Wiess, Laura 1960- (Laura Battyanyi Wiess)

PERSONAL:

Born 1960, in NJ.

ADDRESSES:

Home—PA.

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

Such a Pretty Girl, Pocket Books/MTV Books (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Laura Wiess's first book, Such a Pretty Girl, is an emotional, dark-edged story. Meredith is a fifteen-year-old high school student whose life is turned upside down when her sexually abusive father is released from prison early for good behavior and her short period of security comes to an end. Although her father is not supposed to be alone with her, he nevertheless moves home, welcomed by Meredith's mother, who is anxious to resume a normal life with her husband. Frances Bradburn, writing in Booklist, called Wiess's debut "a gritty, terrifying novel about a father's abuse of power and trust," and "honest in its telling." Samantha Musher, in a review in Kliatt, noted: "This is a rare book: a ‘problem novel’ in which the story is in service of the characters, not the other way around." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews called the book a "gutsy and effective thriller with enough gothic touches to rise above a facile ‘victims’ rights' message."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2007, Frances Bradburn, review of Such a Pretty Girl, p. 40.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2006, review of Such a Pretty Girl, p. 875.

Kliatt, January 1, 2007, Samantha Musher, review of Such a Pretty Girl, p. 27.

ONLINE

Laura Wiess Home Page,http://www.laurawiess.com (June 27, 2007).