Pretty Girl-13

By Liz Coley

A disturbing and powerful psychological thriller about a girl who must piece together the mystery of her kidnapping and abuse, Pretty Girl-13 is a haunting yet ultimately uplifting story about the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods on a Girl Scout camping trip. Now she's returned home...only to find that it's three years later and she's sixteen—or at least that's what everyone tells her. What happened to the last three years of her life?

With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her lost time. She eventually discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: What do you do when you remember things you wish you could forget?

Perfect for fans of books like Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl and Kathleen Glasgow's Girl in Pieces.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062127389

Liz Coley

Liz Coley's short fiction has appeared in Cosmos magazine and speculative fiction anthologies. Her passions beyond reading and writing include singing, photography, and baking. She plays competitive tennis locally in Ohio to keep herself fit and humble. With a background in science, Liz follows her interest in understanding "the way we work" down many interesting roads. Pretty Girl-13's journey into the perilous world of dissociative identity disorder is one of them.

Book preview

PART I

YOU

Prologue

LOST TIME

YOU HAD FORGOTTEN HOW EARLY THE SUN RISES ON SUMMER campouts—and how loud the birds sing in the morning. You scrunched down in your warm sleeping bag to block out the green light that seeped through the nylon tent, but there was no way you were going back to sleep until you took care of something. As you shrugged off the sleeping bag, you sighed.

’Sup, Angie? Livvie’s whisper emerged from the folds of her sleeping bag.

Katie rustled lower into her plaid cocoon and pulled it closed over her head.

I just have to go to the tree, you answered, Girl Scout code for taking care of business.

Anyone else up yet? Liv cracked one eye and squinted at you.

I don’t think so. You sniffed. No one’s started the breakfast fire.

Liv’s one eye widened. It’s not our turn, is it?

Nope. Go back to sleep.

You unzipped the tent and slipped out into the fresh, pink morning. Rosy clouds lofted high above the trees. Pine needles underfoot muffled the sound of your flip-flops as you snuck away from the collection of tents. No one else was stirring. The sun hadn’t warmed the air yet, and the T-shirt you wore left your arms bare and goosebumpy.

A few thousand pine trees surrounded the clearing where the troop had pitched camp yesterday afternoon—lodgepole, ponderosa, Jeffrey, sugar pines. Mrs. Wells had made you memorize their bark and needles to earn your tree-ID badge. You found the trail you’d tromped along yesterday to walk into the campsite and headed down it a little way, looking for a thicker stand of trees. That was about as much privacy as you could get in the great outdoors. Tiny ripe August thimbleberries lined the path, and you munched a few as an early breakfast, the tart red juice staining your lips and fingers. A fallen tree with a saucer-shaped fungus lay across the path, and you filed it away in your brain as a landmark. Then you left the path and headed twenty feet or more into the woods to a good squatting place.

You spun in a slow circle to shake off the feeling you always had out here that someone was watching, before you hitched down your sweatpants and crouched. It was an art, peeing in the woods without splashing your feet or clothes, at least for girls.

A twig snapped sudden as a rifle shot. Your heart bumped in shock. Your eyes swiveled toward the direction of the sound, expecting a squirrel. A rabbit. A deer. Anything but a man, who blended invisibly into the undergrowth except for his narrow, dark eyes—eyes that stared at you with an almost familiar hunger.

Shhh. He put a finger to his lips, walking toward you.

You struggled with your sweats, humiliation and shock making your hands clumsy. You couldn’t break your gaze from his eyes, couldn’t see his face for the intensity of the unblinking stare that held you. You opened your mouth to talk, to scream, to plead, but nothing came out—your throat tight, as if a noose looped it and he held the knot. A moment later, he reached for you. His right hand covered your mouth and his left held your arm behind your back in an unbreakable grip. You still hadn’t breathed.

Don’t fight me, pretty girl, he whispered, pressed against your body, his moist lips touching your ear.

Fight him? Your limbs were soft, weak. Your knees on the edge of collapse. You couldn’t even take a step, to run, to flee. How could you fight him? Your stomach clenched, and the sound of wind rushed through your ears, a hurricane in your head.

Above the roar, you heard a little girl’s high-pitched voice call, Quick. Hide!

I opened the rusted gate for you to slip inside.

Stabbing pain pierced between your temples. Still you stayed, frozen in his grip. We tugged, pulled at you until something broke loose. For just a moment, you contracted to a tiny, hard point of light, felt yourself cut away from your body.

You hid. We kept you hidden till it was safe.

It was a long, long time.

1

INTERROGATION

"GO BACK NOW," A VOICE SAID. ANGIE FELT A POKE between her shoulder blades. She tripped forward a step, arms out to catch her balance.

Don’t, she protested, whirling to look behind, but no one else was there.

She shivered and shook her head to clear it. When the wave of dizziness passed, she opened her eyes again. She blinked hard at her street. Her cul-de-sac. Her neighborhood. The sun was halfway up the cloudless azure sky. Hot Santa Ana winds tousled the sweet gum trees. A hint of red tinged the edges of the falling leaves. Sharp-pointy seedpods scattered across the sidewalk. In August?

An unexpected weight tugged at her left hand—just a plastic grocery bag. Where was her camping gear? She hefted the bag to look inside, and that was when the strangeness hit her. She dropped it in surprise and studied her left hand. Something was really wrong here. This wasn’t her hand. Those weren’t her fingers. These fingers were longer, thinner than they were supposed to be. And a strange silver ring circled the middle finger. The skin was dry and rough. Dark scars circled the wrists like bracelets. She turned over her right hand, studying unfamiliar cracks and calluses on her palm. She clenched it experimentally. It felt . . . wrong.

Angie frowned and spun to look again behind her. How had she gotten here? She didn’t remember walking this way. She was just . . . in the woods?

Her stomach growled, and her right hand flew to her waist—taut, thin. And where had this hideous shirt come from? Flowers and ruffles? Not her style at all. And no way would Liv or Katie have bought it. She wouldn’t have borrowed it even if they had.

