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64th out of 2,173 books
—
5,109 voters
The Story of Beautiful Girl
by
Rachel Simon (Goodreads Author)
It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-...more
Hardcover, 346 pages
Published
May 4th 2011
by Grand Central Publishing
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I picked this book up from the new section of my library because the summary captivated me. A white woman with a developmental disability (Lynnie) and a black deaf man (Homan) are sent to a school, School for the Incurable and Feebleminded. They find themselves in love and break free of the school, a school that they hate and has treated them so horribly (with the exception of Kate). On the run, they find one house, that of Martha's. Lynnie shows up with a baby in her hands and Homan next to her...more
I picked up a stinky read. I can't say this book was positively stinky, because it started off with great intensity and a plot with a very interesting premise. Secondly, I cannot say it was too stinky because I read it from cover to cover. I try very hard to finish anything I select. My three stars are solely based on the premise of the plot and the enthralling beginning.
I was pulled in until about half-way through and then it turned like a banana left on a sunny window sill. Bring on the stink...more
I was pulled in until about half-way through and then it turned like a banana left on a sunny window sill. Bring on the stink...more
25 likes · like · see review
I don't think I can articulate how wonderful this book is without sounding corny. I cried. From happiness and melancholy and a deep, yet satisfying sadness. This is a remarkable story. Beyond remarkable. If only I could give it six stars. No review is going to do this book justice so just read it. Though, Janice Phelps Williams' comes as close as one could possibly get. If you want to read it, go here: http://open.salon.com/blog/janicephel...
I'm just going to leave you with my favorite line from...more
I'm just going to leave you with my favorite line from...more
36 likes · like · see review
This book was really amazing, but it was also really hard for me to read. I have a sister 10 years younger than me with Downs syndrome and it was hard to not envision what her life could have been like if she'd been born in that time or if my parents were like Lynnie's. People who are "special" are just that and my sister has been the greatest blessing for our family. How some people do not see it that way is so ridiculous to me! Lynnie and Homan's story was so touching and captivating that I cr...more
A beautifully written book about people living on the margins of society. Apart from the slightly religious parts and the whopping twist of fate, I enjoyed the story of Lynnie, Homan/No. 42, and Martha. I would recommend this book to people who love intricate stories and happy endings.
As soon as I finished this book, I wanted to start it all over again.
The Story of Beautiful Girl surpasses most of what I've read this year. Great characters who seemed so real, it felt like I'd met them... Simon gives us an eye into their souls. Place was done so well that it seemed like being in a movie. I cannot remember when a book passage gave me goose bumps and this happened more than once here. Enough said: I LOVED this book! Rachel Simon is definitely one to keep an eye on... please keep...more
The Story of Beautiful Girl surpasses most of what I've read this year. Great characters who seemed so real, it felt like I'd met them... Simon gives us an eye into their souls. Place was done so well that it seemed like being in a movie. I cannot remember when a book passage gave me goose bumps and this happened more than once here. Enough said: I LOVED this book! Rachel Simon is definitely one to keep an eye on... please keep...more
In the late 1960’s a beautiful young developmental disabled woman is raped by one of the attendants in a musty closet of the Pennsylvania Residence for Gifted Children and Adults. This woman’s name is Lynnie, she is 22 years old and has spent the past 10 years living at “The School”.
Lynnie befriends a deaf African American man also a resident at “The School”, and they plot their escape. Lynnie is pregnant as a result of the rape and she has seen the horrors of babies who live at “The School”.
T...more
Lynnie befriends a deaf African American man also a resident at “The School”, and they plot their escape. Lynnie is pregnant as a result of the rape and she has seen the horrors of babies who live at “The School”.
T...more
Aug 07, 2011
Michelle
added it
The Story of Beautiful Girl is a stunning story on the power of love and courage. Told through multiple viewpoints, each character showcases the horror of humanity right alongside its beautiful and splendor. Lynnie and Homan, Kate and Martha each find a way to creep into a reader's soul, creating lasting impressions while highlighting the positive far-reaching impact one simple act of love and faith can have.
Ms. Simon's study of the developmentally challenged or handi-capable is as beautiful as...more
Ms. Simon's study of the developmentally challenged or handi-capable is as beautiful as...more
Four stars for subject matter, three stars for execution. This is an ambitious work of fiction. It explores the lives of a young woman with a developmental disability who is institutionalized by her family, and a young man who winds up in the same institution because of his deafness. It casts an unflinching gaze on the horrible practices within the institution. Those passages were excellent, and I think the book was at its best when stepping behind the curtains without moralizing.
It was obvious...more
It was obvious...more
3 likes · like · see review
Actually 3.5 the story was well written and a clean read on a difficult subject. Lynnie, a disabled and physically aggressive young woman who speaks hardly any words other than no, is sent by her family to a "school" for the disabled and feeble minded back in the 60's. among the horrible living conditions, there she falls in love with another resident Homan, who is deaf and has difficulty communicating with most. During a brutal incident with school staff, Lynnie is impregnated as a result of ra...more
I wish I could have given this book more than three stars. I found the love story between the developmentally disabled young woman and the older, black deaf man to be a moving story. I disliked being "preached" to with lots of platitudes underlined by other readers. Words of wisdom or group moralizing? Some of the efforts to preach didn't fit the novel's style and seemed contrived.
