Such a Pretty Girl

Such a Pretty Girl

Laura Wiess; MTV Books 2007

Summary: They promised Meredith nine years of safety, but only gave her three. 

Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had time to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison. 

Today her time has run out.

My Review: This is such an intense and emotional book. It deals with real problems that people face. This isn’t usually the kind of book I would read, but a close friend told me I had to read it and I am thankful she recommended it to me.

Meredith is a fifteen year old girl who lived through a nightmare of an experience that some of us can’t even imagine going through. Her father sexually abused her when she was little and her mother didn’t do anything about it. He abused several other children, but Meredith was the one who was injured and admitted to what was happening that put him in jail.  She thought she was finally safe until he comes back early.  Meredith has no one to turn to and she has to find the strength with in herself to overcome her biggest nightmare.

This is such a haunting book, but I am glad I read it because this stuff is real. It isn’t graphic, but you get the general idea of what happens to her. I really admire Meredith for her strength and courage to defend herself from her demons.

If you can handle it, then definitely read it.

Watch Out for: Violence, sexual abuse, sex, language, and mental flashbacks. 

Candide

Candide
Voltaire; 1758


Summary: A flamboyant and controversial personality of enormous wit and intelligence, Voltaire is one of the most intriguing figures of the eighteenth century Enlightenment. His masterpiece is Candide, a brilliant satire on the theory that 'the world is the best of all possible worlds.' The book traces the picaresque adventures of the guileless Candide, who is forced into the army, flogged, shipwrecked, betrayed, robbed, separated from his beloved Cunegonde, tortured by the Inquisition, etc., all without losing his resilience and will to live.


My Review: I got a kick out of this book. I read it for one of my college classes and I found it to be an interesting book full of entertaining characters and hysterical scenes. Voltaire made horrible things that were happening around that time  funny.  I loved the character Candide even though he is quite naive.  He went through so much but  he still remained optimistic and had a passion for life that I truly envy. Some of my favorite quoations are found in this book. Here is one of them. "Optimism," said Cacambo, "what is that?" "Alas!" replied Candide, "it is the obstinacy of maintaining that everything is best when it is worst"  This is a classic book and worth reading and researching. 


Things to Watch Out for: Murder, rape, slavery, sexual references, theft, and oppressions.