She picked up the bag and peeked at a collection of completely strange clothes. A sick feeling replaced the emptiness in her belly. Her head felt floaty, disoriented, disconnected.

Angie’s eyes traced the houses around the cul-de-sac. Everything there was familiar, thank God. The cars in the driveways looked right, which was reassuring, until she caught sight of Mrs. Harris, pushing a stroller, just entering her garage. Mrs. Harris didn’t have kids.

She broke into a run, feeling for the first time the blisters on her feet, the ache in her legs. Home, she had to get home. Of course. She’d been lost, in the woods. Now she was home.

She felt under the woven grass mat for a key and opened the red front door. Mom! she yelled. Hey, Mom, I’m home! She stepped through.

Tumbling down the front stairs, feet sliding, face a screaming mask of disbelief, her mom burst into tears. She engulfed Angie in her arms, speechless, gulping.

Mom! Angie said into her hair. Mom, I can’t breathe. She dropped the bag of clothes with a small thump. She brushed a wisp of hair from her lips. Silver threads mingled with Mom’s loose brown curls.

Can’t breathe . . . can’t breathe? Mom let go enough to hold Angie at arm’s length and devour her face with her eyes. Can’t . . . She laughed, a tight, hysterical bark. Oh my God. Oh my God. A miracle! Thank you, God. Thank you. She raised her eyes to the ceiling. Thank you, she said again.

Upstairs, a toilet flushed, and Dad’s voice called down the stairs. Margie, what’s all the commotion?

Mom whispered to Angie, Oh, your father . . . He’ll just . . . She couldn’t speak. Her face was white. Too round and white.

Dad’s tread on the landing filled the pause. For a moment, he stood there, his hands plastered to his cheeks. His eyes met Angie’s and filled with tears. Angela? Are you really . . . His voice choked off.

Angie looked back and forth between the two of them. Um, yeah. I’m really . . . What’s going on? It wasn’t just her. Something was wrong with her parents, too. A shiver passed across her shoulder blades.

Angel? Dad whispered the word. He stood on the landing, frozen in weirdness. His black hair was completely gray. His damp eyes looked a hundred years old.

Angie’s heart began to race, and her feet tingled like they wanted to take off running. You guys are totally freaking me out.

We’re freaking you . . . ? Mom’s hysterical laugh broke out again. Angie, where . . . where have you been?

You know. Angie’s stomach squirmed. Camping?

The way they stared and stared at her made it hard to breathe. Camping, she said again, firmly.

Dad started down the stairs. Camping, he repeated. Camping? His voice rose in pitch. For three years?

Angie locked the bathroom door and pressed her back against it. Her familiar towel set, cream with roses, hung on the rack, just where she’d left it. It smelled like Tide. She’d never been so happy to see a towel before. It was perfect. It was right. Unlike her parents.

Were they kidding? Were they crazy? She couldn’t have been missing for three years. That wasn’t the kind of thing a person would . . . just forget.

She turned on the sink first, then glanced up at a face that looked back at her with clear gray eyes. In that moment of utter surprise, she forgot how to breathe.

The girl in the mirror could have been her older sister, taller, thinner. Her cheekbones were sculpted, where Angie’s were soft and round. Her face was pale, where Angie’s was tan from a summer at the pool. The girl had long, dirty-blond hair, where Angie’s was highlighted and bobbed. The girl had serious arm muscles, gray skin, healed-up scars, and another thing that made the girl in the mirror a stranger. She had a curvy shape—breasts. Angie dropped her eyes to her chest. What the hell. Boobs? Where had those come from?

She fingered the top button on her shirt, scared to look.

A wooden pounding startled her. Angela! Angela, for God’s sake, don’t do anything. Her father’s voice sounded panicked. Don’t . . . don’t . . .

Angie turned the lock and opened the door. I . . . I wasn’t, she said. Her face flushed with guilt. For what?

Dad’s face was drawn with tension. A bead of sweat stood out on his forehead. Angie was mesmerized by it. She realized only half his chin was shaved.

His gaze slipped to the right, avoiding her. His voice was low and hoarse. Detective Brogan will be here in fifteen minutes. He said not to touch anything that might be considered evidence.

Evidence of what? Angie asked. The sound of running water filled the heavy silence while Dad hesitated over his answer. His attention darted to the sink.

Oh God, Angela. You didn’t wash anything yet. Right?

She held up her filthy arms, dirt so embedded in her creases and pores that she had turned gray. Evidence? she repeated. Of what, Dad?

Dad’s mouth twisted around for a few moments. The sweat rolled lower. Evidence of whatever, wherever, or whoever.

Angie looked at him in confusion.

His forehead creased with lines. Dark hollows circled his eyes. You really don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?

Angie felt stupid. He expected something from her. She didn’t know what, but she could feel his anger simmering. Something stirred inside, and she walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her head came up to his chin. I love you so much, she said. She felt him stiffen and pull back. She must have done the wrong thing. Her arms dropped. She turned cold, inside and out.

I—I have to finish shaving, he said randomly, his head turned away from her. Shut off the water. Go wait downstairs with your mother. He walked down the hall and closed the bedroom door behind him.

Angie had this vague idea that it might be a good idea to cry. But everything was tangled and frozen inside, seized up like the giant breath before pain arrives. She thought about chewing a fingernail, but it was dirty. And evidence. Her stomach clenched again. Evidence of what?

The unusual ring on her left hand caught her eye. Why couldn’t she remember where she’d bought it? The question made her strangely nervous, and the single warning throb of a headache coming on poked her temple. She twisted the silver band loose and placed it in the soap dish. The pain passed. It was probably Livvie’s, or Katie’s. Better not to think about it too hard.

The sound of Dad’s razor hummed as Angie hurried down the top flight of stairs. She stopped halfway, her feet pinned to the landing. She hovered like a lost child, halfway between Dad upstairs and Mom downstairs. Her pulse beat the passing seconds. Someone was coming. A detective, Dad said. She watched the front door until the frosted glass darkened with shadow.

