Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Girl in the Treehouse: A Memoir

The Girl in the Treehouse: A Memoir
dragoneyes avatar reviewed on + 811 more book reviews


What is an interesting story did not make a great book. Sadly, this one failed on my end. The synopsis sounded intriguing. Reading about a girl who had a rough childhood only to grow up and be snagged into the claws of a serial killer seemed fascinating.
The biggest issue I had with the book was the writing. It was very simplistic and scattered. I honestly had a hard time believing anything the author said. It was even harder to feel empathy. There were weird little things like where she would talk about her older sister and her little brother but her baby sister was mentioned once or twice and then it was like she didn't exist. She also spoke about how mean her mother was to her and only her. I wondered if her siblings were interviewed if they would say the same. Her tale just seemed inconsistent. Like she was making it up as she went along. Then with her father, he just ignored her. Yet, he would give her pennies if she brought him a beer and anytime she felt like she needed protection she always ran to him. When she grew up and after the incident with the serial killer, her family let her come back home and her dad bought her a car. Hard to see them as horrible.
What was horrible was her encounter with the serial killer, Andrew Urdiales. How scary that must've been. Yet, even in this book it was written so haphazardly that I had to wonder if it truly happened. Once I finished the book, I had to look it up on the internet. I read more about the story there. I found more information that led me to believe her story and realize it was just the writing of the book that threw me off.
I do marvel at what she went through and how she had the strength to move on. She showed true courage. Honestly though, if you want to know her story, I would just skip the book and go straight to the internet.