(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

I wasn't able to finish this book, although didn't think was exactly terrible; I actually read electronically because of his publisher Random House giving away the digital version recently as an online promotion. It's a supposedly edgy and gritty look at the various losers and junkies that make up the underclass of society, set in this case in Las Vegas but really examining the wrong side of the tracks of any large city; but I'm warning you, this book is "edgy and gritty" the same way a movie on the Lifetime Channel is edgy and gritty, and those who are not necessarily shocked by Valerie Bertinelli playing an abused wife are sure to greet Beautiful Children mostly with disgruntled yawns. Like, did you know that sometimes people are actually forced to sell personal possessions to make ends meet? Did you know that many teen boys enjoy reefer and x-rated comics? Did you know that some people enjoy having sex with other people without even knowing their names? If your answer is yes, then you're probably going to want to skip Beautiful Children; and if your answer is no, dude, seriously, you are not reading my other reviews closely enough.

Out of 10: 5.6 ( )

Bock's novel, Beautiful Children, is an unapologetic look at the dirty aspects of life and Las Vegas. This wonderfully researched book is raw and jagged at times. The back cover may make it sound like it could maybe be a romance novel, but it's anything but. It's more about people being torn apart than coming together.

The book centers around Newell, a missing child. However, many other plot lines intersect his. The story is crafted in a style reminiscent of the movies Love Actually and Crash, with all of the many characters linked, however loosely. One of the real marvels of this work is that all of the characters whose stories we follow are beautifully developed. I never felt like any were being ignored. They're all fleshed out and grow throughout the story. We learn about them, and they are alive in the pages of the book.

All of the characters have some hard-to-address aspect of their lives. Something about them that makes us uncomfortable on some level, at least according to social norms. A stripper who repeatedly sacrifices her dignity, a boy who thinks his girlfriend could be a porn star, parents who are grieving and torn apart over the disappearance of their child, a friend who crosses an unspeakable line. Bock is unafraid to delve into the harsh realities of strippers, runaways, and those in the porn industry. Sex plays a role in many of the storylines, but it falls short of being obscene.

Bock's writing itself is phenomenal. The detail he portrays in each and every paragraph is hard to come by in a novel. It's vivid and alive, and only emphasizes the jagged edges of life. Despite it's incredible descriptiveness, he manages to keep his writing tasteful, no matter how coarse the subject matter. He's descriptive, but not overly graphic.

I felt dragged into this story. I was invested in all of the characters. Whenever the plot turned to one, I was simultaneously drawn to that character and wondering what was happening to the others. Bock's final accomplishment is in what he didn't write. He knew just what to leave out to make his story continue to resonate, even after the last page was turned. ( )

I think it's reprehensible to rate a book without finishing it, so I'll leave that to others who suffered all the way through to the bitter end of this terrible book. I'm throwing in the towel after reading about 1/4 of its pages filled with contrived, unconvincing dialogue and meager character development. No rating, but you can assume that it's less than one. ( )

I loved this book. The topic was pretty straightforward: a son goes missing from his middle-class family in Las Vegas. But the book was at times intense and disturbing (both in good ways). I loved the characters; they were flawed humans who I found to be very believable. I would read anything by this author. ( )

This story of life on the streets, and on the underside, of Las Vegas was one that I found just okay at the beginning, but came to like more and more as I got deeper into the book. For those of you who have started and given up, try picking the book up again...I think you'll be glad you did.

The central plot of this book is the story of 12 year old Newell, who runs away from an affluent home, what happens to him on the night he disappeared, and how his parents are coping (or not) with the loss of their only child. It's also the story of a collection of other characters -- Cheri Blossom, the stripper who loves her boyfriend Ponyboy despite his obvious faults; Bing, the graphic artist and writer; Kenny the misfit teenager; the girl with the shaved head; "Danger Prone" Daphney and her "vampire" guardian.

All the interwoven stories come together to form a picture of what happens when your life doesn't follow the normal pattern -- when you need to escape your situation or yourself. The young people living on the streets, the people making and viewing pornography, the upper middle class parents whose lives are shattered by the loss of a child, the hyperactive kid. And, I'll be honest, it was partly voyeurism that drew me into this story of life on the edge. But it was also that all of us, at one time or another, feels or fears that we don't fit the normal pattern.

The writing is solid, and there is the right balance for my taste between plot and character development. I feel I know some of the characters extremely well; others remain more of a mystery. That's life. And, while the interwoven stories come together to some extent, the author has resisted any temptation to bring every sub-plot to a full, clear resolution. Again, that's life.

I think Mr. Bock has a lot of potential, and I will definitely look for his next novel. ( )