Mom flew from the kitchen to answer the double knock.

A tall, ginger-haired man stood framed in the doorway. Mom threw herself into his arms with a muffled sob. He patted Mom’s back with one hand and looked over her head to the landing, where Angie still hesitated.

The man’s eyes went wide. Angela, he whispered. Welcome home.

He separated himself from Mom and held out his right hand, palm up, half an invitation, half a handshake. Please, he said. Will you come down?

Dad had called him a detective, but he was wearing blue jeans with a tear starting in one knee. The sleeves of his dark plaid shirt were rolled to the elbow. He looked casual, comfortable. He looked—amazed.

Angie took the four steps to the bottom and reached for his outstretched hand. It was huge, and hers disappeared as he pressed it between both of his.

L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. Detective Phil Brogan, he said. Sorry to appear like this. I was gardening, and I didn’t waste a moment when Mitch called. His hand was rough and calloused, but he held hers like a newborn kitten, with care and tenderness. He tilted his head and studied her face with a tiny smile.

Angie’s tension began melting away, her chill warming, until the moment he ruined it.

This is incredible, he said. I feel like I know you already.

She instantly felt stripped, exposed. A complete stranger who knew her. Her breath caught in a gasp. She caged the sob before it could escape. If she let it start, she might never stop.

Lord, I’m sorry, Angela, he said immediately. He let her hand slither away. Mitch told me on the phone there might be memory issues. That you aren’t sure how long you were gone or where exactly you were. Disorientation. That’s not unusual.

Was that true? Angie tried to decipher his eyes. Blue, kind, honest. She didn’t read a threat there. Okay. So maybe what was happening to her wasn’t unusual. She felt a flicker of hope. Maybe he could actually help her figure this out.

She nodded, and he smiled gently. Come. He gestured to the family room with his head. We don’t have to stand here like bowling pins.

A clunk sounded upstairs, and Angie imagined a giant ball rolling down the stairs, knocking them all off their unsteady feet, but it was only Dad. The corner of her mouth twitched. The detective caught it and smiled back with his eyes. Fascinating eyes. Orange specks dotted the dark blue irises. She’d never seen anything like them.

Dad walked ahead without sparing her a glance and clicked on the fire with the remote. She looks cold, he offered as explanation. Of course, the heat from the gas fire, locked safely behind glass doors, was too weak to reach her.

Angie made a full sweep of the room, finding everything familiar and in its place. Soft green cushions on the beige leather sofas. Floor-length drapes with leaf patterns, pulled back to let in the daylight. Old cabinet-style TV with the remote and printed guide on top. Piles of jumbled books in the bookcase on the side wall. There was no way three years had passed in this room. No way. Nothing had moved.

The detective settled into the chair closest to Angie’s corner of the sofa. His expression softened, and he rubbed the palm of his hand across his stubbly chin. Angela, I’m so sorry. I know this is difficult for you. Very confusing.

Did he? Angie wondered. Had his reality ever changed in the blink of an eye? She studied her shabby knees. They turned blurry as she squeezed away dangerous tears. Stop.

Brogan placed a featherlight hand on her bowed head. I imagine all you want to do right now is reunite with your family and be left in peace.

She nodded a fraction of an inch, grateful for his sympathy. She could tell he meant it—he understood how unstable she was. At least, it didn’t feel like just a police technique to warm her up for questioning.

Beside her, Mom squeezed her hand, and Angie looked up into the detective’s steady gaze. Unexpected freckles dusted his cheekbones. But . . . , she offered, sensing he was leading up to but.

But my job is to figure out whether we have a criminal case to pursue here. Especially if we have a fresh trail. Do you understand?

Her throat suddenly got the I’m about to throw up feeling. She swallowed it down. Criminal? Did I . . . Did I do something wrong?

Not you, Angie, Mom burst out, her fingers accidentally digging into Angie’s palm. Angie flinched.

Margie. Brogan raised his eyebrows at Mom. Sorry, Angela. There are just a few questions I need to ask you right now. Then we’ll move on to other procedures.

There are a few things I want to know too, Dad interrupted. How on earth did you find your way home, Angela? Did anyone help you? Did you walk the whole way?

Yes. The single word escaped her lips, but it didn’t make any sense. From where? Angie had no idea.

Don’t be ridiculous, Mitch, Mom said, shushing him. It’s more than thirty miles to where she disappeared.

Downhill, Angie whispered. No one heard her. Where had that thought come from?

Besides, Mom continued, she could have been anywhere. Out of California entirely.

Brogan stood up and began a slow pace across the room. Angie followed him with her eyes. He’d changed—not a comfortable guy in torn jeans anymore. The soft sympathy face was gone. He was a panther, hunting. A cop, patrolling. She put herself on guard.

His voice changed too—it was flatter, clipped. Angela. Any idea how long you were gone? Any hint of location? Anything at all?

No! I . . . uh, no. No idea. Angie gestured to her parents. They say it was three years. But . . . I don’t know. That doesn’t seem right. It was just a couple of days.

Did you run away on purpose?

Angie’s forehead wrinkled. Run away? No. Of course not.

No trouble at home? At school? At church? You didn’t need a break? From something? Or someone? His gaze was probing, encouraging, and scary, all at the same time. He paced and watched and listened.

No. What are you talking about? Everything’s fine. Was. Fine.

Mom slid an arm around her. Angie leaned into the hug to prove her point.

Brogan nodded. He spoke slowly and carefully. Did you arrange to meet someone? Did you visit an internet site and become close to an interesting person?

I’m not an idiot! No and no. What stupid questions. Exhaustion gripped her. What did she have to say to end all of this?

The detective shrugged. Okay. We didn’t find a trace of that kind of history on the computers you use at home or at school. Still worth asking, though.

Dad finally quit standing watch and dropped into the other armchair with a loud sigh of relief. What was he was thinking? That she would actually sneak off with someone?

