What I liked: Obviously I liked the fact the girls escaped and overcame a very abusive and dangerous situation.  I find it remarkable that they were able to do so, especially at such a young age. The slightly younger one I felt was far more believable a character and I actually found her spunk endearing.

What I didn’t like: At times the characters seemed a little too shallow and I wanted to see them given a little more depth. With quite the large cast of characters, I suppose that just wasn’t possible.

I’m not sure who I would recommend this book to, especially since I’ve read “Escape” by Carolyn Jessop. For me, I’d recommend the real-life tale over the fictional to most of the people who would want such a recommendation, mostly because that’s the type of people I currently call friends. Other people don’t do as well with real life and would prefer something they know is fiction when dealing with the very serious topics of rape, incest, emotional and physical abuse.

I just really like books that make me think, and I like stories where people overcome something difficult. With the journalism background, I like reading about things in the news. That is what drew me to “Escape” which is probably what led someone to hand me this book.

“Hidden Wives” will definitely make you think about some difficult and troubling things.  It covers a gambit of social issues. If you are in a book club, you will end up with plenty of discussion fodder.

–Lady O