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Bad Girls Club
Destiny has a secret. She's been told not to tell anyone what happened to her, her mom, and her little sister at Crater Lake. She also can't tell anyone that sometimes her sister is covered in bruises. Her friends all want her to report her parents, but Destiny won't tell the school counselor. If she does, it could cost her little sister's life or possibly her own. When the secret becomes too much to carry and the truth she knows becomes a lie, Destiny has to make a decision. Will she find the strength to speak the truth or will she drown in the lies? Will she discover her own worth and the voice she needs to cry it out, or will she remain what her mother has always called her -- a bad girl?
- GenresYoung Adult
269 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Judy Gregerson
6 books77 followersThe Real Connection - an internet talk-radio show with host and author Judy Gregerson is a lifestyle show about choices and decisions. You can listen by going to:
www.blogtalkradio.com/the-real-connec...
This is streaming audio, so the show and archives are always available.
My earlier life:
I was born.
I came out backwards with the cord wrapped around my neck, and thanks to a country doctor, I lived. It's been uphill from there.
I grew up on Long Island, where nothing happened and nothing changed. When mini skirts were no longer in fashion, they were seen all over my home town. We listened to AM radio, had no cable, and no color TV in my house.
But the highlight of my childhood was being a child model. My father was discovered in Lindy's Restaurant in Brooklyn by an NYC modeling agent who got him jobs as the Dial Soap man, the Viceroy Cigarette man, the Pepperidge Farm cookie man, and the Remington Shotgun Shell man. He dragged us all into modeling and my family did a spread on fallout shelters after the Cuban Crisis for Life Magazine and my dad was on the cover of that issue in a fallout suit. I was also in People magazine and the Smithsonian's magazine. It was then that I realized that I wasn't staying in a small town and that I'd somehow, some way, get to New York City when I was old enough.
We had an old, renovated 34 foot cabin cruiser and we went to Cape Cod and neat little places like Cuddyhunk Island, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Point Judith, and Block Island. We had our own lobster pots, fished in Peconic Bay, and had some great times!
One time, I got to study with some scientists from the Museum of Natural History. They needed to get on Gull Island, a tiny island off the end of Long Island, and hired my dad to get them there. The old docks were gone, there were pilings beneath the water and rocks, as well, and making a landing wasn't easy. But once we landed, it was great! There was an old military fort on the island, complete with underground bunkers and a tower. We were there to study and count gulls, so I followed a scientist around all day who told me everything he knew about the gulls and why they were studying them.
During my teen years, I worked as a scallop and an oyster shucker, a waitress, and a chambermaid. I also spent time in the A&P produce department, weighing and putting up fruits and veggies. I ran my father's fish store on weekends and cleaned houses for rich people.
The saddest part of my childhood was that my parents were alcoholics and my mom left when I was thirteen, which made high school the most difficult time of my life. It was one of the reasons I decided to go as far away as I could when I went to college. And it is also the reason that I write the books I do.
At eighteen I took refuge at SUNY Oswego and later transferred to SUNY at Stony Brook.
I worked on BAD GIRLS CLUB for over seven years, did multiple rewrites and revisions, and sold it to Blooming Tree Press in 2005.
I am still working on my other novels, CRACKING NORMAL and LEAVING FANTASTIC.
I live in the Seattle area and I've returned to college to get a degree in Human Development with a concentration in Family Studies.
www.blogtalkradio.com/the-real-connec...
This is streaming audio, so the show and archives are always available.
My earlier life:
I was born.
I came out backwards with the cord wrapped around my neck, and thanks to a country doctor, I lived. It's been uphill from there.
I grew up on Long Island, where nothing happened and nothing changed. When mini skirts were no longer in fashion, they were seen all over my home town. We listened to AM radio, had no cable, and no color TV in my house.
But the highlight of my childhood was being a child model. My father was discovered in Lindy's Restaurant in Brooklyn by an NYC modeling agent who got him jobs as the Dial Soap man, the Viceroy Cigarette man, the Pepperidge Farm cookie man, and the Remington Shotgun Shell man. He dragged us all into modeling and my family did a spread on fallout shelters after the Cuban Crisis for Life Magazine and my dad was on the cover of that issue in a fallout suit. I was also in People magazine and the Smithsonian's magazine. It was then that I realized that I wasn't staying in a small town and that I'd somehow, some way, get to New York City when I was old enough.
