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A review by kblincoln
So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman
4.0
Maybe more like 3.5 stars. This one lost me partway through, although the last third of the book, when everything comes together in a quite horrific way, did pick up the pace enough for me to start getting into it again.
The story of Wendy White's disappearance, and the impact that disappearance has on another girl her same age in their small town is told through shifting POV's and documents (evidence in the cases) at shifting points in the timeline . While this creates a textured, multi-layered feeling to the truth of the matter (and in some cases, as in the perpetrator's mother's POV, a horrifying willful blindness) it also kept me scrambling to remember details of who knew who, and who had done what to whom at certain points in the story.
So I got a bit lost/frustrated about midway and put the book down. Luckily, finishing a book I've gotten at least 1/3 of the way through is like a geas on me, so I picked it back up. There is a pay off in the end, as you slowly realize what happened (and then are graphically shown what happened-- yikes) to Wendy, and what Annie, the other girl plans to do about it.
This book grapples with the loss of innocence, and naivety vs idealism, and misogyny and classism-- all in the context of a small, struggling poor town. It's not pretty. Nor does it leave you with very much hope at the end. However, it does deliver an impact, and a question, that I, as a woman, want to ignore.
Why do we, as a society, blindly allow violence and abuse against women?
It's not a comfortable question or read.
The story of Wendy White's disappearance, and the impact that disappearance has on another girl her same age in their small town is told through shifting POV's and documents (evidence in the cases) at shifting points in the timeline . While this creates a textured, multi-layered feeling to the truth of the matter (and in some cases, as in the perpetrator's mother's POV, a horrifying willful blindness) it also kept me scrambling to remember details of who knew who, and who had done what to whom at certain points in the story.
So I got a bit lost/frustrated about midway and put the book down. Luckily, finishing a book I've gotten at least 1/3 of the way through is like a geas on me, so I picked it back up. There is a pay off in the end, as you slowly realize what happened (and then are graphically shown what happened-- yikes) to Wendy, and what Annie, the other girl plans to do about it.
This book grapples with the loss of innocence, and naivety vs idealism, and misogyny and classism-- all in the context of a small, struggling poor town. It's not pretty. Nor does it leave you with very much hope at the end. However, it does deliver an impact, and a question, that I, as a woman, want to ignore.
Why do we, as a society, blindly allow violence and abuse against women?
It's not a comfortable question or read.