Review: Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

Title: Pretty Girl-13

Author: Liz Coley 

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publishing Date: March 19th, 2013

Pages: 344
Audio Length: 8 Hours and 20 Minutes

Genre: YA Contemporary

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological thriller about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity and then piece together her own identity.
When thirteen-year-old Angela Gracie Chapman looks in the mirror, someone else looks back--a thin, pale stranger, a sixteen-year-old with haunted eyes. Angie has no memory of the past three years, years in which she was lost to the authorities, lost to her family and friends, lost even to herself. Where has she been, who has been living her life, and what is hiding behind the terrible blankness? There are secrets you can’t even tell yourself.
With a tremendous amount of courage and support from unexpected friends, Angie embarks on a journey into the darkest corners of her mind. As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: when you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the people responsible, or is there another way to feel whole again?

What made me pick this book up: 

This is another re-read. I had read this book years ago and I loved it. I picked it up then because Jenn had read it and told me how great it is.

What did I like about the cover: 

I honestly don't really care for this cover. It's too... It looks like something I would have done on a photo editing website when I was 14. 

What made me read this book: 

Like I said, it was a re-read. Jenn told me I needed to read it. This time around I just wanted to re-read it because I loved it the first time I read it. 

What did I like the most: 

I actually really enjoyed this book both times I read it. I loved it just a little less than the first time I think. But I'll go over that in a bit. 

The story is really interesting. It's about a 13 year old girl who goes missing and returns 3 years later remembering absolutely nothing from the time she was kidnapped to when she's walking home. 

In her head, she's still a 13 year old girl when she's actually 16 now.

I really like amnesia books and this is one of the best I've read because of how it's written. And it's definitely a unique take on the whole amnesia story.

The main character is okay, she's not awful. And I understand she might be a bit whiny and confused, so I really don't fault her for much.

I also really liked the boy she started dating, I can't remember his name, but I kept thinking how sweet he was. And understanding.

There's also a pretty big Wait What!? At the end of the book. That was cool.

What didn't I like: 

I felt like most of the other characters were so one dimensional. We didn't get to see too much of them, and from what we did I didn't like them much. I couldn't get to know them and I think in a book like this it should show the support system she has to overcome what she's been through.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think so.

A really great book that deals with a lot of issues.

“I contain multitudes.” 
― Liz Coley, Pretty Girl-13

Liz Coley writes fiction for teens and for the teen in you.

Check out LizColeyBooks channel on YouTube, hosting Undercover Reading. Currently Liz is reading her serial novel THE CAPTAIN'S KID, soon to be published in a read-along print or ebook edition.
Her latest series features Tor Maddox, a heroine for our times. DISARMED is a prequel short story, followed by the titles UNLEASHED, EMBEDDED, and MISTAKEN.
Pretty Girl-13 from HarperCollins has been released in twelve languages on five continents, in print, ebook, and audiobook.
There are secrets you can't even tell yourself.

Self-published YA novel Out of Xibalba features a contemporary teenager thrown back to ancient Mayan times.
The story starts when the world ends.
Her first published work was science fiction short stories, published in Cosmos magazine and several anthologies.
Liz lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, her teenaged daughter, 20-year-old Tiger the cat, and kittens Pippin and Merry. When she's not involved in writing-related activities, she can be found sewing, baking, shooting photos, playing tennis, and singing.