Little Beauties

My rating of 3 stars is an average of the ratings I would give each of three narrators of the book, who tell the story in alternating chapters.

Diana, dealing with her OCD without her medication after her husband's departure, I would give 5 stars. I thought her p.o.v. was very realistic and found her to be a mostly sympathetic character.

Jamie, a pregnant recent high school graduate, who hates people but loves fashion, I would give 3 stars. Her character didn't entirely make sense to me, partially because certain aspects of her personality didn't go together and partially because I wanted to slap her. But in the end, I have to admit that she's probably a pretty realistic depiction of a certain type of teenage girl.

The first-person show more narrative of Stella, Jamie's unborn and then newly born baby, I absolutely hated. One star is being generous. If the whole book had been told from her p.o.v., I wouldn't have made it through the first chapter. Apparently, Addonizio thought the baby had something to contribute to the story, but I found it to be hokey, new-agey, and just plain ridiculous. The idea that she picked Jamie to be her mother was laughable. I especially hated the revelation that she was somehow connected to another character in a past life.

If Addonizio had written this novel alternating between Diana & Jamie, I probably would have given it 4 stars.

(I picked this book because I enjoyed Addonizio's short story "Ever After" in [b:My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales|7945295|My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me Forty New Fairy Tales|Kate Bernheimer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327926278s/7945295.jpg|11460338].) show less

Former beauty pageant contestant Diana washes obsessively and works in a baby store, Jamie is a pregnant teenager, and Stella is her soon-to-be-born baby. These characters alternate in narrating the story, which is sad, sad, sad. Other reviewers described the writing as lyrical and beautiful but I just found this sad.

A unique cast of characters in an interesting situation, and I appreciate that it didn't go in a tidy, Hallmark-style overly sentimental direction.

Compelling, touching, very engaging. A quick read, told from the standpoint of three women--an OCD sufferer, a single mom-to-be, and her unborn fetus. Addonizo is one of my favorite contemporary poets, and this novel shares her unique perspective and use of vivid language.

Not my usual sort of novel reading, but enjoyable. It really brought to life the worries of a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The other main character was one of the ones you just want to shake some sense into, as she makes bad decision after bad decision. There was some good writing in trying to give voices to even a newborn baby, but the reincarnation bit just seemed silly.