The Girl

<p><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>2020 Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist</strong></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>2023 CIBA Ozma fantasy book award longlisted</strong></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>2023 Spring the Bookfest Awards third place winner for best YA thriller</strong></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)></span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>YA Horror lovers</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> this is a must read. -</span><em style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Reading with Nicole</em></p><p><br></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>...a </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>riveting coming-of-age story</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> that blends spiritual supernatural and modern elements into a well-written book. There is also a </span><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>rich inclusion of Filipino history and folklore</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> which is both interesting and educational I highly recommend. -</span><em style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Literary Titan</em></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>THE PARENTS KNEW IT HAD BEEN A MISTAKE TO HAVE A GIRL.</strong></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>At birth the girl's long elegant fingers wriggled and grasped forward motioning to strangle the very air from her mother's lungs. As she grew older she grew more like her father whose ancestors would dream of those soon to die. She walked and talked in her sleep and her parents warded themselves telling the girl that she was evil unlovable their burden to bear only until her eighteenth birthday released them.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The average person on the streets of Los Angeles would look at the girl and see a young woman with dark chocolate eyes curly long hair and tanned skin of her Filipina heritage. Her teachers praised her for her scholarly achievements and extracurricular activities from academic decathlon to cheer. </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>But the girl knew she was different.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Her parents whispered about their pact as odd and disturbing occurrences continued to happen around her. The girl thought being an evil demon should require the skies to bleed the ground to tremble an animal sacrifice to seal the bargain or at least cause some general mayhem. Did other demons work so hard to find friends do well on their homework and protect their spoiled younger brother?</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The demon was patient. It could afford to wait to remind the girl when she was hurt that power was hers to take. She needed only embrace it. It could wait. The girl's parents were doing much of its work already.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)><em>The Girl </em>is a suspenseful story of a troubled girl pursuing self-acceptance.</strong></p><p><br></p>