Gillyflower - Hardcover

Howard, Ellen

3.72

32 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689312741 ISBN 13: 9780689312748

Publisher: Atheneum, 1986

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A new neighborhood friend, protective feelings toward her sister, and a desire to be free of guilt, shame, and fear aid Gillian Harper to find courage to free herself from her sexually abusive father

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6 Gilly, sexually abused by her father, creates stories about a beautiful, pure princess and tells them to her younger sister. A friendship with Mary Rose, a new girl who has moved into the house behind her, plus fear for her younger sister, lead her to tell her mother. Once Gilly has disclosed her secret, events move quickly to a hasty resolution. Gilly, her sister, and her mother temporarily move out; charges are brought against her father; counseling for Gilly begins. Finally, once the father is gone, Gilly, Honey , and their mother move back to their house where Gilly and Mary Rose discover that both their flowers and their friendship have bloomed. Gilly narrates the story, using the Juliana fantasy to euphemistically describe the real events to herself and to readersand to distance them. Although Gilly and her emotions are plausible enough, the rapidity of events and change make the plot seem one-dimensional and the other characters in one-dimensional supporting roles. The sense of passing time for true resolution as well as for the healing process to begin is better drawn in Hadley Irwin's Abby, My Love (Atheneum, 1985). Abby. . . deals with the sensitive issue of incest for a slightly older audience but in a more fluid, less didactic style. Maria B. Salvadore, District of Columbia Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Gilly likes to make up stories about beautiful princess Juliana, to whom bad things never happen. Her mother works on a night shift, and her father is often unemployed. Often, when younger sister Honey is asleep, her father asks Gilly to "keep him company." And that's when he sexually abuses Gilly, while telling her it's her fault because "you're getting so sexy, Gilly" and "you know you like it." Gilly keeps her terrible secret, but always believes that everyone knows about her, just by looking at her. She also thinks that all fathers do this to their daughters. By growing closer to a new friend's family, Gilly senses that what happens to her is wrong. The fear that her father has started to abuse Honey pushes Gilly to tell her mother. And, finally, Princess Juliana goes away forever. The tragedy of this story is its ring of authenticity, and the acute sadness that grips the reader's heart from the first page to the last. But that is also the book's strengththis is no sugar-coated parable. It's compellingly written, with no easy answers; one hopes that the child who reads this book will have an understanding adult to turn to for further discussion.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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