The Prized Girl

The Prized Girl

Adult mystery
Jenny, beauty pageant winner, drops out of competition right
before starting high school. Home is not a place of refuge. Her
parents pressure her to make perfect grades and engage in activities
like cheerleading in order to make something of herself, to not be
like her older half sister, Virginia. Her father is only with his
family on weekends. Her mother is drinking too much and becoming
increasingly unstable.
"'Mommy needs you to be a good girl,' Linda added. 'You are
being a very, very bad girl.'
Her mother had devolved into something infantile, a behavior
scarier in that moment than any physical harm she could do..."
Jenny is desperate to run away. But where could she get the
money to live on her own? As her desperation grows she takes bigger
risks. Her raped, stabbed, battered body is found one morning.
The police focus on one suspect, an older, developmentally
delayed fan of Jenny's from her beauty pageant days. Then they pretty
much drop the search. Virginia thinks they're putting all their eggs
in one basket much too soon. She's sure there are other people with
motive and opportunity walking around. In fact when she learns of
evidence of sexual molestation her thoughts immediately go to Mark,
the teacher who seduced her own 14-year-self into a sexual relationship.
Amy Green's The Prized Girl alternates between Jenny's
increasingly desperate last weeks and Virginia's search for the real
killer. If a spine chilling novel is your cup of tea, make room on
your to read list for this fine novel.
Although The Prized Girl is a work of fiction, it touches on a
serious problem in our society--the sexual harassment of children and
teens by adults in positions of power: teachers, coaches, priests...
It happened to me when I was about that age. Adults must make sure
kids are not harmed by the people who are supposed to be educating and
nurturing them.
For both those reasons I would reccommend The Prized Girl for
book clubs.
On a purrrsonal note, I hope you had a good weekend. I had a good
quiet one. I completed and submitted which puts me almost three weeks
ahead of due dates. Eugene and I observed Easter quietly by carefully
visiting relatives in the area.
I did get a very happy surprise. UMaine got some government money to
send students in degree programs to help with expenses. Where it's
been over a year since I've been able to work it will come in handy.
It is going in Tobago's savings account for when I need it for
tuition. I also discovered that hard lemonade and fruit flavored ice
cream make a delightful adult (wait on trying this if you're under 21)
ice cream soda. (Jules)
I slept through that big bunny hopping around. Maybe next year I see
him/her/them. But I did get some Easter money. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our family in hopes that soon we
will all be able to get together again. The next family get together
will be epic.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



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