Tressa – The Twelve Year Old Mum

Publisher: John Blake

Originality: ♥♥♥♥♥

Quality of Writing: ♥♥♥♥♥

Character: ♥♥♥♥♥

Setting: ♥♥♥♥♥

Overall: ♥♥♥♥♥

This is a harrowing true story about a girl abused from a young age and her tumultuous journey into adulthood. It contains sensitive and hostile themes, all of which makes the story pulsate with realism and life.

Tressa Middleton was raped by her older brother Jason at the age of eleven. At twelve, she gives birth to his child. This is what you know once you read the blurb. However, when you read the actual book, you will find that it is a hundred times more horrifying than you would have ever thought.

I thought Tressa’s narrative was brave and strong. It is evident that she has been truthful in her retelling and therefore this makes her story believable. She doesn’t hide her weaknesses, she shares every thought and feeling, and never stops to amaze us with her undying love for her family.

Despite the horrible truth of her life, it was nice to hear about Tressa’s struggles and her successes from the girl herself. It gives us hope that life is not all bad, and that the only way to go is up. It shows us not to judge people around us, but rather we should think twice before assuming things about people we don’t actually know. Throughout the book, Tressa has shown that despite being neglected by her mother, she still loved her and always forgave her. Some people might not agree with her, but since reading the book, I realize that her mother was a victim too. That said, Tressa’s story is not about her mother. Tressa’s story is about her surviving in a cruel world which robbed her off her childhood.

Written with Katy Weitz, this is a compelling book that just needs to be picked up and read. I guarantee you, your heart will melt from the very first page.

5 stars.