Brogan caught Dad’s eye and gave him a watch yourself here look. It was easy to read the detective’s face. Angela, have you ever experimented with alcohol or drugs? A lot of kids your age have. Answer honestly—we won’t be angry or shocked, and we can get you help.

You can tell us, hon, Mom said. We won’t judge. I swear.

Dad looked like he might, though, his elbows grinding a hole in his knees.

Mom patted his arm and said in an obvious aside, That could explain her fuzziness on the details.

Angie groaned. No, I haven’t. I’ve never drunk anything but Communion wine. I’ve never tried drugs. Just a cigarette. Which was completely gross, by the way.

May I see your hands? Brogan asked. It wasn’t a request. It was an order.

She rolled her eyes and wordlessly stuck her arms out. They were too long, too thin, too pale, and she imagined they were someone else’s arms stuck on her body. Brogan traced the unfamiliar scars on her wrists with a finger, flipped the hands over to examine the short, ragged nails, then back over to the dirty, rough palms. His finger explored the groove left by the ring on her middle finger, the cleaner, paler skin revealed.

He met her eyes with a question. Know anything about this?

A knifelike pain hit her behind the ear. She winced and shook her head, which he took to mean no. The ache drifted away. Her head cleared. It felt like fog lifting.

He pursed his lips. Humor me a sec. Arm wrestle me. He dropped into the chair again and set his elbow on the coffee table, thumb up.

You’ll win. Your hands are huge, Angie predicted. Plus your arm is much longer than mine.

One side of his mouth smiled. Humor me. Please?

Angie snorted. Right. She grasped his hand and pushed. Her smaller fingers disappeared in his

Reviews for Pretty Girl-13

[tripsis_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviewsPretty Girl-13 completely took me by surprise! This book is really heavy. It's dark, gritty, and deals with some seriously intense issues. I adored this book, but not in the usual girly, giddy, fan-girl-scream way. I adored Pretty Girl-13 in the sense that it really shook me to my core and left me speechless. It's an extremely sad and emotionally draining book, but it will leave you with dark and heavy thoughts that are sure to change you.My biggest fear going into Pretty Girl-13 was that the "alters" would be confusing. These "alters" are Angie's other personalities. She developed them as a way to cope with extreme physical and emotional abuse. But I was afraid that these multiple personalities would make the book extremely confusing, especially if we were hopping from one personality's point of view to another. But don't worry—none of those fears became a reality; Liz Coley does a wonderful job crafting this book with zero confusion. It's definitely intriguing and a bit freaky to think about, but it's not confusing. For the most part, we don't actually see from the other personalities' points of view (there are a few minor exceptions). Usually when we hear from them it's in the form of a physical letter or recording from one personality to Angie. This more 'physical' way of hearing from the other personalities made it really easy to relate to and almost just view them as separate people.On a similar note: don't be freaked out by the second person point of view in the prologue. I have to be honest, it scared the shit out of me. Second person isn't something you come across often and I was confused, scared, and worried. It kind of put me off on a bad foot with Pretty Girl-13. But the rest of the book (or at least 99% of it) is formatted in a more traditional third person point of view. Now and then we do get the second person narrative, and that's when we're reading from an alter, who's sort of talking to Angie as "You". (I'm afraid I'm making this sound confusing, but I promise—it's not.)Liz Coley did a fabulous job of slowly revealing the information about Angie's capture. We only learn bits and pieces at a time, but each new piece of information is a twist in the story. It's bomb drop after bomb drop, and things just get scarier, creepier, and more traumatic. But Angie was a fabulously strong main character and I was amazed at how well she took everything. She was a real trooper, and I loved that about her! I also loved the integration of therapy. I'm usually one of the people that's a little bit skeptical of therapy, but this book did a great job to demonstrate how therapy can really help a person overcome traumatic experiences, and it was brilliant!Pretty Girl-13 is certainly a dark book and you can't go into it light-hearted, but I highly recommend it if you're looking for an intriguing, fascinating, and devastating read all in one. This book is just as hopeful as it is traumatic, and I love how Angie and Liz are able to point out the light amidst a sea of darkness.

[heatherlinc · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book just didn't do it for me. Despite the shocking events Angie faced, the resolutions came too easily and all the scenes with the detective felt unrealistic.

[emma_manolis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book begins at the moment Angie is captured, then catapults you three years into the future. Just like Angie you have no clue what is going on or what exactly happened. On top of that there is a second narrator who isn't identified but who is pretty creepy. I didn't recall reading the summary of Pretty Girl-13 so I had completely forgotten that this book dealt with alter personalities. The way the narration was written I thought for sure that Angie had at some point been abducted by aliens and now shared her body with one or many of her captors. The truth is still pretty darn creepy.

Angie slowly begins to unravel what she experienced the last three years as she meets each of her alters during therapy. Just when you think you have met all of the alters there are more. As crazy as this sounds, I think if something this traumatic happened to me I would prefer to have all these alter egos guarding various parts of the experience. It just seems to make the whole situation much more manageable in my mind, in that you can deal with each aspect one at a time instead of having everything that happened stuck in your mind all the time.

My one issue with this book is that it wasn't enough for Angie to have just been abducted for three years. On top of that she had to deal with another traumatic experience with a family member that she had repressed her entire life. That just felt unnecessary and over-the-top for me. It just seemed like Angie couldn't catch a break and the author was trying to shove as much drama into the story as possible.

Overall, the twists are pretty predictable but I still enjoyed myself. It definitely creeped me out and it made me want to learn more about these types of coping mechanisms and multiple personalities in general.

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Holy shit. I knew from the cover that this book would be creepy, but I was not emotionally prepared for this experience. Pretty Girl-13 is one of those books that I'm going to remember for a while, not something that will quickly dissipate from my limited memory banks for story lines. Liz Coley's debut will no doubt shock and offend readers, one of those reads that will be deemed inappropriate for any but the most mature teens, due to the many triggers, most especially rape. If you can handle it, though, Pretty Girl-13 is a riveting tale of recovery from intense psychological and physical trauma.

