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Girl A

By: Abigail Dean
Narrated by: Holliday Grainger
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Summary

LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTONS CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR

‘The year’s best debut’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘The best crime novel of the year’ INDEPENDENT
‘Sensational. Gripping, haunting, and beautifully written’ RICHARD OSMAN

CHOSEN AS A BEST BOOK OF 2021 BY THE TIMES, THE FT, THE GUARDIAN, THE INDEPENDENT, STYLIST AND MORE!

‘The biggest mystery thriller since Gone Girl’ ELLE
‘The novel you’ll stay up reading until 3am’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘An astonishing achievement.’ JESSIE BURTON
‘Gripping, beautifully written perfection.’ SOPHIE HANNAH
‘A masterpiece.’ LOUISE O’NEILL
‘Fantastic.’ PAULA HAWKINS

‘Girl A,’ she said. ‘The girl who escaped. If anyone was going to make it, it was going to be you.’

I am Lex Gracie: but they call me Girl A.
I grew up with my family on the moors.
I escaped when I was fifteen years old.

NOW SOMETHING IS PULLING ME BACK…

RIGHTS SOLD IN 36 TERRITORIES

SOON TO BE A TV SHOW DIRECTED BY JOHAN RENCK (Chernobyl)

‘Incendiary, beautifully written debut’ Guardian
‘Psychologically astute, adroitly organised, written with flair’ Sunday Times
‘Terrifyingly gripping’ SUSIE STEINER
‘Beautiful’ ADELE PARKS
‘Incredibly well written, devastating in a good way, and intriguing to the last page’ LIZ NUGENT
‘I was obsessed by it. As close to perfect as thrillers get’ JOHN MARRS
‘A gripping debut’ Oprah magazine
One of Marie Claire, Waterstones and Grazia’s best books for 2021
A Sunday Times No.2 bestseller for w/e 6/2/21
A New York Times bestseller

©2020 Abigail Dean (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
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Critic reviews

"Sensational. Gripping, haunting, and beautifully written." (Richard Osman)

"An astonishing achievement." (Jessie Burton)

"A masterpiece." (Louise O’Neill)

What listeners say about Girl A

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A complicated story of survival and trauma.

if you understand trauma you will understand this story and all of its twists ..

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The most incredible book

This is indescribably perfect. It is the hardest read because of the subject matter but the writing is exquisite. I have never cried so much when reading anything before. I sobbed. If you want to be moved, shaken to your core and taken through Girl A’s experiences as if you were there...read it. You will be changed.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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This is a good book

You need to get past first half of book to have this story fairly told. The second half is devastating. It is not a graphic book but it is excellent at conveying the ever present anguish and bewilderment of the narrator Lex or Girl A.
And the curious triumph of her adult life. You need to read and judge for yourself and ignore any who gave up during first half. This book captures the different elements of the aftermath of physical and psychological abuse.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Remarkable

One of the most engaging, entrancing books I've read or listened to in a very long time - dark and shocking at times and yet always veined through with humanity - both frail and triumphant.
Sadly, all too believable if a little too optimistic and redemptive in the writing of some of the main characters. Beautifully and imaginatively narrated (with a couple of misteps - only a few - that somehow endeared me more to the reader).

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping

Beautifully and sympathetically written and narrated

Strong, powerful and heart wrenching …. A must read/listen

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The prose is excellent

Have listened twice to this. The second time I had a greater appreciation for the word wizardry. Well read, The content is difficult, but it is well structured so you get a break from the tough stuff. The time shifts work well to support the structure. The prose, character and setting descriptions are excellent.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved Every Second

I absolutely loved this book, at times it was hard to listen to but was so good. There was one part that I struggled to understand what had happened to one of the children so I messaged the author on instagram and she replied. Absolutely amazing complex story well written and read.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Could have been so interesting.

Took a while to get going and was difficult to keep track of all the different characters and the way it moved from past to present a lot. It could of been brilliant but there was no depth to any of the characters really. I wanted to know much more. I was disappointed at the sudden ending

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Not to be missed. But you need to be brave

The narrator nailed it spot on I thought it was cleverly read/ performed by @Holiday Grainger. @Abigail Dean I had not read before, Nominated for awards I looked and marked it to read, but when I read the hype was unsure. My goodness I am so pleased I succumed, it was worth every second of my time. I should have read it sooner. The kick/ twist at the end kept me from easily putting this one away.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Heartbreakingly brilliant

Wow.... what a powerful book. It was read beautifully and broke my heart many times but just so beautifully written, there is no way I could stop listening to it. nothing I can say wrong about this book just brilliant, brilliant, brilliant

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21 people found this helpful