This is the story of horrific child abuse suffered by Alexandra (Lex) Gracie and her siblings and its aftermath. The story is told by Alexandra (Girl A) and begins when her mother, who is in prison in England, dies and names Lex as the executor of her estate. Lex, living in New York, travels to England where she grew up and visits the prison, meets with the warden, and a solicitor who gives her details of her mother’s estate – 20,000 pounds and the home in which the abuse occurred. What she intends to do with the house and the memories it reawakens, both for her and her siblings, forms the remainder of the novel. 

Weaving between Lex’s memories and present day, the story ebbs and flows. The beginning is riveting and I found Lex to be a very complex and interesting character. However, I became bored in many of the descriptive chapters and feel that the author could have tightened the plot more to maintain reader interest. Also, the novel is very UK and, as an American reader, much of the language used was unfamiliar to me (UK slang, etc.).

All in all, in my opinion, I found Girl Ato be a good, but not a great read.

Girl A is currently on pre-order on Amazon (publication date Feb 2, 2021)