If you put me in front of a horror movie, I collapse into a shrieking ball of fear. Even though I know what's going to happen, I can't handle it one bit. Horror books, though, really don't scare me. Pretty Girl-13 managed it, however. The horror of Coley's novel is not one of outright violence or things jumping out at you; it's one of the mind. This book messes with your head, makes you imagine situations you've never considered. Angie suddenly appears after three years missing. She has no memory of that period, none at all. That is the most terrifying thing for me: all that time she can't remember, the idea that anything at all could have happened to her and she wouldn't know.

Throughout Pretty Girl-13, I was on the edge of my seat, filled with tension as Angie's story unravels. At no point did my interest wane or did I find the book boring. The revelations come fast and thick, keeping the reader at rapt attention. This is one of those books that I got so into, I disappeared at times, sucked completely into the book, flipping pages without conscious effort.

A couple of the secondary characters in Pretty Girl-13 really shine, and I want to give them a shout out, because the supporting cast generally doesn't get enough love. Kate, Angie's friend, is marvelous. She's totally at one with herself, accepting of her role as a social pariah and determined to make the best of it. Then there are the twins, Ali and Abraim, who date Kate and Angie. Oh my goodness, but they are so cute. Abraim is such a non-standard YA hero in pretty much every way, and I am so thrilled about the way their little romance is handled, though it is probably less than five percent of the story.

Angie herself is a bit trickier. For reasons that will become obvious when you read the book, or if you read the blurb, which I think is a bit spoilery, Angie's character is a bit inconsistent. The narrative style of Pretty Girl-13 does not help with connection to Angie's character. Coley uses third person, which is naturally distancing, and I felt it especially so here. On the other hand, the italicized sections were a well done device. Though I pity Angie and want the best for her, I never got a solid handle on her character, which is understandable, but kept me from engaging that last little bit.

I also feel like some aspects were oversimplified or made more dramatic for plot purposes. Though I can't speak about these directly because I don't want to spoil the story for you, I can say that Angie's recovery takes place to quickly. Her psychologist suggests that full recovery will take years and she's pretty close by the end of a few months. That seems highly unlikely to me, even given some of the extraneous circumstances.

Pretty Girl-13 is a knuckle-biting psychological thriller. I recommend it for mature readers who want a novel that pushes the boundaries of what YA novels can discuss. Readers who prefer lighter fare will want to look elsewhere. This one's intense. Like camping.

[whitney.flocka.flame · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this book, but I have read way too many true-life accounts of multiple personalities to be able to take it seriously. The plot twists were way too obviously foreshadowed, and there are major plot holes.

SPOILER ALERTS

To start with, it takes WAY more than a few months to integrate multiple personalities -- we're talking years, maybe DECADES. Ridiculous.


Second, Angie's reactions to her new memories and integrations are equally ridiculous. She figures out that she has an extra alter she didn't know about, and she's upset because it happened during finals week and she needs to study? Seriously? You can't get an extension when you've just recently returned to school after being held captive by a sadistic f*$% and you're trying to catch up on 3 years of lost education? And even if you couldn't, isn't it slightly more important that you have A NEWLY DISCOVERED EXTRA PERSONALITY? (Oh, and also, there are boys. Because you have time for that when you're skipping through grades, babysitting, and integrating your abused personalities.)

Lastly, HUGE SPOILER, aside from giving the whole thing away to any semi-experienced reader halfway through the book, the pregnancy plot twist is super-ridiculous. Not because that couldn't happen -- many of the true crime stories I've read include pregnancies and childbirth -- but because it would be quite obvious to the doctors who examine the girl post-escape at the beginning of the book, that she was a 16-year-old girl WHO HAD GIVEN BIRTH. Jesus Christ on a shingle.

Now, having said all that, I would say the beginning of the book had me hooked, but about 1/3 of the way in, my continued reading became morbid curiosity to see if it was really going the way I thought it was. (It was.) There was potential here, it just didn't pan out.

[lisally_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty Girl-13 follows Angie Chapman, a 13 year old girl who disappears from a Girl Scout camping trip, only to turn up at home three years later with no recollection of any events since leaving her tent. It is soon revealed that Angie has developed dissociative identity disorder (DID), to deal with the rather horrific events of her ordeal. Angie’s ordeal, revealed by her “alters,” is pretty horrific, involving not only kidnapping but imprisonment, torture, and rape.Although the nature of DID is still rather uncertain, the way it’s handled here does seem fairly plausible, for the most part. At first it seems unbelievable that Angie would experience a split immediately upon her kidnapping, there is fortunately a plausible explanation in Angie’s past. That particular twist works well in the story, but other plot points just don’t seem very realistic.While Angie’s therapy, although fictional, seems fairly possible, it seems strange that any psychologist would rely so heavily on hypnotherapy given its unreliable nature. The final major twist also seems like it shouldn’t have gone unnoticed [SPOILERS]Angie is revealed to have been impregnated by her captor, and gave birth to a baby boy. Her son was then give up for adoption by her abductor, and is then adopted by her neighbors. It seems a bit of a stretch that Angie would bear no physical evidence of having given birth, and that it would go unnoticed in an examination. Also, the odds of her child being adopted by the neighboring couple is highly unlikely.A review copy was provided through the goodreads.com first reads program.

[bookswithbite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Let me take a minute to catch my breath and my mind. I love reading stories that are based on real facts, but this story is soo powerful it plagued me for days.The plot of the book is so sad and hurtful that it fills me with anger. I had to set the book aside sometimes cause I found myself grinding my teeth or worse, raising my blood pressure. The plot is about a girl, Angie, who gets abducted at 13 years old and returns home a few years later. She doesn't remember anything. But she knows that something horrible has happened to her. Through the help of her parents and a psychologist, Angie must search her enclosed mind and unlock what has happened to her. Watching or rather reading Angie unlock each part of her mind hurts. I can't even begin to tell you how much I cringed, looked away or even find myself sooo freaking angry that I had to set the book down and walk away. I did come back to it, only cause I had hope in Angie that she will overcome this.This is not a pretty story. Written beautifully that captures every single heartbreaking moment, Pretty Girl-13 fulfills every element. The unsettling of drama and darkness that follows Angie, this story will leave you changed.

