Rating: 
Summary: In Praise of "GAL"
Review: From the moment I picked up the book, I could scarcely tolerate even minor interruptions while I read it from cover to cover within the span of four hours! Since then, I have purchased the book for several female friends, with instructions that it must be passed on to other favorite sisters as a special treat. Contained within its pages are accurate (and timely) examples of love, greed, envy, lust, power, and worship of the money god. This book was so true-to-life, I felt I knew each character personally. I urge women everywhere to experience the rollercoaster ride through the life of Ruthie Bolton, because it will be an experience they'll never forget!
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe extinction isn't such a bad thing...
Review: Gal is a great story of how a girl grows up not knowing how to love or accept love because of her terrible past. This book will capture you and feel sorry for "Gal". This novel is one of my favorites and will be yours too.
Rating:
Summary: Gal, the True Life of Ruthie Bolton
Review: Gal, the true life of Ruthie Bolton is a story written through the eyes of a child who never knew the meaning of love. Born in 1961 to a mother just aging 13, Ruthie Homer was left in the hands of her grandparents, Clovis and Ruthie Fleetwood. Not long after Ruthie (Gal) was five things seemed to become a bit strange. Clovis Fleetwood, or Daddy as Gal called him, had a sudden urge of violence and depression which he took out on everybody in the house. Daddy started forcing the other girls in the house to cook, clean, and tend to his every need. If they did not do exactly what he asked, when he asked, he immediately beat them with a belt or a skinny tree branch. Getting caught up in sex, drugs and alcohol was what Gal considered that to be a "normal" life. The road through Jr. High and High school was long and windy for Gal. It took her on journey's through living life on her own, the death of her mother, the encounters with drugs, and the price you have to pay for having a selfish father. One day, after pretty much giving up on life, Ray Bolton walked through the door of Ruthie's one bedroom apartment. He came from the family Ruthie has always dreamed of having; a family who showed kindness, and happiness towards her at every waking moment. In this family Ruthie found everything she lacked as a child. Through this wonderful family, the little girl who got caught up in the life of a drunken old man soon found out what it was like to be loved.
This book is a very well written book. The details can be a little much at times, but with that, its almost like we could actually be there. The way the author wrote the book makes it easy to understand what Ruthie was going through in her childhood days and she always keeps you wondering, "what's going to happen next." This book is written in dialect so its easy to get the just of Ruthie's life in the South. However this dialect can sometimes be confusing when there are multiple people speaking, and when the transition from Ruthie Homer to Ruthie Bolton occurs.
This book is a terrific book for all reading levels. The summary starts off going through the horrible life of a little girl, then goes on to everything this girl had ever dreamed of, making it almost a fiction book. After reading when I went back and thought about it, I realized that it was a true story, so it gave me another perspective on her life. On a scale of one to ten I would rate this book a nine and a half, but I would recommend it to just about anybody interested in reading.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book.
Review: I had this book in my closet for about 2 years, now I wonder why it took me so long to finally make up my mind and read it. I was so mad with myself. This book was wonderful, I really enjoyed it. Gal really told the story to the point it make you feel that you were right there when everything was happening to her. I give this book 5 stars. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: A great surprise...
Review: I picked up this book at Goodwill for 25 cents. It just looked interesting. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. A very sad, disturbing story, but Gal's strength was uplifting. I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: "Ruthie Bolton" is a warrior
Review: I simply loved this book. I have the hardcover version and have read it over the years when I needed inspiration. Ruthie is born to a teenaged mother who is beaten so badly she finally runs away from home leaving Ruthie in the brutal hands of her step-grandfather. Her grandmother is killed before her eyes at his hands when Ruthie is very young. Ruthie and her aunts are raised almost as sisters and come to fear him as they should. That Ruthie survived at all is amazing. The fact that she came out of her childhood to adulthood without being bitter is amazing. Ruthies first marriage when she is a teenager results in her daughter Mary who she has taken away from her by her husband's family. Ruthie finally meets Ray who loves her unconditionally. Ruthie goes to Florida and meets his large family who also love her. Once she accepts their love she is able to come to terms with her past. Since she would only be about 40 years old now, I would love to see more of her story.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking...
Review: Ruthie Bolton (which is a psuedonym), or Gal as she is called, and her family experienced things that no one, especially young children, should ever experience in life. She was abandoned early in life by her teenage mother and later grew up being humiliated by others. She also suffers horrendous abuse at the hands of her grandfather, the same man who savagely beat and killed her grandmother. In an attempt to escape the harsh realities of her life, Ruthie develops some very bad habits, and makes several bad choices, one of which includes getting married at a very young age (for the wrong reasons), which ultimately ends in divorce.
Even though her past is horrific, she does not allow the ugliness that was her life determine her future. When she meets the man that will eventually become her second husband, Ruthie's life begins to change for the better. With the love and support of her second husband and his family, Ruthie begins to flourish. She goes on to become a wife, mother and career person, titles she never thought she would hold.
GAL: A TRUE LIFE was an absolutely riveting book. The emotions were so real I could feel them, as if I had actually lived Gal's life. I commend the author for having the fortitude and the desire to share her painful childhood with the world. I do understand the author's desire for anonymity, but I would love to meet and hug the woman behind the psuedonym Ruthie Bolton. She is the epitome of a true survivor.
Reviewed by Renee Williams
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Rating: 
Summary: Very good...
Review: She definitely caught all the details of her hard-life. Her words--very captivating and she has a very unique style of writing.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF YOU WERE "GAL?"
Review: This book had the poorest grammer in it I have ever read and that is why I didn't give it 5 stars. It seemed there was no editor involved. Yet, if the sentences and grammer were more refined, then the reader wouldn't get the proper impact that develops as the story unfolds.No one could make up this story. It is told with as much sincerity as one could give which adds to its interest and belief of reality. The events are of a dysfunctional family for sure that practices terror by the adults and eventually gross disappointment by the siblings. This life story is certainly interesting where one could say, "and there, but for the grace of God, could go I" because it probably happened to many uneducated families as to the treatment of their children and the selfish attitudes of most involved. I started reading this to my wife and both of us enjoyed the book thoroughly.
Rating:
Summary: gal
Review: this book is 5 stars 3 moons 8 suns a few planets naw its the whole solar system
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