The book tried too hard to be too many things: a tour of America and its variations during the mid 20th century, a...more
The book tried too hard to be too many things: a tour of America and its variations during the mid 20th century, a...more
This is the same author as RIDING THE BUS WITH MY SISTER and BUILDING A HOME WITH MY HUSBAND. This one is fiction, though, while the others are both based upon her real life.
I regrettably have to say I preferred her nonfiction books. This was written somewhat vaguely and I thought the characters were a bit simplistic and two-dimensional. At times, the action also seemed slow, and I found myself bored and/or not looking forward to getting back to the book. I do admire what she was trying to do h...more
I regrettably have to say I preferred her nonfiction books. This was written somewhat vaguely and I thought the characters were a bit simplistic and two-dimensional. At times, the action also seemed slow, and I found myself bored and/or not looking forward to getting back to the book. I do admire what she was trying to do h...more
This story kept my heart in my throat for the two days it took me to read it (apologies to my family for things I forgot to do.)
Lynnie and a man named only #42 are adults institutionalized in a state school for the feeble minded in Pennsylvania in the 1960s when they fall in love and she gets pregnant. Their attempt to escape is disastrous, except that they are able to give the baby to a kindly woman before the authorities come looking for them.
I have never read a book with such fully developed...more
Lynnie and a man named only #42 are adults institutionalized in a state school for the feeble minded in Pennsylvania in the 1960s when they fall in love and she gets pregnant. Their attempt to escape is disastrous, except that they are able to give the baby to a kindly woman before the authorities come looking for them.
I have never read a book with such fully developed...more
I will try to make this short. I Loved reading this story. I knew I would from the moment I brought it home and put it on my 'to-read' shelf. I would pass it every night and, finally, anticipation grown and ripe, I picked it up, sat down and began to read. When I next raised my head tears were streaming from my eyes and a long time had passed. The variety of emotions that swept over me while reading this beautifullly written story were strong and splendid. I hardly ever cry while reading so I kn...more
One night a beautiful white girl who could not speak and an Afro-American deaf man showed up late one rainy, stormy night to a retired teacher's farmhouse. There was a baby in her arms. The retired teacher did not know whether to call the police or shelter them. She made the choice to clothe them. When the police arrived soon after, with the administrators of the "Home" to take the escaped girl and man back to where they had lived for years, they had hidden the baby girl in the attic. The man es...more
I'm beginning to think I'm one of the fussiest readers ever. I'm being generous with giving this 3 stars, because I really struggled to finish this. The book can be cut in half, the first half creating a somewhat plausible storyline and the engaging me in the saga. The second half spun into a crazy quilt, seemingly arranged to bring about the Lifetime Movie ending.
There is no question that the warehousing of 'different' children was terrible in the past of this nation. And the author is to be pr...more
There is no question that the warehousing of 'different' children was terrible in the past of this nation. And the author is to be pr...more
8 likes · like · see review
I read this over the weekend and found it to be a simply put "nice" story. I don't want to use that term to down-play the book but it indeed was one of those books you read that when you were done you said aww what a sweet story. This is not a story of interracial relationships but a story of love and how it is displayed. It's a story of situations, how would you behave if your situation is you are parent with a child with a disability, what would you do if two strangers showed up at your door,...more
There is a beauty to this book, from the title all the way to the last word. As a reader I felt witness to a transformation of both characters and myself; this book opened my eyes to a subject which many don't acknowledge.
Lynnie, Martha and Homan are some of the strongest characters i've met in a long time within the literary world. Now as I reflect back on Martha's first chapter as she gathers food for her unannounced guests to the end where she is raising a child turned teenager it gives me g...more
Lynnie, Martha and Homan are some of the strongest characters i've met in a long time within the literary world. Now as I reflect back on Martha's first chapter as she gathers food for her unannounced guests to the end where she is raising a child turned teenager it gives me g...more
In this enthralling love story, Lynnie, a young white developmentally disabled woman with limited speech, and Homan, a deaf African-American man, meet at the Pennsylvania State School for the Incurable and Feebleminded in the late 1960s. Despite strict rules, poor conditions, an abusive staff, and the couple's lack of language, Lynnie and Homan share tender moments. After their escape, a few days of freedom not only enables the secretly pregnant Lynnie to give birth outside the walls of the corr...more
This book disappointed me! The first half was SO good and I was excited and interested and wanted more. . . then the second half started. The book takes place over a 40 year period so I was kind of expecting it to drag a bit, but instead it just skipped every part of the story I wanted :(
(view spoiler)...more
(view spoiler)...more
2 likes · like · see review
Jun 04, 2012
Michelle
added it
I can't remember why I added this book to my Kindle; I wish I could. But I had finished The Mockingjay and I wasn't ready to put the Kindle down, so I decided to taste it, only to discover that there was no tasting of this book. From the first paragraph, I was hooked:
At the end of the night that would change everything, the widow stood on her porch and watched as the young woman was marched down her front drive and shoved into the sedan. The girl did not fight back, bound and tied as she was, no...more
At the end of the night that would change everything, the widow stood on her porch and watched as the young woman was marched down her front drive and shoved into the sedan. The girl did not fight back, bound and tied as she was, no...more
Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow, lives on a secluded farm. One rainy, miserable night, she opens the door to a frightened, young woman and a wary, older man who are very cold and wet. She invites them in and gives them food and clothing. While in Martha’s house, the woman gives birth to a baby girl. The police and an employee from an institution for the physically and mentally impaired come to Martha’s house looking for the runaway couple. Martha tries to protect the fugitives but the...more
I was torn between 3 stars & 4 for this book. Since I have no intention to read it again I settled for 3.
