Pretty Girl-13

Gr 9 Up—Angie Chapman's return three years after she disappeared on a camping trip stuns her parents and the detective who assumed she had been kidnapped and killed. Angie remembers nothing. In fact, she thinks she is still 13, not 16. She can't explain the scars around her wrists and ankles or where she has been. After she is diagnosed with dissociative personality disorder (DID), a psychologist helps her draw out her different personalities, aka "alters," and how they helped her cope with her kidnapper. Girl Scout took care of household chores while Little Wife dealt with his sexual demands. The alters influence Angie's behavior at home and school, where she has difficulty finding a place. Her struggles to remember and fit back in intensify when she hears the story of "Tattletale," an alter, and realizes that her DID began when she was repeatedly abused by her uncle. Despite the difficulties, Angie ultimately emerges as a strong young woman with new friends and an improved relationship with her family. Some explanations of her treatments, especially experimental procedures to eliminate alters, have a textbook quality. A final revelation wraps up the plot a bit too neatly. However, for the most part Coley presents the impact of DID without sensationalizing the situation. Readers interested in psychological explorations will appreciate and admire Angie's struggles and journey.—Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato