In her first novel, investigative reporter Hoffman presents a beautiful and chilling exploration of violence, vengeance, and the loss of innocence ...
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Jul 26, 2011
Lynn
rated it: 
This was not an easy book to get into. There are multiple points of view as well as several time frames so the reader must pay strict attention in order to move with the story. A girl disappears. A reporter thinks she has an idea about the disappearance but she is from "away" and is disregarded. An unworldly girl genius, raised by a pair of back-to-the-earth doctor parents and their college friends also knows something. Are they really the only ones who know what is happening, or a
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May 21, 2011
Kim
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I first saw this book reviewed on npr.org and immediately added it to my "To-read" list. The premise of the book is fascinating and "So Much Pretty" definitely lived up to my expectations.
The book was a little difficult to get into. I wasn't quite sure where it was leading, but when a story involves the disappearance of a pretty girl in a small town - it is bound to be an important story. That is what I would call "So Much Pretty," an important story. More...
The book was a little difficult to get into. I wasn't quite sure where it was leading, but when a story involves the disappearance of a pretty girl in a small town - it is bound to be an important story. That is what I would call "So Much Pretty," an important story. More...
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Nov 27, 2011
On the surface this seems like a book I would love. A girl disappears in an economically depressed town. It sounded like Gillian Flynn crossed with Bonnie Jo Campbell, with a little bit of Chelsea Cain mixed in, and those comparisons were not wrong. But there was something missing here for me. I couldn't find anywhere to settle my sympathies and my interests--of the four characters I'd say were "main," I only felt like we really got to know the less interesting (and less important to t
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Aug 05, 2011
Laila
rated it: 
I think I just have to stop reading contemporary literature. Two stars because the story compelled me enough to read it and quickly at that. Other than that, the author's clever, literary techniques she learned in her MFA program (different voices, perspectives, times and location) did not work for her.
The inside jacket pronounced this "stylishly written." Too much so for my taste. I felt like the author was trying to impress with her technique, her profanity and her use of jarg More...
The inside jacket pronounced this "stylishly written." Too much so for my taste. I felt like the author was trying to impress with her technique, her profanity and her use of jarg More...
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Jul 05, 2011
Janet
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This book was painful to read. The concept for the book sounded promising and there were several paths this book could have followed that might have been riveting. However, the path Hoffman chose did not work for me.
In addition to the disjointed and clumsily-told story itself, I really do not care for Hoffman's writing style -- there were way too many incomplete sentences and all of the characters seemed so flat and lifeless. The writing feels like Hoffman sat down and pored over e More...
In addition to the disjointed and clumsily-told story itself, I really do not care for Hoffman's writing style -- there were way too many incomplete sentences and all of the characters seemed so flat and lifeless. The writing feels like Hoffman sat down and pored over e More...
Jun 25, 2011
Neely
rated it:
I'm really torn between four and five stars. This is the best, most intelligent and thoughtful, suspense novel that I've read in a long time... maybe ever. I love the big questions that Cara challenges us with: are "progressive" ideas and opinions really progressive? Can we make a big enough impact carrying on in our own quiet ways, or do we need to DO something BIG to make changes... This book also delighted me because it wasn't absolutely predictable. Some of the suspicions I ha
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Jun 18, 2011
Britni
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I'm really struggling to find the words for how I feel about this book. I'm also struggling to write a review without first going back and reading the book a second time, but I'm going to try to give you an honest review from my first read because I may feel different after I've put the story all together.
A key to this book is that it is contemporary fiction. It's written in a style that I can only relate back to the movie Momento, except the story is being told from the point of view More...
A key to this book is that it is contemporary fiction. It's written in a style that I can only relate back to the movie Momento, except the story is being told from the point of view More...
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Jun 08, 2011
Vegantrav
rated it:
Of the new books published this year, Cara Hoffman's So Much Pretty is my favorite (so far).
As So Much Pretty begins, we learn that a young woman, Wendy White, has been murdered. There are also some initial clues that a high school girl, Alice Piper, is in some sort of trouble, and it seems to be connected, with Wendy's murder.