We had an old, renovated 34 foot cabin cruiser and we went to Cape Cod and neat little places like Cuddyhunk Island, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Point Judith, and Block Island. We had our own lobster pots, fished in Peconic Bay, and had some great times!
One time, I got to study with some scientists from the Museum of Natural History. They needed to get on Gull Island, a tiny island off the end of Long Island, and hired my dad to get them there. The old docks were gone, there were pilings beneath the water and rocks, as well, and making a landing wasn't easy. But once we landed, it was great! There was an old military fort on the island, complete with underground bunkers and a tower. We were there to study and count gulls, so I followed a scientist around all day who told me everything he knew about the gulls and why they were studying them.
During my teen years, I worked as a scallop and an oyster shucker, a waitress, and a chambermaid. I also spent time in the A&P produce department, weighing and putting up fruits and veggies. I ran my father's fish store on weekends and cleaned houses for rich people.
The saddest part of my childhood was that my parents were alcoholics and my mom left when I was thirteen, which made high school the most difficult time of my life. It was one of the reasons I decided to go as far away as I could when I went to college. And it is also the reason that I write the books I do.
At eighteen I took refuge at SUNY Oswego and later transferred to SUNY at Stony Brook.
I worked on BAD GIRLS CLUB for over seven years, did multiple rewrites and revisions, and sold it to Blooming Tree Press in 2005.
I am still working on my other novels, CRACKING NORMAL and LEAVING FANTASTIC.
I live in the Seattle area and I've returned to college to get a degree in Human Development with a concentration in Family Studies.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 8, 2007
In "bad girls club" we meet Destiny. Destiny's home life is beyond messed up. Her mother is mentally ill, and as a result, very unable to care for her two children properly. From a young age Destiny takes on the role of parent in caring for her younger sister Cassidy.
In a book meant for young adults, we read on as Destiny is faced with one horror after another. From her mother's attempts to kill Cassidy, to her father's denial of the entire situation. The story moves quickly and is brutally raw and intense. Sadly, its also very real for a lot of youngsters out there.
This is a book that should be readily available to young adults. Children in abusive homes are often emberassed and afraid to reach out for help. A book like "bad girls club" will not only help them understand that they aren't alone, but it also comes complete with a list of resources for children and adults alike.
I can't say enough good things about this book. I hope every school and public library buys multiple copies of this book to have on hand. It's a huge contribution to the young adult literary world.
In a book meant for young adults, we read on as Destiny is faced with one horror after another. From her mother's attempts to kill Cassidy, to her father's denial of the entire situation. The story moves quickly and is brutally raw and intense. Sadly, its also very real for a lot of youngsters out there.
This is a book that should be readily available to young adults. Children in abusive homes are often emberassed and afraid to reach out for help. A book like "bad girls club" will not only help them understand that they aren't alone, but it also comes complete with a list of resources for children and adults alike.
I can't say enough good things about this book. I hope every school and public library buys multiple copies of this book to have on hand. It's a huge contribution to the young adult literary world.
January 24, 2008
With mental health issues being so prevelant in society I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. Let me tell you that as hard as it was I read it in one sitting - it grabbed hold and would not let go.
All Destiny wants is to get a job and try to have a semblance of a normal life. Instead she is burdened with the responsibilty of taking care of her mentally ill mother and trying to protect her younger sister Cassidy from the violent rages and outbursts that have become more common than not. Destiny's life has never been anything but that of a constant caregiver and mediator...especially since the incident at Crater Lake. She loves her mother, and even though she knows that this is not a normal family life she is willing to do what her father asks and help keep her mother in their home, for better or worse.
As this book unfolds you watch this family go on such a downward spiral that my heart was literally breaking. As much as I hated to turn to the next page for fear of what was going to happen next, I was compelled to do so in hopes that a ray of light would be found and something positive would happen to change some of the bad to good. At first I was unsure if this could really happen - how could both parents let their children go through this living hell? I then thought of my own life, and the lengths I may go to keep my family in tact. Love is a very powerful emotion, and nothing is more powerful than the love between a parent and their children. As Ms. Gregerson points out in her Author's Note, children that come from abusive families are even more loyal to their parents than children who don't. They seem to constantly be searching for a way to gain acceptance and love from the parent(s) who neglects or abuses them.
