Outside Beauty

Shelby and her three sisters are torn apart when their mother is in a car accident and has to stay in the hospital. Physically and emotionally shattered, their mom sends each of them to live with their fathers (four different men in three different states). While mom faces the fact that her great beauty might be gone forever, sisters Shelby, Marilyn, Lakie, and Maddie must face living without each other and finding their own ways.

This book wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about (the struggle of the mom to adjust her worldview once her beauty was taken away). Narrator Shelby and her three sisters have a bond to rival the Penderwicks and their struggles to survive on their own (as well as Shelby's changing relationship with show more her father, a man she barely knows) make for a good story. I think the story of Shelby getting to know her father would have been enough of a plot and the story became muddled with so many characters. Also, it's a pet peeve of mine when a book is set in a historical time period for no apparent reason. Why was this book set in 1983? I got no real sense of time and no sense of the passing of time either. Still, it was compelling enough that I wanted to know how it would end and I care about what happened to Shelby and her sisters. show less

It looks like I may have stumbled across the single non-agony YA that Kadohata has written. (I don't know what her actual ratio is, but the books I see talked about most suggests that she's a master of the problem novel. Let's just say I'm scared to read the one about the dog.) Outside Beauty isn't uniformly kicky and upbeat -- there's a sad, lonely bit through the middle -- but it doesn't scream "Problem Novel" at me, either.

And just let me interject: oh, but Kadohata writes some beautiful prose.

So, in Helen Kimura's world, women exist to be beautiful and men exist to support them. Helen is raising her four daughters to that philosophy, and their lives are a whirlwind of boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, fathers (each of the girls has a show more different one), and staying one step ahead of whoever is pursuing them now. That comes to a crashing halt when Helen is in a Terrible Accident, and the four sisters are individually shopped out to their respective fathers while their mother recovers. (I know, it sounds like a Problem Novel...)

I love the portrayal of the four sisters. There's a deep and unselfconscious love and loyalty between them, and while they do view each other with envy -- Marilyn is stunning; Lakey has the best father -- they don't view each other with jealousy. That things are uneven is just the way things are. They're similarly non-judgemental about their mother, in a way that rings true to me. Everyone else judges their mother -- and our narrator, the one "plain" girl in the bunch, has her own private doubts about the "women exist to be beautiful" philosophy -- but she's their mother, and their loyalty lies with with her. Plus, it's a pretty good, if crazy, life.

Until the Terrible Accident, that is.

After that, the novel becomes a quest by the girls to get their good, if crazy, lives back -- to define what they need, to assert what they need, to get the adults to give way to what they need. It's a lovely book. show less

Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata is the story of four sisters. Each of them has a different father, but they are all devoted to their beautiful, sophisticated mother. Then, one day, their mother is in a car accident, and the sisters are sent to live with their fathers. It is the first time in their lives that they have ever been apart.

I have read two other books by Kadohata. This had some similarities (characters with a Japanese heritage, for example, and dealing with serious issues), and some differences (this was set in 1983, and while that may seem "historical" to young readers now, I just can't think of it that way). The ending was more hopeful than I expected. From what I had heard about the book before reading it, I also thought show more that the girls would be more mature, and that there would be more of a focus on sexuality. While that was touched upon (particularly regarding the mother's lifestyle), the girls themselves were still young and naive. This book reminded me most of Homecoming by another Cynthia -- Cynthia Voigt. The sisters had that same close-knit dynamic of siblings who have to look out for each other because the adults in their world can't always be relied upon. show less

Narrated by Sue Jean Kim. Not your traditional family (four daughters by four men) but the love among the sisters is as tight as any traditional set-up. These girls are a strong support system as they cope with their fathers and their mother's flighty behavior. When their mother is hospitalized, they will do anything to stay together. It's not often in children's literature that you will find families this complicated, but they are definitely out there and it's good to see it represented.

The book jacket lists this book for ages 12+. But I would strongly encourage parents and teachers to pre-read this book before recommending it to anyone under about 15. While there is nothing explicit or graphic in the book, there are a number of references to very casual sexual activity among adults (not wearing panties to parties, trading ‘favors’ for car service, a date expecting to ‘get what he has paid for’). These incidents are reported very dispassionately by the 13 year old protagonist, as it is just commonplace in her life. That fits perfectly for the voice of this character. But it’s not what I would choose to present to a preteen or young teen who is just starting to gather clues about how people behave sexually. show more

That said, I found Outside Beauty to be a great read. The basic plot and premise of the story is unique. It’s the story of a single mother and her four daughters. The mother is quite shallow and values beauty (and what it can get her) above all else. She teaches these values quite effectively to her young brood. Because of an accident, the girls are split up and sent to live with different fathers, in very different living situations. It’s a beautiful story of how a strong familial bond will overcome exceptional circumstances.

Outside Beauty is told from the viewpoint of the second-oldest daughter, Shelby. I found the “voice” of this character to be very authentic. I enjoyed the variety of characters in this novel. Each daughter and each father has a distinct personality. Although each character is fairly one-dimensional, and some are stereotypical, it works quite well as an ensemble. show less

Though Kadohata is an award-winning author, this was the first of her books that appealed to me. Telling the story of four girls raised by their morally-questionable mother and unexpectedly rent asunder, I wasn't sure what to expect. But I pretty much devoured this book. Simply but beautifully written and the characters just jump off the page. A bit disappointed in the ending but overall, quite a lovely story. Perhaps I will go back and pick up her others.

Although several reviewers do touch on the book's weak points, most of them give it a very positive review. Unfortunately, this book just didn’t do it for me. Although I always admire the promotion of inner beauty over outside looks, I didn’t think this book was very convincing on this point. The story is about a “sexpot” mom and her four girls by four different fathers. Seems that mom, along with focusing only on looks and youth, has a problem with commitment. But we’re supposed to believe that everyone is happy with the family’s irresponsible and flighty existence. They only need each other to be happy. When the mom gets into a bad car accident the girls are farmed out to their various fathers. Only one of the fathers is show more interested in fighting a custody battle, and he’s the one father who’s weird and domineering. The message is supposed to be that the mother and the girls are much stronger as a group, and manage just fine, but other than creating forced hilarity scenes of long car rides across the country as they are avoiding yet another jilted lover of mom’s, I don’t think Kadohata did enough to make the mother a true guiding force. I also think Kadohata didn’t follow through on the message of outside beauty not being important. Yes, the mother gets scarred in the accident, but she never loses her focus on men and looks. While that may be admirably true to human nature – we don’t really change that much – I think it’s the wrong message for young girls. Also, the ending of the book felt disjointed, rushed and included irrelevant scenes. What’s the point of the woman biting the police car upholstery while the runaway sisters are in the back seat? Kadohata always has great emotional moments in her books, and the scenes with Helen and her dad are sincere, but this time Kadohata seems to have lost the thread. show less