Scan barcode
gleefulreader's review
4.0
So Much Pretty was positively gutting but well-worth the investment of time and emotion. Although it explores themes such as violence against women and vengeance, I think the book particularly excelled in its description of small town life, the fear of different, the poverty, the social hierarchy and construct of life where everyone knows everyone. I felt Hoffman may have been a little too overt in her description of the hippie/anarchist outsider parents and perhaps did not explore the inevitable tension and conflict that would have existed between them as outsiders and the townsfolk as much as she could have. In addition, I felt the book suffered from too many abrupt shifts in point of view, although this may have been intentional on Hoffman's part. Overall, these were fairly minor issues for a book that certainly grabbed and kept my attention.
machadofam8's review against another edition
4.0
This was not easy to read, but powerful and thought-provoking. I enjoyed it very much.
banrions's review against another edition
4.0
i decided to read this book because i saw someone say that the author got told that it was "too angry". the world doesn't like angry girls. and it especially doesn't like angry girls who won't shut up. i am often an angry girl; so, i grabbed the book. i had a vague idea of the plot going in, but i didn't expect everything i read. i guessed a few of the twists, some not until right as they were being revealed, but that's not what's important about this book. many of the lines hit me hard (as a pretty socially conscious woman, not a lot of it was new information) but they still hit me regardless. but, what jumped out at me the most, was,
It would hardly be rational to accept that I live inside a thing made of flesh that people capture, hide, and then wait in line to rape.
and,
Wendy White was raped, killed, and dumped. Men raped her, men killed her, men dumped her, men found her, men are examining her remains, men are looking for the men who did it. Then the men who did it will be represented in court by men, and a man will make the decision based on laws men made throughout the legal history of this country.
this is an angry book. it's angry for a damn good reason.
It would hardly be rational to accept that I live inside a thing made of flesh that people capture, hide, and then wait in line to rape.
and,
Wendy White was raped, killed, and dumped. Men raped her, men killed her, men dumped her, men found her, men are examining her remains, men are looking for the men who did it. Then the men who did it will be represented in court by men, and a man will make the decision based on laws men made throughout the legal history of this country.
this is an angry book. it's angry for a damn good reason.
emmamgregory's review against another edition
4.0
A brilliant first novel, although it was a slow burner to start, by a third of the way in I was so engrossed I read the last two thirds in two days.
The novel is set in a small rural town in upstate New York and each short chapter is either narrated by one of the main characters or in the third person.
Wendy White has gone missing she eventually shows up dead in the creek next to the supermarket and the book delves into who did it and what happened to Wendy White a great incentive to read on.
The short chapters skip from 1997 to the present time but in no particular order which at the beginning was hard to follow but once I had learned Hoffman's writing style it was easy to understand and set the scene to what happened to Wendy White. Once I understood each character this slow burner of a novel was set alight and by the end it was dynamite. As each chapter is dedicated to one character at a particular time in their life from the past to the present I felt like I knew them well throughout the novel and could recognize what certain characters were capable of. Also Ms Hoffman throws in some ethical situations that really got me thinking.
Overall a thoroughly great read that makes you think about what the human race is capable of.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes a mystery with a satisfying ending and if your confused as how it ends just go back to reading the prologue at the beginning.
The novel is set in a small rural town in upstate New York and each short chapter is either narrated by one of the main characters or in the third person.
Wendy White has gone missing she eventually shows up dead in the creek next to the supermarket and the book delves into who did it and what happened to Wendy White a great incentive to read on.
The short chapters skip from 1997 to the present time but in no particular order which at the beginning was hard to follow but once I had learned Hoffman's writing style it was easy to understand and set the scene to what happened to Wendy White. Once I understood each character this slow burner of a novel was set alight and by the end it was dynamite. As each chapter is dedicated to one character at a particular time in their life from the past to the present I felt like I knew them well throughout the novel and could recognize what certain characters were capable of. Also Ms Hoffman throws in some ethical situations that really got me thinking.
Overall a thoroughly great read that makes you think about what the human race is capable of.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes a mystery with a satisfying ending and if your confused as how it ends just go back to reading the prologue at the beginning.
wearethedepinets's review against another edition
5.0
This book was absolutely amazing. It is a must read! I love the twists and turns of the story line.
stefanilp's review against another edition
3.0
Anothger book that was quite slow to start out, but the second half was much better. I enjoyed this book, but it was one I had no trouble putting down. It is written out of order and while it did not confuse me, it did frustrate me. The outcome was somewhat predictable and certains scenes I found to be quite disturbing. Not sure that I would really recommend it though.
andintothetrees's review against another edition
3.0
Click here to read my full review, on my book blog.
