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A review by nikkihrose
Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess
3.0
Have you ever imagined what life would be like if the one person who destroyed your life was suddenly back in it, every day, looking for ways to destroy it further?
Have you ever considered what happens to the hundreds upon thousands of survivors of abuse who society refuses to believe once they are cast away back into their shell of a life?
Meredith escaped her abuser. Her father was locked up for nine years — or so they told her. He got out in three. And now he’s back in her life.
She’s fifteen now, and she hoped that that would make her less desirable to him. She was wrong. She hoped that she could hide herself behind baggy clothing and filthy hair and hygiene. She was wrong. He wanted her — and being locked up hadn’t changed that in the slightest.
She tries to hide. She runs away. She looks to police officers, relatives, and friends for comfort. She curls in on herself, hiding behind her curtain of shame.
She is a pretty girl, devastated and destroyed inside.
She is a pretty girl — unable to escape her past.
She is a pretty girl — afraid that she will have to put herself in harm’s way in order to protect the innocence of others. In order to have a life. In order to survive.
Laura Wiess paints this devastating tale into a short novel — one relatable to far too many individuals in the world today. Meredith’s world becomes smaller, insignificant, and boxed in when her abuser returns to her household. When the laws put in place to protect her are ignored. When her own mother views her as a homewrecker instead of as her daughter who is in need of help and love. Meredith feels alone and so she fights for her own survival.
Have you ever considered what happens to the hundreds upon thousands of survivors of abuse who society refuses to believe once they are cast away back into their shell of a life?
Meredith escaped her abuser. Her father was locked up for nine years — or so they told her. He got out in three. And now he’s back in her life.
She’s fifteen now, and she hoped that that would make her less desirable to him. She was wrong. She hoped that she could hide herself behind baggy clothing and filthy hair and hygiene. She was wrong. He wanted her — and being locked up hadn’t changed that in the slightest.
She tries to hide. She runs away. She looks to police officers, relatives, and friends for comfort. She curls in on herself, hiding behind her curtain of shame.
She is a pretty girl, devastated and destroyed inside.
She is a pretty girl — unable to escape her past.
She is a pretty girl — afraid that she will have to put herself in harm’s way in order to protect the innocence of others. In order to have a life. In order to survive.
Laura Wiess paints this devastating tale into a short novel — one relatable to far too many individuals in the world today. Meredith’s world becomes smaller, insignificant, and boxed in when her abuser returns to her household. When the laws put in place to protect her are ignored. When her own mother views her as a homewrecker instead of as her daughter who is in need of help and love. Meredith feels alone and so she fights for her own survival.