Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

Riveting from page one, Such a Pretty Girl is an excellent novel focusing on the life of Merideth, a teenage girl who was sexually abused by her father. The story begins with Merideth's father being released from prison after a 3 year term, something Merideth did not expect since he was originally sentenced to 9 years. She had hoped by the time he got out that she would be 18 and long gone.

The mother is in constant denial and never once sides with her daughter, rather seeing Merideth as the one that torn their family apart for her father's "mistake." A very shallow character, she constantly says, after all, "everyone makes mistakes, right?" in her quest to hold onto the marriage, even going as far as concieving another child. Her father also abuses several other young teens who respected his authority and gained trust, though those scenarios were never developed. The only person Merideth can rely on is her friend/love interest who is a parapalegic named Andy, who also was abused by the popular baseball coach Merideth once called Dad.

Merideth is obsessed with "lucky" numbers and pairings. There is also a lot of religious implication throughout the book, as Andy's mother is obsessed with the Virgin Mary and all things holy. This ends up to be in Merideth's favor later on.

When Merideth's mother leaves her unsupervised with her father, life takes another twist, though Merideth mentally and physically prepares for this day and is satisfied with the outcome. The reader hopes that Merideth's life takes a positive turn from this point on.

A sensational page-turner, great read for mature teen or adult. Great discussion book complete with Author's Questions at the back for further inspiration.