[smileydq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thirteen-year old Angie disappeared from a Girl Scout camping trip; this book opens three years later when she walks back into her house, having no idea that three years have passed. She doesn't know where she has been, who she was with, or what happened to her - she can't believe the sixteen-year-old looking back at her from the mirror. As she attempts to reenter her life, she begins having blackouts; after a few therapy sessions, it becomes clear that Angie is suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). In the face of the extreme trauma Angie has suffered, her mind has fractured, creating alternate personalities who protect her and face her abuser. The novel tracks the course of Angie's first months back home, and her struggle to integrate these 'alters' back into herself so that she can have one whole persona, while at the same time facing their memories about the abuse she suffered. For the most part, this was a riveting book - the emotions crackled off the page, the characters were alive and vividly painted, and the plot turns were decently developed. Some of the 'science' behind the treatment of DID seemed a little fanciful to me, but I'm no expert so who knows. Angie did seem to recover remarkably quickly, but then, it's almost believable, because she's such a strong character to begin with, and has withstood so much already in her young life, that it seems entirely realistic that she would take charge of her situation and work as quickly as possible to remedy it. I wish her parents had been better drawn characters - they were a bit one-dimensional, and in my opinion their responses to Angie, to her return and to her abuse, didn't ring true. I found this novel to be an engaging and insightful look at the workings of a child's mind in the fact of horrible trauma, and the amazing ability of the human mind and psyche to heal itself. It might not have been a perfectly scientific telling, but as a work of YA fiction, this book is a win for me, I highly recommend it.

[ekanderson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love a good thriller. A book that keeps me up reading with one eye open as I try not to fall asleep? That's my favorite. So when I picked up PRETTY GIRL-13 by Liz Coley, that's what I thought I was getting into. But it's so much more.The jacket copy describes PRETTY GIRL-13 as "reminiscent of the Elizabeth Smart case." The main character, Angie, has just escaped captivity after 3 years, but she feels like it's only been a day. She feels 13, even though her parents say she's 16. She has scars that she can't explain and doesn't understand. And the detective assigned to her case can't get her to remember anything. But when she begins therapy, piece by piece, things begin coming to light. And it's not what Angie -- or her family -- expected. She suddenly wishes it was just amnesia. Because now, her life is falling apart for reasons other than the fact that she is a kidnap victim. She's also living with something that nobody will understand.There are so many ways to spoil this amazing, heartbreaking, terrifying book. So I won't. I will simply tell you to read, with the warning that it is intense, it is disturbing, and it might not be for everyone I have to applaud Liz Coley for handling delicate issues with both respect and a dose of hard reality. PRETTY GIRL-13 is a page turner that -- if you enjoy reading about the tough stuff -- you just have to check out.

[titania86_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Angela Chapman is thirteen years old. The last thing she remembers is going on a Girl Scouts trip and encountering a frightening person in the forest. Now, she is wearing weird clothes and has scars she doesn't remember getting. When she returns home, her parents tell her she has been gone for 3 years, but she still has no recollection of even being gone. As she is getting used to being 3 years older than she feels and acclimating to her new life, strange things start to happen. Angela finds chores done around the house, but no one admits to doing it. She wakes up exhausted after getting full night's sleep and finally finds a note written by a fragment of her personality called an alter. Dissociative identity disorder is the name of her condition, more famously known as multiple personality disorder. Now, Angela has to embark on a terrifying journey to collect the memories of her abduction and put her life back together.I have read a few books on dissociative identity disorder, which is still very controversial and many still doubt the veracity of the disorder. I always thought the subject was much too adult for teens because of the descriptions of abuse that contributed to the fracturing of the main character's psyche. Liz Coley describes these events without an overabundance of detail and makes it palatable for a teen audience. The emotional impact is just as strong even without the more graphic descriptions that would be seen in an adult novel. Angela's story brings to mind the victims of prolonged abuse in the headlines today. I was disgusted, saddened, and filled with rage when further abuse in her past was dismissed by her relatives, by the way her so called friends treated her after she returned to school, and by the three years of abuse she had to endure. So, be prepared for an intense emotional roller coaster.Angela and her personalities are very different from each other. Angie is an innocent, normal thirteen year old girl. She's confused and wants to find out about what happened to her. Her alters protected her from the horrible truth and in turn protect the reader as well by doling out information bit by bit. Girl Scout is resourceful and excels at cooking. Little Wife is forward, daring, and sexual. Tattletale is a shy, scared little girl. These are only the main ones. Some of the minor ones are much less fully realized. All of them have different opinions, senses of style, and preferences. The readers never get to experience the point of view of any of the alters, like Angela. We only see their written narratives, tape recordings, or the aftermath of their actions. I think it would have been nice to see them more up close and see the world through their eyes, but it was a strong narrative choice and makes us sympathize more with Angela. Pretty Girl-13 is an addicting read that I finished in one sitting. I needed to know what happened and some of the revelations caught me by surprise. The only problem I had with the novel was the use of technology to instantly get rid of the alters. I'm not sure if that was made up, but it sounds too convenient. It takes decades of therapy to get to that point for most people. Other than that, I would recommend this book for those not afraid of an emotionally heavy, but ultimately inspiring novel.

