Review: A Solid Read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2014
Stevie is a man in his mid-thirties. His one obvious vice in life is a taste for young, barely legal girls. The way Stevie sees it, if a girl reaches the age of consent—age 16 in his neck of the woods—she’s fair game.When Stevie meets the young Jessie, he begins to plot and scheme to make the girl his own. However, after meeting the sixteen-year-old girl’s parents, it becomes clear they do not like the middle-aged Romeo’s intentions toward their daughter. Realizing this won’t be the easy conquest he imagined, Stevie finds solace in his former love interest Jill, who at twenty-one years of age, is too old for Stevie’s tastes.But Jessie is a stubborn girl. She refuses to allow her father final say where her budding love life is concerned. Cracks begin to appear almost immediately as the relationship begins its ascent. Damaged Girls is a well-written documentation of that which is all too commonplace in our society: One person taking advantage of another for selfish motives. Author Janice G. Ross explores the subject to its very core, bringing to light these character traits that seem to permeate the human race.Ross presents a great study of characters on both sides of this complicated fence, showing that even the victim in this isn’t really as innocent as one might think. And while the reader certainly won’t feel sorry for the predatory Stevie, the author manages to paint the man as human rather than monster. He has friends who care about him, particularly the story’s narrative voice, a woman named Morgan. But friend or not, Morgan’s goal is to protect the young girl, keeping her from the snare of Stevie’s web. But Morgan just might be too late.Damaged Girls by Janice Ross is a good, solid read; dark at ties, but quite the page-turner.