By KBC Associate :max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/pile-of-childrens-books-020525-a0d54a6ad5fd421382806743b2cd473b.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Woman Confronts Sister After Niece Ruins Daughter’s Rare Books")
A woman is seeking advice from fellow Redditors after a family visit turned disastrous.
A 42-year-old mom says her 16-year-old daughter Brooke’s cherished book collection was recently destroyed — by her own sister’s teenage daughter.
The mom describes Brooke as an avid reader who has “been reading since she was five.” She explains in the Reddit post, “It’s pretty safe to say her book collection is huge and filled with all kinds of limited edition and special edition books. Recently she used her allowance to get a new special edition version of a book she already had because she has been saving up for it and was very excited to get it when it came out.”
The incident in question occurred during what was meant to be a pleasant catch-up between sisters and cousins, the poster writes. During a visit from her sister Lindsey and her 13-year-old daughter Mariah, the teen asked to use the bathroom upstairs.
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Brooke was out at the time but when she returned, it was to a horrifying scene in her bedroom. “When I got to her room, my jaw dropped,” the mom writes. “I saw several of her books (including the new special edition one) destroyed with ripped pages everywhere and Brooke was in tears at the destruction.”
The mother immediately confronted Mariah, demanding an apology. “I told Mariah that she needs to apologize to Brooke, clean up the mess she made, and that she would no longer be welcomed in my house,” she writes.
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She then turned to Lindsey and told her she would need to reimburse Brooke for the damages. However, Lindsey refused to take responsibility and argued that “Mariah was just a kid and she didn’t know what she was doing.” The poster, however, argued that Mariah is old enough to know right from wrong.
Further complicating the situation, Lindsey said Brooke shouldn’t have left her books out if she didn’t want them touched, the woman writes. This sent her over the edge. “I lost my cool and told her that the books weren’t out,” she writes. “They were put away in her room where Mariah wasn’t allowed to be without Brooke’s permission.”
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To make matters worse, the woman says this isn’t the first time Mariah has mishandled Brooke’s books. One year ago, Brooke lent Mariah two books to encourage her interest in reading. Unfortunately, “two weeks passed and the books came back damaged.”
At that time, Brooke vowed she would never again lend Mariah her books. The poster and her husband believe Mariah’s recent actions were a result of the previous altercation regarding Brooke’s belongings.
While the woman’s husband sided with her, the sisters’ family has a different take. “This whole thing has really blown up and my side of the family is telling me that I’m being too hard on Mariah, that she’s just a kid but I don’t think I am,” the woman shares.
Many Redditors, however, side with the woman. “I had to go back and check the kid’s age again. 5 gets a time out. 13? She should’ve been grounded,” writes one user.
Another adds, “Mariah is old enough to know better, and your sister should take responsibility. Actions have consequences, and Brooke deserves to be reimbursed.”