[thehidingspot · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Liz Coley's Pretty Girl-13 reads like a horror novel, but it's actually realistic fiction - emotional, powerful, horrifying realistic fiction. This debut novel tells the harrowing tale of Angie Chapman, a sixteen year old girl who has been missing for three years after going missing during a Girl Scout camping trip. The novel opens with Angie returning home, with no memory of having been missing for years. She still thinks she's thirteen and is shocked, and has a difficult time believing, that she's been missing at all. Thus begins Angie journey to unlocking the mystery of her disappearance and the past three years while learning to live her life again when the world has moved on without her.Early in the book, the reader and Angie discover that, in an effort to protect her, her mind has shattered into multiple personalities. Little by little, Angie meets and interacts with these distinct personalities which hide the secrets of the last three years to protect the original Angie, who they refer to as Pretty Girl-13. It is this part of Pretty Girl-13 that most makes the novel feel like it could be part of the horror genre: the entirely plausible situation that occurs in the novel is perhaps more terrifying than the any monster you could possibly imagine. Not only must Angie work to merge or eliminate her various personalities, to do so, she must face the realities the personalities are hiding her from, realities that are sure to be painful and difficult to bear. Admittedly, this is a very emotionally heavy novel, but Coley writes in such a way that the reader is able to connect and empathize with Angie, while keeping some distance so not to be completely overwhelmed by the horrors she has experienced. Angie's multiple personalities not only distance her from the events of the past three years, they also distance the reader, revealing information little by little so not to release the painful events too quickly. Additionally, Angie must move on with her life, however difficult it may be, offering another way for Coley to balance the darkness of the past with the hopefulness of Angie's future. I can't imagine how terrifying being intimate, having romantic feeling for someone, or trusting after what Angie's been through, especially at such a young age, but I felt Coley did a wonderful job of showing how this could be possible... and is even necessary. One of my favorite aspects of Pretty Girl-13 was the focus on the supportive individuals in Angie's life following her disappearance. Angie reconnects with an old friend and makes a few new friends who don't question the difficulties she's facing or judge her. If they were real people, I would have given them huge hugs! Angie also works closely with a psychologist who is very invested in her and I loved the relationship that developed between the two characters... and the psychologist and some of Angie's personalities. Not only were these developments interesting from a psychological standpoint, they were touching as well.I was continually shocked as more and more information about Angie's missing three years was uncovered, but I never felt overwhelmed by the darkness of the subject matter. Coley did a beautiful job of finding the light in such a dark situation, adding depth and a sense of hope to Pretty Girl-13. This is a must read for fans of realistic YA and psychological dramas.

[brainannex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Creepy, creepy read. I almost added printz-worthy to my tags but I don't know if it's that kind of compelling or something completely different. The mystery starts page one and doesn't stop until the last page. The twists and turns were unexpected and the work done to untangle those twists was really compelling. Definitely *very-high-ya* so do not hand this to the 10 year old who is reading at a high school level.

[jeneaw-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As weird as it might sounds, I am always drawn to these types of books. The mind is a fascinating thing, and what goes on up there is always interesting to me. After reading the synopsis, I knew I had to read this and find out what happened to Angie and where she had been for 3 years.

Angie went missing 3 years ago on a camping trip, and when she returns her mind still believes she is 13. Can you imagine this, I certainly can’t. Feeling for her came so easy. The frustration, the not knowing was so hard for Angie. And as the story progresses we learn why she has no memory. Her “alters” have helped her and protected her, but now it time for her to know the truth. It was frightening, yet intriguing at the same time.

Everyone that she remembers has grown up and moved on. Friends who grew up as best friends were longer best friends. Boys that different, but there is one friend that I thought was just amazing. Kate, who while Angie was missing had been labeled as a social outcast, but they were friends before Angie was kidnapped and she stuck with Angie, always listened and helped her. And I have to mention Abraim. He was so patient with Angie, he didn’t really know everything she had been through, but he didn’t care, he just liked her.

The world building was amazing. Being given a little bit of Angie’s past a little at a time, until it all came together was at times excruciating. The emotions I felt ranged from snickering at some of things that Angie said when trying to handle her disorder, to bawling my eyes out. The things this poor girl endure in her life were horrible and hard to read sometimes, but the strength she had was commendable and I wanted to know everything.

The ending was one that I cried my eyes out on, so heart breaking, but how could I have not been proud of Angie for the decision she made. Fans of psychological thrillers will not be disappointed, I know I wasn’t. I can’t really say enough about this, just that I highly recommend reading it. Pretty Girl-13 was gripping, completely emotion inducing and one that will stick with me.

[lilrongal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

mind blowing.

[eeminxs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this shocking and horrifying book, we see a young girl who was kidnapped at age thirteen return home 3 years later, still believing no time had has passed. As she participates in therapy, it is found she has split into multiple personalities-which the therapist wonders about as there was supposedly no type of abuse when she was younger.
As the story goes on, the reader is shown in bits and pieces just what happened while she was kidnapped and why it was so easy for her to split into multiple personalities to protect herself.
This is a harsh book at times but above all, shows the resilience of a spirit who is unwilling to die out and fights against the horrors in her life, no matter what that might mean. This book truly is an inspiration of fighting to survive and cope until it is safe to deal with issues.

[olegalca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really great first novel! The subject matter is dark and disturbing but the author created a strong character who is both believable and vulnerable. The ending was a bit convenient and lacked the emotional intensity of the rest of the book but overall, thumbs up! **Warning: I don't think this is appropriate for young teens due to explicit material**

[jami_leigh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 3 1/2 stars
Style: 4 stars
Pace: 3 1/2 stars

Creepy, a bit predictable, and over the top at times, still had me devouring it in a day. Rounding up for that.

[stormydawnc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fun fact: I am afraid of flying, which is what I was doing when I read Pretty Girl-13. I’m not so much afraid of the plane crashing–I’m more afraid of the fact that planes are small and I get claustrophobic and there’s so many people and nowhere to go. It terrifies me.

You know what else terrifies me? The idea that I could have repressed memories. This has been one of my biggest fears since I was 13 years old. The idea that maybe something has happened that made me subconscious lock everything off in that part of my mind. Perhaps this is a strange fear–perhaps others don’t have this–but this is coming from the girl who, when she was eight, decided her biggest fear was that she’d wake up one morning and realize her entire life up to this point had been a dream and she’d have to start all over again. My biggest fears have always been on the psychological side, which is why Pretty Girl-13 was so engrossing to me. I guess there’s nothing like getting over one of your fears like reading about another one.