This book is a true eye opener, although it is fiction we can't turn a blind eye to the fact that there are families like this in every town in America. I am hopeful that this book will give some of these families the strength they need to get the help so desperately needed before it is too late and the children are damaged to a point of no return. It will hopefully also make people think closely about some people they know and maybe will give them the strength to intervene in situations they know are not healthy for the family involved. The author has done a true service by writing about an issue that should not be ignored.
Questions for the author:
What made you decide to write the story from the perspective of the oldest daughter?
Well, it was personal really. I was a parentified child, meaning that I was one of those kids who took care of my mother and my older sister when my family was spiraling out of control. I was the one who felt responsible to hold everything together because no one else would. And I believed that multitudes of people all around the world experience that same thing -- they become the savior of their families because no one else will. I wanted to shine a spotlight on that problem and what it does to a kid. And on another level, this is a cautionary tale: beware what you do to your children. When 5 children a day die in this country because their mother, a family member, or someone who knows their parent kills them, we're in deep trouble. We are allowing the ruin of our children and then we wonder why these kids can't learn in school or why they turn to crime, or why they're depressed. This book tells why, in some cases, our children are lost.
What was your inspiration for the story?
There were several things that inspired me. And in some sense, it was reaching critical mass and feeling that I had to say something about this problem. I tell everyone the story about meeting a man whose mother set their house on fire after locking him and his little brother in. There was Susan Smith and Andrea Yates. I thought they were anomalies, but I found out that they aren't. I started studying this issue and realized that 500 mothers a year kill their children. I started wondering what it would be like to live in a family like that. What if every day, your little sister's life was on the line and you couldn't do anything except be the one who stood between her and your mother? What if you knew your life was on the line and you had to live with one eye open so you could survive? These are the things I thought about, they're the questions that horrified me, as I wrote this book.
Do you have any books currently in the works?
I currently have one book in the works about a girl whose mother deserts her at the local grocery store, leaving the girl with her eccentric extended family and the question, "Why did she leave me?" I'm about a third through that and may get back to it soon. I also have another book finished about a girl in a trailer park who's the underdog and can't seem to find her way.
What hobbies do you enjoy?
Oh, I'm an odd one. I love to research. That is really relaxing to me. I pick a topic and then I search it out. I travel a little. We have a summer place on a beautiful glacier fed lake and I love going there. I hang with my daughters who are almost 18 and 21. They're my greatest joy. I read some, mostly nonfiction. I have a few favorite TV shows like CSI and Ugly Betty. Other than that, I just hang and try to find things to laugh at. The absurdity of life amuses me.
A copy of this book will be raffled of to a reader of the website at www.uponfurtherreview.org the first week in March. To enter, all you need to do is sign the guestbook under each book you are interested in winning.
All Destiny wants is to get a job and try to have a semblance of a normal life. Instead she is burdened with the responsibilty of taking care of her mentally ill mother and trying to protect her younger sister Cassidy from the violent rages and outbursts that have become more common than not. Destiny's life has never been anything but that of a constant caregiver and mediator...especially since the incident at Crater Lake. She loves her mother, and even though she knows that this is not a normal family life she is willing to do what her father asks and help keep her mother in their home, for better or worse.
As this book unfolds you watch this family go on such a downward spiral that my heart was literally breaking. As much as I hated to turn to the next page for fear of what was going to happen next, I was compelled to do so in hopes that a ray of light would be found and something positive would happen to change some of the bad to good. At first I was unsure if this could really happen - how could both parents let their children go through this living hell? I then thought of my own life, and the lengths I may go to keep my family in tact. Love is a very powerful emotion, and nothing is more powerful than the love between a parent and their children. As Ms. Gregerson points out in her Author's Note, children that come from abusive families are even more loyal to their parents than children who don't. They seem to constantly be searching for a way to gain acceptance and love from the parent(s) who neglects or abuses them.
