Gemma

By: Meg Tilly

Narrated by: Meg Tilly

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Gemma is the story of a child abduction written from two widely divergent points of view: 12 year-old Gemma and Hazen Wook, the 36-year-old man who abducts her. Hazen is a violent pedophile, a sexual obsessive, and Tilly does not white-wash or sanitize his thoughts in any way. This book is scary and not for the faint of heart.

©2006 Meg Tilly (P)2006 Meg Tilly

Critic reviews

"Tilly achieves moments of raw beauty and genuine fierceness while sustaining the intensity of an X-rated thriller and driving this harrowing story all the way to the courtroom." ( Booklist)

So you think your day was bad.

I always wondered what happened to Meg Tilly because she never showed up in People or Enquirer or blah blah blah. Then I stumbled across Gemma and was intrigued with the admonition to beware of it's brutality. Even if I hadn't googled her and found out about her writing career, I would have said that this book rings true like a crystal bell. Her kid voice is perfect. I bought every word of it. The voice of Haven slipped and he sounded a lot like Gemma. But that is a minor quibble that means nothing. The important aspect is that it doesn't look away from the minds of predator and prey. Her look into Haven's mind, especially toward the end, is too twisted not to be true. I will buy a hard copy of this book and send it to a publisher friend of mine, and that's how much I liked the book.

sickening

What did you love best about Gemma?

I read the reviews-I was looking intentionally for something good, disturbing, riveting, and a quick read....careful what you wish for, I guess. This book was so utterly disgusting, because it tells you exactly what the pedophile is thinking...exactly...and the most disturbing part was that even at the end of the book, the pedophile still doesn't understand that he is wrong-oh so cruelly wrong!!! That is the part that got to me, the part I'll always remember, and the reason why I can' ever recommend this book, though I thought it was good-it is too good, it is too true, despite being a novel....the little girl gemma, despite the sickening abuse and torment at the hands of her mom's boyfriend and the pedophile who kidnaps her, she still remains childlike, naiive, carefree....it is as if she is totally aware of the abuse, but forgets it immediately after she steps through the doors of her school....the way we read books to escape from work, she goes to school to escape from her crappy life.it is like she doesn't even remember the abuse by the time she is out of school-not until it begins again that night.ugh...it totally captures a child's internal dialogue, and it is sickening...it is sickening because it reminds me of the friends I had as a child, who later admit as teenagers they had been abused similarly-yet looking back as a child, I can only recall them being happy. I never stopped to consider they were only happy because they were having fun at my house away from the nightmare...that is what this book exposes...the secret life of abused children.

What about Meg Tilly’s performance did you like?

as annoying as it was to listen to her performance of gemma-rapid, unyielding, honest...it was kinda refreshing too.because as the story continues, you WANT to forget that this is a LITTLE GIRL.but the narrator performs the little girl voice with a little girls pace...realistically, albeit annoyingly-but hey, if you've ever listened to a little girl prattle on, you know meg tilly NAILED it.i really appreciated how she read normally for the narration of the adults-though it was rather sickening the way she captured the internal dialogue of the pedophile so perfectly....ugh....southern accents and bad grammar, meg tilly did a fantastic job.she read it so seamlessly, even the toungue twisting lines that I'd have to read 2 or 3 times were I not listening to an audio book.perfect.i just wish little girls didn't sound so annoying-but hey, it is true, this is how they talk!the best part of the performance was when she played gemma on trial...this is where you could really hear meg tilly's vocal talent as a narrator.

My heart

Any additional comments?

Wow! All the 5 star reviews are dead on. If you can't handle detailed stories about child abuse do not get this one. However if you can.... This story is AMAZING! My heart actually ached for Gemma at times, no kidding I had cheast pains. Great story and amazing reader.

Wow, exhaustingly good!

What made the experience of listening to Gemma the most enjoyable?

Don't know if enjoyable is the right word. Meg Tilly made it the most compelling.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gemma?

Too many to count, but probably Gemma's mother leaving.

What about Meg Tilly’s performance did you like?

Such emotion.....unforgettable.

If you could take any character from Gemma out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Gemma, buy her a Big Mac and Fries.....poor thing.

Any additional comments?

More than worth while....very moving!

Not for the faint of heart

Would you consider the audio edition of Gemma to be better than the print version?

I don't know, I only listened to the book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gemma?

When Gemma tells her side of the story especially when she was kidnapped and the horrors that she went through.

What does Meg Tilly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She doesn't just read the book, she acts it out, giving more life to the characters.

Who was the most memorable character of Gemma and why?

Gemma of course. She had a terrible experience which most of the time a book would not go into much detail about, a situation like this in a story of any kind usually is glossed over in comparison.

Any additional comments?

The way the book shows each side of the characters makes you wonder if that's the way a pedophile really thinks. It's very sick behavior, but gets into the minds of the characters.

This one will stay with you.

I just finished this audiobook (in record time;) I didn't want to hear anymore, but I couldn't stop either. I have to be honest; about 2 hours into the book I thought to myself, "What kind of sick b*%$ is this?" (referencing Ms. Tilly)

Meg Tilly's writing and performance was amazing - I felt I was with her character every traumitizing and hope filled step of the way.

This book is not for the faint of heart, and I can understand the reviewer with children that couldn't finish it. This book doesn't cut close to the bone - it saws to the marrow.

Gemma

I thought that Meg Tilly did a great job on the writing and a really great job on the reading. The subjest matter is hard to hear about but happens everywhere. As someone else said in a review this book was better listening to it than if you had read it from the book. Again Meg did a great reading.

Good and Horrible at the same time

As a parent of a daughter I wanted to kill some people in this book. That right there made me like the book. It was well voiced and had my emotions reeling.

I would recommend this book but just don’t come unprepared. Well written and voiced. Thanks Meg.

Gripping, not for faint of heart

I read this book long ago on my kindle, and it was hard to read, i remember blocking a lot out and finishing it. Older now i decided to try an audiobook version, it was hard. Its a captivating book, the chase and just wanting to see how it ends, what happens to Gemma. I'm glad i picked it up again as an adult.

Compelling story

Though the story can be disturbing, it is compelling. It gives the listener a view into a dark world without cheapening or minimizing what the man character survives. This story says with you.