 | Trigger Author: Griffin, N. | |
| Price: $9.83 | ||
Summary:
Didi's father is constantly pressuring her to do better: win at chess, run faster every day, shoot better, hunt better or go hungry; she is not allowed friends, or time off or any pleasures; he always reminds her that they have to be prepared to fight the rest of the world--but what he never tells her is that when she is the best he plans to hunt her.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (01/15/22)
School Library Journal (00/06/22)
Booklist (03/01/22)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 06/01/2022 Gr 10 Up—Being the fastest runner, a master at chess, and able to take down an animal while hunting in one shot are Didi's father's hopes for her. He claims to love her, but that doesn't appear to be the case when she fails at his expectations, and he cruelly punishes her. Growing up, Didi knows she has to be wise when dealing with her father. The older she gets, the more obvious things become. Didi's father has always taught her to be prepared, but is he prepared for how well he prepared her? Griffin has crafted a book that is part thriller and part realistic horror. Told in the third person, the book opens with a teenage Didi but then quickly switches to her at a young age, followed by several time jumps. Focusing on an abusive parent, the book's content might trigger some readers. Didi's father walks in on her while she is changing multiple times, hits her with a rifle, and denies her food and clothing. Readers will be turning the pages to figure out just how Didi's story ends. Didi has brown hair, but her and her father's race are never stated. VERDICT An intense read best given with caution.—Amanda Borgia - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 03/01/2022 Didi, 15, is a high-school junior and the school’s fastest runner, due to her single father training her from a very early age. He’s also trained her in chess, hunting, shooting, and obedience: don’t talk to strangers, don’t take things from strangers, and don’t let strangers know about the trouble stick, a rifle he beats her with when he is displeased with her skills. Didi’s father is an angry man, but she believes he only wants her to be the best: a grand master at chess, faster, better, good enough, and a worthy opponent, though he never says what game they’ll be playing. The perspective alternates among Didi at ages 15, 5, 11, and 8 years old, with snippets of what we assume is present-day Didi being hunted by someone or something. Reading as a nonlinear stream of consciousness, with paragraphs and quotes added in seemingly at random, this novel is not for all readers: the abuse, both physical and mental, is definitely written so as to be realistic and difficult enough to trigger some. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