This book is a true eye opener, although it is fiction we can't turn a blind eye to the fact that there are families like this in every town in America. I am hopeful that this book will give some of these families the strength they need to get the help so desperately needed before it is too late and the children are damaged to a point of no return. It will hopefully also make people think closely about some people they know and maybe will give them the strength to intervene in situations they know are not healthy for the family involved. The author has done a true service by writing about an issue that should not be ignored.
Questions for the author:
What made you decide to write the story from the perspective of the oldest daughter?
Well, it was personal really. I was a parentified child, meaning that I was one of those kids who took care of my mother and my older sister when my family was spiraling out of control. I was the one who felt responsible to hold everything together because no one else would. And I believed that multitudes of people all around the world experience that same thing -- they become the savior of their families because no one else will. I wanted to shine a spotlight on that problem and what it does to a kid. And on another level, this is a cautionary tale: beware what you do to your children. When 5 children a day die in this country because their mother, a family member, or someone who knows their parent kills them, we're in deep trouble. We are allowing the ruin of our children and then we wonder why these kids can't learn in school or why they turn to crime, or why they're depressed. This book tells why, in some cases, our children are lost.
What was your inspiration for the story?
There were several things that inspired me. And in some sense, it was reaching critical mass and feeling that I had to say something about this problem. I tell everyone the story about meeting a man whose mother set their house on fire after locking him and his little brother in. There was Susan Smith and Andrea Yates. I thought they were anomalies, but I found out that they aren't. I started studying this issue and realized that 500 mothers a year kill their children. I started wondering what it would be like to live in a family like that. What if every day, your little sister's life was on the line and you couldn't do anything except be the one who stood between her and your mother? What if you knew your life was on the line and you had to live with one eye open so you could survive? These are the things I thought about, they're the questions that horrified me, as I wrote this book.
Do you have any books currently in the works?
I currently have one book in the works about a girl whose mother deserts her at the local grocery store, leaving the girl with her eccentric extended family and the question, "Why did she leave me?" I'm about a third through that and may get back to it soon. I also have another book finished about a girl in a trailer park who's the underdog and can't seem to find her way.
What hobbies do you enjoy?
Oh, I'm an odd one. I love to research. That is really relaxing to me. I pick a topic and then I search it out. I travel a little. We have a summer place on a beautiful glacier fed lake and I love going there. I hang with my daughters who are almost 18 and 21. They're my greatest joy. I read some, mostly nonfiction. I have a few favorite TV shows like CSI and Ugly Betty. Other than that, I just hang and try to find things to laugh at. The absurdity of life amuses me.
A copy of this book will be raffled of to a reader of the website at www.uponfurtherreview.org the first week in March. To enter, all you need to do is sign the guestbook under each book you are interested in winning.
January 12, 2023
The characters in this book are just so poorly written you can barely believe a single thing that they are doing and saying. The story overall is terrible and the ending is as well overall this book just isn’t crafted well simply put.
November 11, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
The cycle of abuse is one of society's seemingly incurable ills. One generation passes its violence on to the next. Destiny and her sister, Cassidy, are victims of this tragic cycle.
BAD GIRLS CLUB focuses on one such family. Destiny is in high school attempting to entertain thoughts of her future, but her present seems to become more demanding of her time. Destiny's mother has long been suffering from mental illness. Her mood swings and depression result in rough times for five-year-old Cassidy. Destiny has realized, since the birth of her younger sibling, that her mother has never loved the little girl. Neglect and physical abuse have become normal behavior.
Most children could rely on the other parent for some sort of protection; however, in Destiny's case her father's focus is always on his wife's well-being and not that of his children. He realizes his wife needs help, but he's unwilling to take the necessary steps to find her the help she desperately needs. Instead he relies on Destiny's help to care for her and to keep the truth of their lives hidden.
With the use of flashbacks, Gregerson reveals the history of abuse which has caused Destiny's mother to continue the behavior toward her own children. The arrival of Destiny's grandmother offers a promise of better things to come. But will Grandmother's help even be welcomed -- and will it be too late?
BAD GIRLS CLUB by Judy Gregerson tells a heartbreaking story. Unfortunately, it is a story told much too often. Readers will feel the fear and frustration as Destiny tries to do her best to keep loving her mother and at the same time keep her younger sister safe. This book will help those who have suffered a similar situation and open the eyes of those who haven't.
