Don't Forget the Girl

My Review

I learned of Rebecca McKanna at the Midwest Writer's Workshop at Ball State University during a session about revisions. Revising isn't the most glamorous job after writing a book, but I've found a tremendous amount of joy in it. Sorry.... stop digressing, Matt.

McKanna's book was inspired by those true crime documentaries and podcasts that focus on the killers and not the victims. And that's a shame. But it's the pattern McKanna flipped 180 degrees, allowing her to bring one of the victims to life. Sure, the killer got some spotlight (hard not to), but the life of Abby Hartman, with its ups and downs and twists and turns, was the real story.

I'm kind of a crier (inherited from the ultimate tough-guy cop—my father), and this story had quite a few teary-eyed moments as McKanna told the complicated story of Abby, Chelsea, and Bree. She did a fantastic job of getting me to cheer for these girls. So young and so brutally tortured by their past. Yet, in the end, even though their friend was still murdered, they found some peace.

I'm looking forward to McKanna's next great book.