Erin Vincent

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

In this heartbreaking yet uplifting memoir, Erin Vincent recounts the tragedy of losing both of her parents in a terrible car accident when she was fourteen. What makes the story so sad, at least for me, was that fact that her father, unlike her mother, was not killed instantly in the crash, but survived for a number of weeks before succumbing to his injuries. For me, this fact made Ms. Vincent's story even more difficult, as it felt like hope had left her family for good.

"They say God is a comfort to all those who mourn. How can you be a comfort to those you've made suffer? What manipulation! It's like having your wounds dressed by the person who hurt you...No, sorry, you're a bit late, God."

For Erin, it takes awhile to realize that wishing something bad would happen to your parents is not the same as killing them. It doesn't take long, though, to realize that her horrible extended family - her father's parents and her mother's wretched brothers - are up to no good. With only her older sister, Tracy, and Tracy's boyfriend, Chris, to watch our for Erin and her younger brother, Trent, things are not going to get easier in a hurry.

As life goes on - Erin returns to school, she watches as both her mother and father are buried, she goes on a trip with her theater group - she realizes that life cannot be categorized as either good or bad, but rather is a series of ups and downs, of highs and lows. As Erin leans on her best girlfriend, as the only true friends of her parents help out her beleaguered "family" when they need help, she learns that life does go on, whether you want it to or not.

The wonderful thing about GRIEF GIRL is that Ms. Vincent never comes across as pitiful, although it would be easy to pity a girl who lost both of her parents. Although technically an orphan, she never adopted that orphan attitude. And even though there were many times throughout her life in which both friends and family took advantage of her, Erin shows in the end the fighting spirit to reclaim what is hers - something that I'm sure would make her mother and father very, very proud.

This is a wonderful memoir I would recommend to anyone, but especially those who have faced their own losses. Ms. Vincent's enduring spirit of strength is to be admired.… (plus d'informations)

The author of Grief Girl is Erin Vincent. In this true story, Erin Vincent, as well as Tracy and Trent (Erin’s sister and brother), loss their mother when she was hit by a tow truck while crossing the road with her husband to go to a fruit stand. Their mother died instantly and the father was hospitalized. A month later, he died from a blood clot that developed in his leg. Tracy, who was 18 at the time, took care of her brother and sister with the help of her boyfriend and future husband. In the beginning, the family and friends of their parents helped them out tremendously but as time went by they started to not care about Erin, Tracy, and Trent. The small family lived on nothing but Tracey’s haircutting job and Erin’s cookie job. Towards the end of the story, the children find out that the safe holder of the money has started a new business with the money, but the business isn’t doing well. They end up suing him. Tracy and her boyfriend marry and move with Trent. Erin marries when she is older and her husband is actually the one to push her to write the book. One of the antagonists in this story would be the grandparents. The grandparents never like Erin and Tracy, but they loved Trent. They wouldn’t help the grieving children with anything unless it had something to do with Trent. One of the protagonist in this story is Tracy’s boyfriend, Chris, because he helped the family through many of the hard times and was always there to help put a smile on their face. Even when his sister died in a train crash, he was still able to be decent and hopeful with the future.
With my research, I have only found one jacket design. It is purple, with a black flower on it, and white lettering. I believe this cover really stands out on the book shelf and people want to know what is inside. I would recommend this book to mostly females that are grieving, have had a death in a family, or someone who just likes a good read with a great meaning.… (plus d'informations)