The cycle of abuse is one of society's seemingly incurable ills. One generation passes its violence on to the next. Destiny and her sister, Cassidy, are victims of this tragic cycle.
BAD GIRLS CLUB focuses on one such family. Destiny is in high school attempting to entertain thoughts of her future, but her present seems to become more demanding of her time. Destiny's mother has long been suffering from mental illness. Her mood swings and depression result in rough times for five-year-old Cassidy. Destiny has realized, since the birth of her younger sibling, that her mother has never loved the little girl. Neglect and physical abuse have become normal behavior.
Most children could rely on the other parent for some sort of protection; however, in Destiny's case her father's focus is always on his wife's well-being and not that of his children. He realizes his wife needs help, but he's unwilling to take the necessary steps to find her the help she desperately needs. Instead he relies on Destiny's help to care for her and to keep the truth of their lives hidden.
With the use of flashbacks, Gregerson reveals the history of abuse which has caused Destiny's mother to continue the behavior toward her own children. The arrival of Destiny's grandmother offers a promise of better things to come. But will Grandmother's help even be welcomed -- and will it be too late?
BAD GIRLS CLUB by Judy Gregerson tells a heartbreaking story. Unfortunately, it is a story told much too often. Readers will feel the fear and frustration as Destiny tries to do her best to keep loving her mother and at the same time keep her younger sister safe. This book will help those who have suffered a similar situation and open the eyes of those who haven't.
February 24, 2008
Bad Girls Club
By: Judy Gregerson
Every family has a member who has a problem. It could be addiction, theft, or even a mental illness. It pains us to see the roads that they have to go down in there life. We want to help, even if we do not understand that there problem is hurting us worse then it is hurting them.
Des is your normal teenager, but she has a mother with a mental illness. She is left with two choices in her life to reach outside the family and ask for help possibly tearing her family apart forever or trying to help her mother through the tough times and ‘not think about herself’.
Gregerson creates a very believable set of characters, you start to care for the characters as if they are your family making you feel like you need to help piece the story together. As I have said before real life books have been having a big boom and Gregerson’s name will surely be added to the best of list.
By: Judy Gregerson
Every family has a member who has a problem. It could be addiction, theft, or even a mental illness. It pains us to see the roads that they have to go down in there life. We want to help, even if we do not understand that there problem is hurting us worse then it is hurting them.
Des is your normal teenager, but she has a mother with a mental illness. She is left with two choices in her life to reach outside the family and ask for help possibly tearing her family apart forever or trying to help her mother through the tough times and ‘not think about herself’.
Gregerson creates a very believable set of characters, you start to care for the characters as if they are your family making you feel like you need to help piece the story together. As I have said before real life books have been having a big boom and Gregerson’s name will surely be added to the best of list.
Read
November 26, 2009I have recently finished this book and is extremly emotional and gut wrenching. my friend recomended this book immediately after she had read it.she proclaimed that i'd read it and was just what i was looking for.this book is about a family being completely destroyed by illness,betrayal, and an unexplainable darkness slowly drifting above their heads. i would have said that this book is very much spine chilling and feels very lively. buti have to say, that this book really has inspired me and had me eager to know what would happen next. but as i was reading, many questions were tunning in my mind as i can feel the eagerness growing inside of me wanting to swaallow more and more details. my mind was very thrifting as short video clips filled up about the story and kept asking what made this girls mother turn so crazy? it realy did not make much sense to me of how their mother would go crazy out of nowhere and making up things that have never happened.
July 31, 2016
Bad Girls Club really gave me more of a perspective when it comes to living with someone who has a mental illness. This is definitely worth the read for something that keeps you on the edge and wanting to know more to understand the situation. Although parts can be disturbing and outrageous it makes the story a whole lot better while reading it.
February 1, 2009
Just like a reviewer said, similar to David Pelzer's A Child Called It. About an abuse relationship, not nearly as disturbing as Pelzers but a great read.
February 22, 2009
A sad and gripping description of the horrors of growing up with an untreated and abusive mentally ill mother. I could relate...it gripped me in my solar plexus.
Well done, Judy.
Well done, Judy.
April 19, 2015
I have recently finished this book and is extremly emotional and gut wrenching too
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews