Review: Disturbingly Beautiful and Heartbreaking
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 23, 2014
The Good Girl is a dark and gripping book, from beginning to end.  The reader is introduced to Eleni, an alcoholic college student trying to keep her demons of her past out of her head by drowning herself in liquor and random bathroom sex.  Gabriel is a reclusive man who lost everything when he was a young boy.  He is trying to fight to stay sane, but he slowly spirals down letting the voices consume him and lead him to the fulfillment of his darkest thoughts and desires.This book was so completely dark and gritty.  It tailspins so quickly into the darkest depths of mental illness and the inability to control your mind and actions as it begins to consume you. In the beginning you are hoping these characters will find comfort and solace in each other, that they can pull one another out of the darkness that is ruining them.  They are both broken and destroy.  Yet, it just.doesnt.happen.  There was no love and sweetness; it was an all-consuming evil and hatred that radiated off of Gabriel.  It was heartbreaking. It was emotional.  It was thought provoking.  It was beautifully written and executed.  Eleni’s own personal growth through accepting who and how she was were remarkable.  She accepted that she was a victim, but she was a victim of circumstances beyond her control.  When she allowed her past consume her, her demons began to destroy her, she began to see the need for her to pull herself out of her own darkness.  There was a contrast between Eleni and Gabriel.  Where Eleni’s healthier mind allowed her to see the error in her ways and to accept and understand her mistakes while moving forward, Gabriel’s mental illness did not allow this.  He was out of control, he could not stop himself as his unhealthy mind took control of his body.At the end I couldn’t help but think Eleni was an idiot, but at the same time I understood and I could sympathize with her decisions as a character.  She would not let her past define her.  Our pasts should only be a moment in our lives that we can grow and move on from, but it should never consume us to the point of self-destruction.  The Good Girl was haunting and disturbing, but beautiful.  This was more than just a story it brought the issue of mental illness to the surface and I felt it was wonderfully done.*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*