The novel then jumps back and forth through time, telling us about Alice's parents and their early years together as well as the present time, just af More...
As So Much Pretty begins, we learn that a young woman, Wendy White, has been murdered. There are also some initial clues that a high school girl, Alice Piper, is in some sort of trouble, and it seems to be connected, with Wendy's murder.
The novel then jumps back and forth through time, telling us about Alice's parents and their early years together as well as the present time, just af More...
May 30, 2011
Ashley
rated it:
Cara Hoffman’s So Much Pretty explores the aftermath of a kidnapping and killing in a rural New York town. Told from multiple points of view, the story is meant to enrage us against the violence against women that is perpetuated every day.
I wanted to love this book. It came highly recommended by another book blogger I follow. But while it does tell a compelling story and does highlight the epidemic of violence against women, So Much Pretty fell short of my expectations.
One of More...
I wanted to love this book. It came highly recommended by another book blogger I follow. But while it does tell a compelling story and does highlight the epidemic of violence against women, So Much Pretty fell short of my expectations.
One of More...
May 18, 2011
Daniella
rated it:
Or so much drek! I've read some great reviews of this "novel" and was excited to read it. The excitement ended when the book started. Did I read the same book as these rave reviewers? I hardly think so.
I read a quote (not sure what its from but I found it on Amazon) from Hoffman..."as a journalist, I've always thought 'why' was the most important question". On this, at least, the "author" (DO NOT QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!) and I agree. Why indeed? Why di More...
I read a quote (not sure what its from but I found it on Amazon) from Hoffman..."as a journalist, I've always thought 'why' was the most important question". On this, at least, the "author" (DO NOT QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!) and I agree. Why indeed? Why di More...
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May 16, 2011
Vicki
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Without focusing on the specifics of the story or general techniques used to tell this story, I'll make a few comments on the writing (which is how a mediocre story comes to life or a great premise for a story is lost due to a lack of writing talent). I found Hoffman's "So Much Pretty" to be written in such a way that the author seems to want to show that she can be clever, but instead it feels overwrought and manipulated. Based on her writing style and allusions to anarchism and env
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May 05, 2011
Danielle
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This debut novel was a hard book to read, for a handful of reasons. It builds very slowly, and there are numerous jumps in narrator, as well as to various points in the timeline of the story, both backwards and forwards. The narrators, too, for the most part, were steeped in a philosophical culture that I had little experience of, and the story did very little to educate me about the anarchist and anti-civilization philosophies they held. I found it difficult to identify with them, or understand
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Apr 05, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it: 
Wow! This was a...you know, it's been days since I've read this and I still catch myself thinking about it.
The basic plot is that a young woman disappears in a small town and when her body is found, everyone seems to think a stranger/drifter killed her, except for two people, a local (and newcomer) reporter, and Alice, who was one of the most fascinating fictional teenagers I've ever read about. (It's Alice who really caught me--days later, I still don't know if what she did was becau More...
The basic plot is that a young woman disappears in a small town and when her body is found, everyone seems to think a stranger/drifter killed her, except for two people, a local (and newcomer) reporter, and Alice, who was one of the most fascinating fictional teenagers I've ever read about. (It's Alice who really caught me--days later, I still don't know if what she did was becau More...
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Mar 29, 2011
switterbug (Betsey)
rated it:
Imagine you are the "outsider" and reporter, Stacy Flynn. You came to this farm town in upstate New York via Cleveland to find the "big-picture" story on rural waste dumping here in off-the-grid Haeden. You're twenty-four, alert as a cat, keen to pounce like a tiger, with Malcolm X glasses, a postmodern flair, and a Mencken regard. You've won an award in the big city, and now that the Rust Belt stories are waning, you seek the newly pelted. But after several years of living a
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Jul 15, 2011
Keetha
rated it:
So many people are wild about this book but I am not one of them.
I had issues with elements of the book and also with some of the scenes, graphic and distubring and awful, in the book. The book is told through multiple viewpoints, which I've seen done effectively, but it didn't work for me here. I couldn't get to really know anyone because the POV was always shifting.
