood. Something you take for granted.
AND I was so cross because these things are happening every day all over the world! No child should EVER be treated like this! The psychological damaged caused to these children were heart-wrenching. Some of them I didn't like initially but then you start thinking about why they act the way they do and you realise it was because of the conditioning and also the will to survive.
This is the tragic story of the 7 Gracie children. Four boys and three girls. Children who were locked up; restrained, abused and starved by their parents. It's a story told by Girl A. The 1 who got away to save them all.....or did she?
In Evie's words: "I've spent my whole life travelling away from our room. I can't stop now."
Thank you to Abigail Dean for telling this story. It is one that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the privilege to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Extraordinary in every sense. The prose poetic. The narrative taut and full of longing. The characterisation layered.
Girl A will haunt you long after the first page. A real truimph of a debut.

LOVED IT.
This book will stay with me for a while. A brilliantly dark psychological thriller with a great lead.
I’ve seen this book everywhere and it certainly lives up to the hype, I’ll be recommending it to everyone.
5 stars.

Fascinating and deeply disturbing.
So well written, clear characters and description of environment.
I was hooked by this book, the character flaws of Father soon escalate into cruel madness.
Lex survives her tragic childhood along with some of her siblings, they all have different ways of looking at and handling their past.
Abigail describes the events with a chilling attention to detail but leaves the actual incidents of extreme violence to our imagination.
A haunting perspective novel that will make you appreciate your family.

love love loved it, I hate giving reviews for thrilling books as it exposes too much information to the person that has not read the book. But this book was great. A great book about a woman and her sister finding forgiveness through their journey. An unputdownable book.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this great book!.

Wow. What a debut. Abigail Dean’s Girl A is superb.

Lex is a survivor. The child from a house of horrors who escaped, thereby bringing freedom to her siblings and opening up a whole new life. Known in the media as Girl A, we join Lex as an adult, who is dealing with the probate of her mother.

The story is smartly layered, with each chapter focussing on one of the siblings. There is a rolling line which switches between unfurling the original tale and the subsequent lives of the protagonists. Billed as a thriller, it is so much more and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an ARC.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
A psychological family drama, the story of Girl A, her escape from tThe House of Horrors
It’s a dark traumatic story, I was gripped from chapter one.
Lex is Girl A and one of six siblings, the story tells their rather disturbing childhood, which includes abuse, neglect and starvation. Its a sad tale, their father is dominant in the family and their mother follows his lead.
Lex escapes when things become so horrific and escape is the only way to survive. F
Years later when Lex and her sibling have new families and lives of their own, Lex is a successful lawyer in New York, their mother dies in prison, leaving Her children the House of Horrors and twenty thousand pounds. Lex needs the help of her brothers and sister to decide what to do with their legacy. Lex and her sister Evie will need to go back to the home she escaped from for one last time
From start to finish this is a compelling read, traumatic, sad and heart wrenching, but it’s also a story of survival from child abuse.

What happened to Lexi and her siblings was horrifying. The true extent builds as the backstory goes along but to kick off with a child escaping from shackles put in place by her parents, preventing her from leaving a soiled bed totally sets the scene for what is a shocking back and forth account of the lives of seven siblings.

As the story went on, I peeled back the layers of how truly affected these children were by the acts of their parents. None are cured of the mental (or physical) scars caused by their parents but each sibling is affected in such different ways. The more I got to know this broken family unit, the more my reading experience changed. My first impression of each sibling warped to something different by the end and I felt wrecked and disturbed by the journey I’d been on with Lexi. Now that’s the sign of an excellent crime thriller.

Girl A is a harrowing yet brilliant debut from Dean. Her writing is addictive, I wolfed Girl A down like I hadn’t read for weeks. This is one hell of a way to start 2021. If this is the standard to expect from debut authors this year, I’m going to be in for a treat!

A massive thank you to HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for this review copy!

Okay, so get ready for an emotional rollercoaster. This was a dark read, that focused on such a twisted, difficult-to-read storyline.

Lex and her siblings must come together to face their pasts and continue their lives.

Girl A is a story of neglect and trauma and of survival. I found it gripping, hard to put down and emotional.

I loved Lex’s determination, and found it inspiring. She wants to turn the horror of her childhood home into something happier: a community centre. First though, she needs to get her siblings on board with the help of her sister.

You won’t forget this one in a hurry. Brilliant writing.

I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This had so much potential for me, but it just misses the mark.
The premise was intriguing and I love a dark, disturbing thriller. It started so well, but I began to lose track of the story, with all the different children being focussed on, and the time lapses. I would have much preferred a clearer timeline, with dates for example, to distinguish how far apart events happened. It just seemed so disjointed to me.
A good thriller, but could have been great.

