Gemma is a compelling story by author/actor Meg Tilly, who herself suffered abuse at the hands of adults she trusted. I found the story almost intoxicating and difficult to put down. At the same time I was sickened by the cruelty and descriptions of abuse, I was inspired by the small voice of a very brave girl who suffered, yet never lost her hope for a life in which someone would care.
I received a free copy of Gemma through Goodreads First Reads. If I had seen Gemma in a bookstore, I probably would not have bought the book, as it is not in one of the genres that I usually pick. I knew nothing about Gemma other than a short synopsis on Goodreads and the author’s comments on the back cover. So I was not prepared for the emotions that swept through me as I read.
Stopping only to refill my coffee cup, I read Gemma from start to finish one cold snowy winter’s morning. Gemma is a raw, disturbing story, appropriate only for mature readers; it contains descriptions of violence and abuse that will shock most adults by its intensity.
Gemma is a potent first person account by both the abused child and her abuser. We meet twelve-year old Gemma who loves the school library and books, yet carries a dark secret in her heart: her mother’s boyfriend Buddy rapes her at home. Buddy sells Gemma to Hazen Wood for $100, and convinces the child that it is she who is twisted, not the adults in her life. But a one night stand is not enough: Hazen begins to stalk Gemma, grabs her one night, and throws her in the trunk of his car.
And so they begin a journey of running from the law, abuse, and pedophilia. The reader sees deep into both characters, as the voices of Gemma and Hazen deliver contrasting accounts of their flight. Hazen sees Gemma as his bride, his love, and his soul mate. Gemma fights and runs when she can, but she is no match for Hazen, who punishes and rapes her to teach her to obey him as master.
Gemma struggles to survive and finds joy when she can. She carries her pet turtle, her only friend, willing it to live. She refuses to believe that the turtle is dead and her grief when Hazen flushes its rotting body down the toilet is heart wrenching. Gemma finds comfort by imagining warm and happy places, even as she shivers naked in the trunk of Hazen’s car.
Sometimes they are almost a family and Gemma blooms when he treats her well, but even this happiness is fleeting. They even travel to Disneyland, and her hopes of running away quickly vanish. When she fights and screams, Hazen explains to security personnel that she has Tourette’s syndrome and needs her medication. Clueless, the guards even help him get her under control.
Time and again, Gemma tries to find adults that will help but none will listen. On the road with Hazen, she is even more alone than before when Buddy abused her and her mother refused to acknowledge what she knew to be true. Gemma retreats into herself and Hazen sees her acquiescence as something akin to love and trust.
After months on the road, she becomes ill and Hazen, ever her protector, takes her to a doctor. Even though she so young, she finds out she is pregnant. The book takes an unexpected turn when Hazen is captured by the police.
Gemma spins from a life in which no one cared into one in which adults are supportive and kind. She finds the transition difficult and she struggles to learn to trust. Meanwhile, Hazen is confident that her love for him will reunite them once again, and they will raise their baby together. They finally meet in the courtroom, and Gemma tries again to make someone believe her story.
Through most of the story, I felt as though I was on an out-of-control roller coaster, not exactly sure where the story would turn, but helpless to get off or change direction. The book hurdles through the tale until Gemma literally falls into the arms of an adult who is very different from every other adult she has ever known. From here until the end, the pace becomes forced and the adults she meets are one-dimensional in comparison to the complex and sinister Hazen. Perhaps the author should have found the voice of one of these kind souls who come to love the helpless but resilient Gemma.
Meg Tilly has created a powerful story contrasting twisted, dark imaginings of a pedophiliac mind with those of an innocent child struggling to survive. Even in the bleakness of poverty, abuse, and criminal acts, Gemma’s small voice reminds us that hope is often all that we have to hold on to.
Beaten down over and over by the adults in her life, Gemma always finds a way to survive. But this is not simply an engaging story; the author donates a portion of the royalties from Gemma to organizations that help and give hope to real children caught in cycles of abuse.
Overall, I give Gemma 8 out of 10 stars: Meg Tilly steps fearlessly into a world that is uglier than we like to believe, but necessary for us to understand and see the abuse that children suffer at the hands of those they trust.
Learn more:
Meg Tilly’s Official Website: Gemma
Goodreads
Justice for Children
Sidran Institute
National Association to Protect Children
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Another book review:
“By Reason of Insanity” by Randy Singer
© Cindy Wolfe, All rights reserved.