It was confusing, too, keeping up with where we were and when we were - some of the narration was when a More...
I had issues with elements of the book and also with some of the scenes, graphic and distubring and awful, in the book. The book is told through multiple viewpoints, which I've seen done effectively, but it didn't work for me here. I couldn't get to really know anyone because the POV was always shifting.
It was confusing, too, keeping up with where we were and when we were - some of the narration was when a More...
Feb 21, 2012
dtjunkie
rated it:
I make not like postmodern art but I love postmodern literature. Give me multiple perspectives, jumping around in time, and fragments to put together and I am a happy person. This novel had all of these and then it also had the cherry on top... it really surprised me.
This book was a recommendation from John Warner, aka the Biblioracle, based on the following five books I had previously read and enjoyed: number9dream by David Mitchell, Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, Dark Places by Gillia More...
This book was a recommendation from John Warner, aka the Biblioracle, based on the following five books I had previously read and enjoyed: number9dream by David Mitchell, Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, Dark Places by Gillia More...
Mar 21, 2011
Rebecca
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The feeling of doom that hung over this book from the very beginning made the reading a heart-in-throat kind of experience. The events are supposed to take place in upstate NY, though I read it in Iowa and could very readily translate the portrayal of "family" (now corporate) farms and decaying small towns into that environment. This book has a lot to say about country and city, ideals and realities, and--most affectingly--about the disposable nature of women in a society that treats
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Jun 06, 2011
Rosemary
rated it:
So much disappointment! I wasted my time with this poorly-written attempt at a novel after reading a positive review. Then, I went looking more carefully and saw that most every positive review on Amazon was published before the official release or within the first week it was out and was written by a professional reviewer who'd received this book for free. I guess getting paid by S&S is reason enough to promote junk.
Hoffman uses a bag full of literary 'tricks of the trade' to More...
Hoffman uses a bag full of literary 'tricks of the trade' to More...
Jun 30, 2011
Heather
rated it:
I finished reading this book last night and I can't stop thinking about it. While I was reading it I was frustrated with the narrative style...it skipped from past to present and from character to character. I also wasn't sure how some "chapters" were even relevant until the end when it all came together like a puzzle. WOW! It was dark and disturbing and left me with the same feeling that Gillian Flynn's books have.
It revolves around the aftermath of the kidnapping and More...
It revolves around the aftermath of the kidnapping and More...
May 19, 2011
Deleese
rated it:
To say I really liked this book would be difficult. To say I was transfixed and stunned would be a better description. This novel is with me days after closing it. I am still mulling the story path with the character development and weighing it all against the lack of gruesome details and thick cloying feeling of filth.
Ms. Hoffman develops the environment, characters, and sequence of events within a simple and haunting small town. The mood creeps up slowly, building in a quietly comp More...
Ms. Hoffman develops the environment, characters, and sequence of events within a simple and haunting small town. The mood creeps up slowly, building in a quietly comp More...
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Apr 14, 2011
Victoria
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When I started reading this book, I had no idea what I was getting into. All I wanted was a story that wasn't paranormal or dystopian, and So Much Pretty was the first thing I grabbed from my bookshelf.
The whole book is told in different POV's, from different characters. Some in first person and some in third. Not only did the narrator change every few pages, the book would jump randomly through time. You literally had to do math before each chapter to get some sense of how and when More...
The whole book is told in different POV's, from different characters. Some in first person and some in third. Not only did the narrator change every few pages, the book would jump randomly through time. You literally had to do math before each chapter to get some sense of how and when More...
Mar 20, 2011
Trish
rated it:
Debut novelist Cara Hoffman takes lots of liberties with our hearts--our fears, our uncertainties, and our repressed desires--in her 2011 novel So Much Pretty. Something happens, finally, in this rundown rural upstate N.Y. town where a journalist slowly accumulates evidence of toxic poisoning by the "family-run" corporate-owned dairy farm that dominates the physical and personal landscape of the town. town residents, a little strange but vaguely familiar, are given voice through deposi
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Jul 03, 2011
Ally
rated it:
After seeing "So Much Pretty" written up in the L.A. Times, the New Yorker, and elsewhere--and after learning that Cara Hoffman got her start in the small literary presses, most notably in "Our Stories"--I felt compelled to pick it up. If anything, I was curious how successfully a short story writer made the leap to novel writing, and how Hoffman handled the themes of violence in a small town, specifically.