Lex Gracie is a successful New York based lawyer, back in the Uk to finalise a deal. However, that’s just a cover story. She is really back to deal with the aftermath of her mother’s death in prison; Lex was once known as Girl A, the girl who escaped from the horrific house when her parents had imprisoned and starved her and her six siblings.
This is a superb debut novel. Once the scene is set Abigail Dean introduces the other siblings in the following chapters. She is the master of the slow reveal, a little more of what happened to them is described in each chapter, the torture and mind control they were subjected to is truly gut wrenching.
Abigail Dean has written a real page turner, I couldn’t put it down and it will stay with me for some time. You wonder how people can behave as her parents did and how could the children survive in the house and manage to cope with life after they were released? Yet it is believable and clearly well researched. This will be one of my books of the year.
Thank you #netgalley and #harperfiction for allowing me to review this ARC

Lex Gracie doesn’t want to think about her family. She doesn’t want to think about growing up in her parents’ House of Horrors. And she doesn’t want to think about her identity as Girl A: the girl who escaped.

When her mother dies in prison and leaves Lex and her siblings the family home, she can’t run from her past any longer. Together with her sister, Evie, Lex intends to turn the House of Horrors into a force for good. But first she must come to terms with her six siblings – and with the childhood they shared.

Wow! What an intense read! This is a powerful and heart wrenching story of the childhood abuse and trauma experienced by Lex and her siblings.

The entire book is so well written. As we read on, we are introduced to each of the siblings and presented with how the past horrors and events have shaped their present, each of these instances are described so realistically. The choice of Lex as the main narrator is amazing as it makes the entire journey even more emotional and powerful.

Even though it is a dark and disturbing read, I was engaged right till the end and I loved it. Highly Recommended!

Thank You NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC!

Now this will get you out of any book slump you may have found yourself in over the past few months! I absolutely loved every minute of it.

Breathtaking, compelling, realistic, emotive, spellbinding, intense and dark... I was utterly engrossed from the very beginning until the very end.

Based on a House of Horrors you could quite easily believe this was a true story. Girl A (the one that escaped) relives her story in such a way you feel like you are walking in her shoes and feeling every raw emotion she goes through.

Yhe book will take you on a journey of the sixi children that were removed from the House of Horrors. A deeply disturbing story of neglect, abuse, religious cults and grief.

I honestly cant rate this any higher and dont want to give too much away as its definitely a book you need to pick up, hide away in a corner and devour yourself! It's a story that will sit with you for a long time after.

Huge thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

Girl A is published today and has got to be one of the most anticipated releases of 2021. I went into it trying not to have too much of a high expectation. But seriously the hype is real for this one. I can’t believe that this is a debut!

It is a heart wrenching read about childhood trauma all stemming from the horrific lives these children went through at the hands of their own parents. It is not an easy read at all, it is bleak, moving and horrifying. Yet it certainly is a page turner and it kept me up reading way past my bedtime!

Lex or Girl A as she is known is the main protagonist and you learn a bit more about each one of her siblings in each new chapter. You find that they all suffer with some kind of psychological damage which would be no surprise after what they went through. The author does such a fantastic job of exploring the complex relationships between the siblings and does it in a sensitive manner. The abuse that is hinted at through Lex’s eyes is not dwelled upon too much by the author which I must admit I was thankful for as I think I would have been a complete wreck reading it.

I would describe the story as more of a drama than a thriller or crime novel. It is all about family trying to survive a cruel life as children to then the realities of adulthood. How they deal with life after being known as survivors from the renowned House of Horrors is fascinating to read about.

A haunting, powerful story which I am certain is going to be a bestseller this year. Abigail Dean is a true talent to look out for. Thank you to the publisher for the e-arc.

I had heard a lot of great things about this debut novel from Abigail Dean so was very excited to receive an ARC and for me it lived up to all the hype. A very well written and thought provoking thriller of a sensitive subject which will stay with me for a long time. A definite hit for 2021. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Girl A is an emotional and at times hard read.
Moors Wood Road, one house, seven children and one set of cruel, twisted parents. This book is about Alex Gracie, who is girl A. Her brothers and sisters also have time dedicated to them in this book but the basis of the story is girl A.
Lex is the girl that managed to escape she has struggled to get over her childhood but all this comes clashing down when she is told her mother has died in prison and names her the executor.
I loved how this book was interspersed with the present and flashbacks of the past to really help you realise why this poor family really is why it is. I set off not really gelling to Lex but as her story was laid out and the trauma she had suffered and the way she was trying to battle against being the closed off person she was really swayed my mind and the progress she made had me in awe of her.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK HarperFiction for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.