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Mar
24
Book Review: SO MUCH PRETTY by Cara Hoffman
2011 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Published March 15, 2011 by Simon and Schuster
When Wendy White goes missing and is later found dead, the people of Haeden, New York insist that she must have been taken by an outsider, someone just passing through. No one from Haeden would ever—could ever—kidnap and rape such a nice, pretty, local girl. People from places like Haeden don’t do things like that.
But journalist Stacy Flynn—an outsider from the big city—isn’t sold. In town to research a story on the environmental impact of the dairy owned by the town’s most prominent family, Flynn suspects that there is something going on in Haeden, something going on with the men, in particular, and she won’t be intimidated into keeping it to herself. She has been hoping to hit on a “big-picture story from a backwater nowhere,” and Wendy White’s disappearance and murder set her spidey senses a-tingling. They go into overdrive when Alice Piper, the precocious daughter of idealists Claire and Gene, who quit their careers in medicine and left Manhattan for the opportunity to take a stab at living off the grid, does Something Big, something that Flynn knows her writing provoked.
In So Much Pretty, Cara Hoffman weaves these three main story lines together while juggling more than half a dozen other characters’ voices and perspectives and slowly revealing what, exactly, Alice Piper did and why she did it. Hoffman digs into the tension between ideology and reality, and she keeps readers on the edge of their seats while helping them step into the roles of detective and social commentator. Hoffman’s characters are riveting, but only her readers know the whole story, and she succeeds in making the nitty gritty work of putting the pieces together feel exciting and fresh.
Other critics have compared So Much Pretty to The Lovely Bones, but while the subject matter is similar, the books reside in completely different realms of quality. This book is more than a pageturner. So Much Pretty is a haunting, thought-provoking Important Novel in disguise as a thriller. Hoffman presents violence against women and explores what happens when communities allow men to become perpetrators and to go unpunished. Through Alice Piper, she examines the consequences of raising children who are book-smart but naive to how the world really works. And she does it all with terrific pacing and the kind of pitch-perfect writing that makes your heart race and keeps you up at night.
(Seriously, I had multiple nightmares about this book, and that hardly ever happens.)
So Much Pretty is a phenomenal read on multiple levels, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Related posts:
- Book Review: Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
- Blog Tour Book Review and Giveaway: Honey It's All in the Shoes by Phyllis Norton Hoffman
- Book Review: My Little Red Book edited by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
- Book Review: The Little Book by Selden Edwards
- Not quite a book review of THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake
This one popped up on my radar when it showed up on EW’s must list. I want to have a nightmare too! Haven’t had one since that thing with the kitten in Her Fearful Symmetry. When it gets into your dreams, you know the author is doing his or her job.
Sandy´s last [type] ..Monday Movie Meme – For the Foodies
I have crazy dreams all the time, so I’m not sure I want to read a nightmare inducing book, but you’ve made this one sound awfully tempting.
bermudaonion (Kathy)´s last [type] ..Review- Irish Lace
Sounds like one I need to add to my list. I love thrillers that are also just really good books.
I am reading this book right now! It’s wonderful so far. I’m happy to see that you highly recommend it!
I have been excited for this one and really have only read fabulous reviews! Including yours
I can’t wait to read this book now!
Wow! I can not wait to read this book!
I read this review again, and I’m in awe of the precise descriptive pitch perfect vibe of the review itself. I can actually feel your love for this book. It really translates.
Awww, thanks Shel!
I recently received this book and after reading your review I am really looking forward to it. I am little apprehensive about the potential nightmares but it sounds like it could be worth it!
Colleen´s last [type] ..Giveaway- Faking It and Bouquet of Flowers
I don’t think there are enough books with main characters named Stacy. Adding this to my list
Who can argue with reasoning like that?
Hoffman’s editor at Simon&Schuster is a former student of mine. Please read the Acknowledge page to see how Hoffman characterizes her. The novel is a decided success, and I, along with Hoffman, give Sarah Knight due credit.
Sarah Knight is fantastic (she also edits my friend Michele Young-Stone), and I’m so glad you took time to comment and remind me (and everyone here) of the important role editors play in turning good books into great ones.
I’m usually not really into that kind of book, I prefer fantasy and magic, but this actually sounds pretty good. So, I will add it to my ever-growing list of books-to-get, and maybe I’ll get around to it in the next year. Or ten.