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book a little gimmicky, with all the different points of view and the jumps forward and backward in time, but when the story started really coming down, it left me reeling. This book is imperfect (mainly because the writing techniques are gimmicky) but worthwhile. It is deeply disturbing and deeply affecting, looking at community complicity in violence (especially violence against women), our unwillingness to consider that violence occurs outside our stereotyped ideas of who commits crimes, and also the question of what it means to live out your values and your beliefs in a way that makes a difference in the world. The bad parts were graphic but brief (though let's wait and see if I have nightmares tonight before I give a final judgment on whether they were sufficiently brief. There was enough to be deeply upsetting... but for the most part, it didn't rise to the level of "It's really creepy that you're expecting me to enjoy reading about this in detail".)
As a parent, I was interested in the description of Alice's parents' choices, what they taught their daughter and what they shielded her from. I think I am choosing pretty differently for my child, yet my choices come out of some of the same values. Also, as someone who works in a field that's supposed to be about making the world a better place but often feels like it serves the interests of the ruling class, I really appreciated Claire, Gene, Con, and Micky's attempts to figure out how to find right livelihood. (Even though none of them really succeeded.)
I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying. I guess that was inevitable given the situation the characters had gotten themselves into.
P.S. If this book is ever made into a movie... Saoirse Ronan will play Alice. Couldn't be anyone else. Every time Alice was described in the book, I pictured Saoirse Ronan.
Spoiler
(To be clear, I don't condone killing rapists. Damn, does this community need some restorative justice!)As a parent, I was interested in the description of Alice's parents' choices, what they taught their daughter and what they shielded her from. I think I am choosing pretty differently for my child, yet my choices come out of some of the same values. Also, as someone who works in a field that's supposed to be about making the world a better place but often feels like it serves the interests of the ruling class, I really appreciated Claire, Gene, Con, and Micky's attempts to figure out how to find right livelihood. (Even though none of them really succeeded.)
I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying. I guess that was inevitable given the situation the characters had gotten themselves into.
P.S. If this book is ever made into a movie... Saoirse Ronan will play Alice. Couldn't be anyone else. Every time Alice was described in the book, I pictured Saoirse Ronan.
april_golden's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly still am not sure if I liked this book. I'd like to give it 2.5 stars. The gist of the story is about a missing girl from a small town, another girl from the same small town who "something" has happened with that is a secret until three-fourths of the way through the book, and the newspaper reporter who gets caught up in the story. However, those are not the only voices in the story. Chapters are told from other character's viewpoints. In fact, I found the book very difficult to read because it jumps around, from character to character, A LOT. Also, it jumps around in time. Every chapter takes places either years ahead or years before, and I found myself trying to do the math each chapter to keep up with the timeline. I actually enjoyed the book more when I just stopped trying to understand the timing and let the story develop.
I do not think that the time/character switching was really necessary. It came off more as a "device" of the writer than as actually having purpose for the story. I never felt connected to any one character and often times I just felt lost, and I wonder if the story would have been more engaging had it been written more linearly, focusing on only a couple characters. The book just seemed to be trying to do too much at times.
I do not think that the time/character switching was really necessary. It came off more as a "device" of the writer than as actually having purpose for the story. I never felt connected to any one character and often times I just felt lost, and I wonder if the story would have been more engaging had it been written more linearly, focusing on only a couple characters. The book just seemed to be trying to do too much at times.
samsamabrasam's review against another edition
2.0
The writing style was difficult to get used to. Some parts are written wonderfully while others have choppy sentences and incomplete fragments. I personally think there were too many character prespectives (or the way the author chose to organize them wasn't the best idea) making it hard to follow. It jumps from first to third person between sections, which also adds to the confusion.
The story line was actually good and pushed me to finish the book but I feel like the author didn't connect the plot. I think more of the parts could of been connected to together to make more sense, otherwise I feel like I was reading three or four completly different stories.
The story line was actually good and pushed me to finish the book but I feel like the author didn't connect the plot. I think more of the parts could of been connected to together to make more sense, otherwise I feel like I was reading three or four completly different stories.