Like most people here I was grabbed by the plot summary & also the fact it was a book club read. I read the first half in a couple of days but then the story seemed to drag a bit. It wasn't so bad that I gave up as I love these stories detailing a long span through characters lives. I found Lynnie an interesting character, I found myself looking at people like her in a different way....more
Like most people here I was grabbed by the plot summary & also the fact it was a book club read. I read the first half in a couple of days but then the story seemed to drag a bit. It wasn't so bad that I gave up as I love these stories detailing a long span through characters lives. I found Lynnie an interesting character, I found myself looking at people like her in a different way....more
1 like · like · see review
I picked this up a few nights ago after bumping into it on some random library shelf, and decided to start reading it while I brushed my teeth because I didn't think it looked like something that I'd get too sucked into to stop reading.
Boy, was that a bad decision.
After several late nights, I've finished the book, and am still as amazed by the whole, as I was by the first chapter, in which two runaways from a 1968 mental institution seek shelter with a retired teacher--and leave her with a new b...more
Boy, was that a bad decision.
After several late nights, I've finished the book, and am still as amazed by the whole, as I was by the first chapter, in which two runaways from a 1968 mental institution seek shelter with a retired teacher--and leave her with a new b...more
This story begins with Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and a newborn baby. Lynnie is mentally handicapped and Homan is deaf. They were both locked away in the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded until they escaped and found shelter at Martha's house. The authorities quickly catch Lynnie while Homan disappears into the woods. Martha is left with Lynnie's newborn baby, and a request to "hide her". And then begins the life long journey for the three adults and the little baby.
When I was young, I had a...more
When I was young, I had a...more
A developmentally disabled girl named Lynnie is sent to an institution, where she lives under terrible conditions. She finds happiness with a deaf man named Homan, who helps her escape to save the life of her newborn. The authorities find them; Homan escapes and Lynnie is caught and sent back, quickly whispering to Martha (the woman who sheltered them) to hide the baby (Julia). The story tells of the characters' separate lives and how they come together in the end.
I liked the book, especially h...more
I liked the book, especially h...more
Prior to the 1970's children/people with compromised mental states, as well as physical handicaps were often institutionalized. The conditions of these "schools" is a huge scar on America's history. This is a story about 2 people who were living in such a place. The story is told from each of their points of view as well as a few other players in the events of their lives. I really enjoyed it and was horrified anew at how conditions were prior to extensive legislation to care for "the least of t...more
One rainy night, elderly widow Martha answers a knock at the farmhouse door to find an unusual couple there: a deaf African-American man and a beautiful, mentally handicapped young woman. The woman has a newborn in her arms. The pair, Martha realizes, have come from the nearby institution for the developmentally disabled. The institution is a brutal, secretive place: many staff members are abusive or neglectful, the facilities are squalid, families don’t visit, and once a young woman like Lynnie...more
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This was an engrossing and quite beautiful tale, the story of three different people - Lynnie, a young, beautiful girl with intellectual problems; Homan, a deaf, black man and Martha, a retired school teacher. They are all brought together in a story that centres around a tiny baby girl. The characters are well realised and developed, and display growth and insight as the story unfolds, as well as displaying the darker underbelly of what becomes of societies "rejects" - the people who are not de...more
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Rachel Simon is the author of six books.
The Story of Beautiful Girl
The House On Teacher's Lane
Riding The Bus With My Sister
The Writer's Survival Guide
The Magic Touch
Little Nightmares Little Dreams
In 2005, Hallmark Hall of Fame adapted Riding The Bus With My Sister for a film by the same name. It starred Rosie O'Donnell as Rachel's sister Beth and Andie MacDowell as Rachel, and it was directed by A...more
More about Rachel Simon...
The Story of Beautiful Girl
The House On Teacher's Lane
Riding The Bus With My Sister
The Writer's Survival Guide
The Magic Touch
Little Nightmares Little Dreams
In 2005, