I keep going in between a 1 star and a 2 star. For now its 2 because I have to admit I did finish it in one day. I'm going to skip the little synopsis since the premise is pretty simple. Let's get straight into the review.

I'm not really sure what genre this book was supposed to be. I was expecting a horror/thriller read but it was more of an unrealistic contemporary with a shock value. The whole book could have been half the length. The descriptions of Hanna's abuse towards her mother went on for pages and each one was more outlandish and unrealistic then the next. The first few times, it was interesting. The next 27 times, I just skimmed it. I like scenes that develop plot. Scenes without plot development are boring, no matter how witty or well written they may be.

Hanna is the most unrealistic character I've ever read. Now, I know some books require the suspension of belief but a good part of this novel is dedicated to showing how real and gritty Suzette's life has been so... why not make all the characters realistic? She's seven years old and acts like a teenager at the youngest (maybe a tween and thats stretching it). The author tries to mask it by giving her an overly simplistic narration but unfortunately the vocabulary is way too advanced for the basic grammar structure the character has.

Suzette and her husband would be okay characters if this was a horror type book because you wouldn't need to rely on them for entertainment. BUT YOU DID. They were made to be integral for the story except that they were very 2D. The author tried to introduce depth through an illness but it didn't really relate to the plot and I just ended up skimming most of it.

There were many plot holes in this novel. Why does Hanna hate Suzette? The author provides no explanation. She just *does*. Actually, she wants "Daddy" all to herself. I honestly would've preferred the beaten to death trope of the stepmother over this explanation. And if Hanna is so smart and advanced, wouldn't she have any logical reasoning? Like, "Daddy gives more attention to Mommy when I hurt her so maybe I should stop hurting her"? Nope, its just "I want Daddy" over and over. It's a dumb plot line.

All in all, a good concept but an awful attempt at it.