Pretty Girl-13
Thirteen: the age Angie is when she is kidnapped on a Girl Scout camping trip. Sixteen: the age she is when she returns home, remembering nothing about the events of the past three years. This novel opens with a chilling account of her capture, and then moves forward to the present day, as Angie attempts to puzzle out what happened. But in order to protect herself from the trauma, Angie developed multiple personalities, each of whom served a specific role during her time in captivity—and they seem to be sticking around. There’s Girl Scout, the seemingly dominant personality, in charge of cooking and tending house at the cabin; Little Wife, the one who took over in the bedroom; Angel, always ready to physically defend Angie; and others. While Coley’s debut has its flaws—some of the plot surprises aren’t all that surprising and several threads feel superfluous—the psychology of dissociative identity disorder is fascinating, and teens will want to see if Angie can break down the self-contained compartments in her brain and incorporate all of her selves into a complete whole. Grades 9-12. --Ann Kelley