So Much Pretty

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, show more 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. show less

In a small town in upstate New York, a Wendy White’s body has been dumped near her apartment, months after she first went missing. While the authorities claim that foul play could not have come from within the community, Stacey Flynn and Alice Piper are convinced that a horrible truth is being hidden in plain sight. Flynn is an outsider, a reporter building a case against the endemic violence in rural America. Piper is a teenage girl, an eccentric, loveable genius whose unusual upbringing has given her an even more unusual sense of justice and morality. And the justice they seek will astonish you.

So Much Pretty is not your typical mystery. Yes, there’s a body, and as with most thrillers, it is the body of a beautiful young woman who show more has been subjected to sexual torture. But unlike the bulk of crime writing, Hoffman’s novel takes no pleasure in the image of the victim – there is no thrill in the spectacle of her degradation and death. Instead there is a cold, hard rage, and a brutal call for vengeance, not only against the perpetrators of a particularly heinous crime, but against a misogynist culture that treats women’s bodies as so much flesh to be used and discarded. This is a difficult, steely-hearted book, but for those looking for a piercing statement about the culture of violence, it is a thrilling and liberating read. show less

“So Much Pretty.” An unusual title to a somewhat unusual book. Reading reviews from the USA, where it was released earlier, it appears to be a “marmite” kind of a novel……..you either love it or hate it. I loved it!

Admittedly, it took me a while to get into the story. Frequent changes of characters and switching from the first to the third person with startling regularity, can be confusing to begin with, but I urge readers to stick with it.

The story is set in the small town of Haeden, in New York State, the type of place where everybody knows everyone else. A young waitress called Wendy disappears, which unsettles the whole community and the police appear to make no headway in trying to find Wendy’s whereabouts. Some say show more she has run away to start a new life in the city. Those who know her well do not buy in to this theory and fear she is dead. Six months later, Wendy’s body is discovered in the woods and it is obvious that she has been starved and tortured, both physically and sexually. But what is puzzling is the fact she has only been dead a few days. Where has she been all this time?

Cara Hoffman builds the suspense brilliantly, and the story unravels through the eyes and experiences of the inhabitants of Haeden and Wendy’s former school friends. A journalist, wanting to find that ultimate headliner, is relentless in her pursuit of the facts. The book’s tragic conclusion is totally unexpected and the realisation of what ghastly things have been happening in this small town comes as a shock, to say the least. I was gripped by Hoffman’s writing and found it hard to put this one down. Although the subject matter is disturbing, a great deal is left to the imagination, and the writer does not revel in violence for violence’s sake. That elevates this novel beyond a simple whodunit or psychological thriller. Highly recommended for it’s uniqueness.
This book was made available to me for an honest review. show less

This was harder work than most of the 'thrillers' I'm into, but totally worth it in the end. After a slow and somewhat confusing start (multiple characters, perspectives, timelines), the story opened up as delicately as a bloom, culminating in an ending that had me cheering inside my heart. The political/feminist slant will not be to everyone's taste, but I thought it was a great way to explore the great grey elephant in the room ... how women are still very often judged by their appearances or their 'purpose' in relation to men ... and that the three central characters were female was an inevitable counterbalance.

Something happened to Wendy and the town seems satisfied to ignore it. Everyone, except Stacy Flynn, is willing to go on with their lives. Flynn is the local journalist but an outsider, her story of Wendy’s death causes a chain reaction and Alice is right in the middle.

This murder mystery gripped me right from the beginning. I couldn’t put the book down! There is a lot of questions raised on justice, ethics and the doing things for the good of human kind. It explores prejudices within communities, touches on environmental issues and is so realistic that I won’t be surprised if I picked up the newspaper and read about Wendy White and Alice Piper.

The narrative switches from first to third person and from different view points, so show more the story is fleshed out by all parties. The insertion of the video and audio interviews from some of the minor characters was a great touch and added an extra layer of reality to the book.

Cara Hoffman did an excellent job in this debut novel. show less

It was way too difficult to write my own synopsis of this book, but even harder to write a review.

I read this book over a month ago and I still don't know what I think. Maybe that is a good thing. This was not predictable nor your average mystery. I'm not even sure it fits in that genre. The characters were well-written but I'm not sure how I felt about a lot of them, though they were quite interesting. Especially Alice, she was very unusual and as the book moved from past to present, I had no idea what to expect by the end.

Wendy is tenacious and really brings to light to violence against women and the workings of a small-town with their collective heads in the sand.

This novel has gotten fantastic reviews. I thought it was show more thought-provoking, but did I really like it? I still don't know, so I guess you should read it and come back and tell me what you think. This would be great for a book club, better than the usual fare that gives you 5 minutes worth of discussion. show less

I received this as a Good Reads first reads giveaway. My edition has a white cover.

I found this book hard to get into initially. Once I figured out the story had several narrators, it started to come together for me. Ultimately, the story about how a woman went missing and then found dead involves many people. It brings up issues regarding personal accountability and the impact of various social ideals and the dangers of imposing those ideas onto others. It also reinforces a well-known fact that most crimes against woman are by people they know and that "stranger danger" is most likely the people with whom you live, work, befriend and trust. I was left still pondering the story long after I had finished, thus the author's intention. show more Sometimes, stories don't have neatly wrapped up "happily ever after" endings, that can often be predictable and expected.

Don't let the layout of the book turn you away or frustrate you. If you keep with it you will discover the purpose and an incredible story based on a real criminal case.

Http://bookwormreviewblog.blogspot.com show less