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A look at how one mistake,one bad decision, can change your entire life.

Welcome!

I received an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion, and you shall have it.

While this book was difficult to immerse myself in, it did have me turning pages until the very end, driven to see how young Emily’s story ends.

This will be a great read that young adult mystery and crime fiction fans will likely love.

Check it out and Enjoy!

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Girl on Trial by Kathleen Fine

Publication date: October 24, 2023

Three and a Half Stars

My Review:

Emily Keller, dubbed ‘Keller the Killer’ by the media, is sixteen and on trial for the death of a family of four..
two of which were very young children.
She didn’t murder them.. but is she responsible?

I honestly can’t say I enjoyed this book. Did I appreciate the authors writing skill and the many flawless transitions between Emily’s past and present, yes, but this is not a happy story. Emily is young and desperate to be liked. She and her friend have grown apart and she’s beginning her junior year of high school friendless. Her mother’s an alcoholic and, despite being close to her twin brother, they don’t have a lot in common. She just wants what nearly every teenage girl wants.. she wants to be accepted.

Then she meets Hannah.
Popular girl Hannah. Hannah, who makes being cool look effortless, Hannah, who finally makes Emily feel seen.
If only she had never met Hannah.

What these kids go through and put themselves through does not make for pleasant reading. Had I been able to reach through those pages and do something, anything, to protect their young hearts—their innocence—and spare them, spare Emily, this story of her life.. I would have. But our stories are our own, and we bear the scars of consequence in exchange for knowledge, experience, and the hope that next time we’ll make the right choices.

Perhaps this is just the kind of read more teenagers and adults should be exposed to. Yes, there are some very dark themes here, the kind that keep parents awake at night. But we all make small, seemingly insignificant decisions that can have terrible ramifications.. and none more so than the youngest of us. Would stories like these give them pause? Would it make them more cautious, save them from a similar fate?
We can’t know.

So, yes, this was a hard read.. but it was a good one.

And that’s that for now..
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope my review was helpful!

Stay Safe. Be Well. And always, Happy Reading!

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