The Girl Giant by Kristen Den Hartog

The Girl Giant: A Novel by Kristen Den Hartog

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Amazon:  “Something good can come from even the most terrifying things. For eve y thing that is taken away, something else is given.”

Ruth Brennan is a giant, “a rare, organic blunder pressed into a dollhouse world,” as she calls herself. Growing up in a small town, where even an ordinary person can’t simply fade into the background, there is no hiding the fact that Ruth is different: she can see it in the eyes of everyone around her, even her own parents. James and Elspeth Brennan are emotionally at sea, struggling with the devastation wrought on their lives by World War II and with their unspoken terror that the daughter they love may, like so much else, one day be taken away from them. But fate works in strange ways, and Ruth finds that for all the things that go unsaid around her, she is nonetheless able to see deeply into the secret hearts of others—their past traumas, their present fears, and the people they might become, if only they have courage enough.

My thoughts: The story of Ruth offers an articulate and intriguing story of the time period directly following WWII. Ruth is an early baby boomer, born to a former Canadian soldier and a Britvish bride. Through Ruth's point of view, the reader understands the shame both parents carry with their secrets that divide them. We also experience childhood and puberty through the eyes of a girl vastly different from her peers and the shame of her status and stature.

The book is small, short and succinct. Easy to read but one I will probably forget.



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