Review of The Little Girl Who Laughs, Cries

Post by **Bertha Jackson** » 18 Apr 2022, 11:57

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Little Girl Who Laughs, Cries" by Elena Elison.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The Little Girl Who Laughs, Cries: The Secret Life of an Abused Child: The Emotions and the Memories Remain by Elena Elison is the true story of Mareva, a 78-year-old woman. She remembers her childhood years of physical, verbal, and sexual abuse by her mother and an uncle and wonders how she survived. The horrible names her mother called her, and the beatings are vivid in her mind. Mareva dreaded her birthdays because she knew her mother would find a reason to beat her the same number of times as her age. She only felt safe with her father, John, who dearly loved her. She never told anyone about her secret childhood until one day when she realized that she could help others by telling her story. Why didn't John protect her? Why didn't Mareva seek help as a child? Does Mareva ever feel a mother's love? Can she forgive her mother?

Although these are random memories of a 78-year-old woman and are not in chronological order, Elena Elison does a fantastic job keeping the plot flowing smoothly by always giving Mareva's age when revealing a memory. The character development is excellent, and I could see Mareva's mother's rage and anger towards her daughter, and I could feel Mareva's shame, pain, and fear. The emotional trauma of abuse is carried throughout a child's life unless they can find a way to overcome it. In this book, Elena Elison tells her story of abuse and its effect on her life. She held nothing back and helped me understand this sad aspect of our society.

This short book has no negative flaws, and it is a quick read because it is very well written and exceptionally well edited. I found no grammatical or typographical errors in the book.

I am happy to give this book 4 out of 4 stars. There is absolutely no reason to give this book a lower rating.

I recommend this book to readers interested in child abuse and its effect on children for the rest of their lives. This book is dark and may prove to be a trigger for readers who have been abused. There is a small amount of religious content where Mareva is forced to go to confession to confess a sin that the Priest confirms she did not commit, and it mentions Bible stories and faith. The sexual abuse is described. If you find either of these aspects offensive, you may want to avoid his book.

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The Little Girl Who Laughs, Cries
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nwankwo chibuchi · Post by **nwankwo chibuchi** » 20 Apr 2022, 05:12

I also wonder how Mareva survived that level of abuse. It'd be interesting to find out. Great review.

Ifesi · Post by **Ifesi** » 20 Apr 2022, 06:34

This review sound interesting. The author did a nice job in presenting the book to be interesting and easy to understand.Thanks for a wonderful and intriguing review.

Pearl Thomas · Post by **Pearl Thomas** » 20 Apr 2022, 10:33

The intensity of the book is well-reflected in the title itself. Nice review.

margaretgador · Post by **margaretgador** » 20 Apr 2022, 10:51

I can see an innocent child helpless even in her own home

liberty esin · Post by **liberty esin** » 20 Apr 2022, 11:33

im new to this. but this booked gives me a broken heart for the girl

juanawunderkind · Post by **juanawunderkind** » 20 Apr 2022, 12:12

Being abused by someone who should be more dear to you than anybody else is just too traumatic. Anyway, no abuse is justifiable, from a relative or a non-relative.

wmeki510 · Post by **wmeki510** » 20 Apr 2022, 12:56

liberty esin wrote: ↑20 Apr 2022, 11:33 im new to this. but this booked gives me a broken heart for the girl

It is horrible. Such a pathetic situation humans often find themselves.

wmeki510 · Post by **wmeki510** » 20 Apr 2022, 12:57

margaretgador wrote: ↑20 Apr 2022, 10:51 I can see an innocent child helpless even in her own home

It is a pity.

Confidence M 22 · Post by **Confidence M 22** » 21 Apr 2022, 09:41

Great review.

It's good to know that inspite of the abuse and traumatic experience, she lived to tell her story; that matters more. Its really pitiful the kind of trauma humans go through, especially in silence

.

Ceeco2002 · Post by **Ceeco2002** » 21 Apr 2022, 11:21

It's a pity what Mareva had to go through in the hands of her own mother. I admire her courage to tell her story because I'm sure it must have been painful.

Aisha Yakub · Post by **Aisha Yakub** » 22 Apr 2022, 03:57

I look forward to reading this as your review has piqued my interest.

Post by **ikechukwuamarachi+55** » 22 Apr 2022, 19:10

I'm seriously interested in reading this book to get the full story. This is a painful experience indeed.

Uwe Neufeld · Post by **Uwe Neufeld** » 23 Apr 2022, 13:32

Abusing children is a crime. Many lawmakers are already beginning to act.
I couldn't read this book: just reading the review gives me much pain.

Oluwatosin Balogun · Post by **Oluwatosin Balogun** » 26 Apr 2022, 14:41

This is a beautiful review and It has genuinely aroused my curiosity about the book. Now I have to check the book out. I am curious to know how Mareva survived the abuse, how she coped, and why her father couldn't protect her. Those are genuine questions raised there.