Pretty Girl-13 is horrifying in a very subtle way, because it doesn’t scream at you, “Look at me and be terrified!”. There are no monsters, no ghosts, only what humanity is capable of and a single human mind. And yet, at the same time, it never ventured into territory of shocking merely for the sake of shocking. What I mean by that is while the details of Angie’s abduction are awful, they are not graphic nor played up anymore than the plot demands. I have trouble reading books like this sometimes, and while I was disturb, I never felt like I was being manipulated. I never felt like point of the book was to make me feel disturbed, it was just a side effect. At least for me, I’m okay with that. Also, it should be said that I get disturbed more easily than others, so for others this book might not be as disturbing and hard as it was for me.

Despite the fact Pretty Girl-13 was hard to swallow at times, it was absolutely worth it. Seeing Angie developed to realize her alters existed, that they were real, and that she had to deal with to actually dealing with them was a worthwhile journey. I loved how Coley’s writing style managed to reflect Angie’s mental state at any given time.

I am not a psychiatrist, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of the things portrayed in Pretty Girl-13, but at the same time. . . I’m not sure it matters to me too much in this case. I mean, I like accuracy in my books. But this book, all the things that are portrayed, are less important to me than Coley’s examination of human nature through Angie. Despite what she goes through, Angie survives. She is changed, and she’ll never be the same, but she survives. It’s not a survival that ends completely happy, free of fear or sorrow, but it happens anyway. Angie’s alters are interesting, because they take on personalities so completely different to Angie’s own. Her “fragments” of herself residing within her might be what compels the story forward, but at heart, it’s still Angie’s story. She’s the character that Coley made me care about, the character I wanted to be all right. Pretty Girl-13 was a tough read for sure, but it was compelling because of Angie. Out of all the character-driven stories I’ve read this year, Pretty Girl-13 was one of the best.

Final Impression: Angie’s story is interesting, bizarre, and heart-breaking. It’s not a story I necessarily wanted to become engrossed in, but I think I came out the other side the better for it. The things that Coley says about human nature through Pretty Girl-13 and through Angie are worth talking about. It’s worth discussing. And it’s not an easy discussion, but it’s fascinating and perhaps, necessary. It’s a story that works so well precisely because of the way it revolves around human nature and the human mind. 5/5 stars.

[idaho_vandal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful page turner of a book! Yes it is young adult but as an adult working in the world of psychology I loved this book. If you are a middle school teacher looking for kind of a dark book on kidnapping, escape, recovery from family trauma, and putting ones life back together after being lost after 3 years than you might like this book. Students who don't normally like to read but might like a psyc thriller than I too would suggest this book. It os a little dark being she is over coming a lot of abuse but it's still a very good read!

[khal_khaleesi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(This review can be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl in September).


Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley was a book that I was dying to read. It was at the top of my TBR pile, so I was thrilled when I discovered that my local library had it. This turned out to be a fascinating read.

I'm not really a fan of the title. Yes, the main character is called Pretty Girl by her captor and at least one of her alters, but that's it. I, personally, think Gone Girl or some other title would've been better.

I do like the cover. I love how it shows Angie walking out of a cabin in the woods which ties in with the story. That cabin, as well as being real, is also symbolic.

I thought the author did an excellent job with making Angie's world come alive. Liz Coley wrote each alter well enough that they actually came across as being a different person with their own personality. The setting was fantastic too.

The pacing was fantastic! I pretty much breezed through this book in one day. It was held my attention the whole time, and I found it super interesting!

I thought the plot of this book would mostly focus on Angie's kidnapping, but it focuses mainly on her Dissociative Identity Disorder. While we do learn about Angie's kidnapping and everything that happened, we learn it through each of her alters. The plot focuses on how Angie deals which each alter more than anything.

The characters are written very richly. Angie is a broken girl, and I ended up feeling like I wanted to protect her. There were some times when I felt really annoyed with her like when she wouldn't tell people certain key elements of what had happened to her. On one hand, I realize that she was kind of scared, but in one scene, she doesn't tell her mom something simply because she's angry at her. Now, all of this could probably be explained since she's been abused since she was 13, but it still just annoyed me. Overall, Angie is a great character. As I've said before, even her alters have personalities of her own, and the author does a great job at conveying that these alters are supposed to be their own person so to speak. Even the minor characters are done well such as Abraim. Abraim seemed like such a sweet guy and very accepting.

The dialogue was easy to understand although at some points, I felt as if Angie was older then 16. There is some swearing in this book if that's not your thing.

Overall, Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley is an enjoyable book. I found it fascinating to read about Dissociative Identity Disorder as well as trying to solve Angie's kidnapping.

I'd recommend this book to those aged 16 (due to language and themes) who are interested in mental health as well as mysteries.

I'd give Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley a 4.5 out of 5.

[ReaderGirl13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My rating: 3.5/5 After reading through some of the reviews I learned r e realised how unrealistic this book is. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it plenty. I do agree that Coley exaggerated a little bit, but I didn't notice it too much until I really thought about it. This book definitely gave me chills. Before reading it, I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not. I hadn't read any books involving multiple personalities before, so I was pretty interested. The beginning captured me and made we want to figure out what was going on. I love when the protagonist is left in the dark about what's happening (well, most of the time...). I feel as if I am really going through the situation myself. Overall, this book was very interesting and the only thing I would change would be how realistic it is. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't up for darker stories (kidnapping, etc). I would recommend it to people who love being left in the dark and experiencing the story as if they were the protagonist (and obviously if they enjoy this genre). ~ ReaderGirl13

[jaylin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

it was amazing a whole lot of twist and turns I wish there was a bit more to it then that but it's made up for by the fact that its to exciting and thrilling

[darryfarm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Leaves you thinking about the story weeks after you read it.

[Ashley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a very powerful book, incredibly heart-breaking, but written in a way that makes you feel Angie's pain, and understand a lot of the intensely difficult things that she is going through.