Unfortunately, while the novel has the admirable goal of exp More...
Unfortunately, while the novel has the admirable goal of exp More...
Feb 16, 2012
Lindsey
rated it:
Not a fan of this book. There was a lot of potential but I don't think the author pulled it all together. I feel she tried to say too much.
The plot was lacking, but it felt more like it was more an excuse for a social essay on violence against women, small town violence, factory farming, big pharma, school violence, eating locally, growing your own food, blah blah blah.
SPOILERS
From the jacket I thought I would be reading a book about the murder of Wendy White, but More...
The plot was lacking, but it felt more like it was more an excuse for a social essay on violence against women, small town violence, factory farming, big pharma, school violence, eating locally, growing your own food, blah blah blah.
SPOILERS
From the jacket I thought I would be reading a book about the murder of Wendy White, but More...
Apr 26, 2011
Tempe
rated it:
If you like stories with deeper meanings that you really have to think about while you read them, this book is for you. Using an unsettling murder plot as a catalyst to scrutinize social injustice, Hoffman knits a dark, suspenseful novel which is part horror story and part social commentary. This book covers a lot of injustices: violence against women, men-dominated societies, treatment of “outsiders,” country vs. city living, to name only a few.
This book has rave reviews on Goodr More...
This book has rave reviews on Goodr More...
Mar 10, 2011
Shanella
rated it:
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 with More...
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 with More...
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Sep 19, 2011
Nicole
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So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman was the perfect read to take to Europe (when I went--you don't have to go to Europe to read this). It's the story of a missing young woman and the havoc it wreaks on a small town in upstate New York. Two parents with the best of intentions raise a daughter too smart for her own good, and tragedy tears them apart. What happened to the missing young woman, and what happened to our genius heroine?
Each chapter switches character perspective and it keeps More...
Each chapter switches character perspective and it keeps More...
Mar 27, 2011
Aaron
rated it:
It's been a long time since I finished a book and wanted to shout about it from the rooftops and run around putting copies in people's hands, but this fits the bill.
I finished it on January 28th and I've been waiting to give the right kind of shout, one that reflects how this book affected me without putting people off.
Here's something I learned from the book, some great quotes used by the Situationists during the Paris Revolt of 1968:
-I take my desires for realit More...
I finished it on January 28th and I've been waiting to give the right kind of shout, one that reflects how this book affected me without putting people off.
Here's something I learned from the book, some great quotes used by the Situationists during the Paris Revolt of 1968:
-I take my desires for realit More...
Mar 07, 2011
Diane
rated it:
Cara Hoffman’s debut novel, So Much Pretty, is an extraordinarily smart and beautifully written page turner. This suspenseful and highly charged story is of a young woman, Wendy White, who goes missing in the rural town of Haeden in upstate New York. Stacey Flynn, a transplanted reporter from Cleveland, clashes with local townspeople whom she believes know more than they’re saying. Alice Piper is the precocious young daughter of transplanted hippies whose idealized dream of country living com
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Aug 05, 2011
In her fiction debut, former investigative reporter Cara Hoffman has written a tremendously affecting and intriguing—if not altogether satisfying—book about life in a small, rural New York town, and how violence causes countless ripples.
Stacy Flynn is an award-winning reporter who moves from Cleveland to rural Haeden, a small town about an hour outside NYC, in search of her next big story. The blue-collar town is dominated by a prosperous dairy, which is owned by a foreign company and run by a More...
Stacy Flynn is an award-winning reporter who moves from Cleveland to rural Haeden, a small town about an hour outside NYC, in search of her next big story. The blue-collar town is dominated by a prosperous dairy, which is owned by a foreign company and run by a More...
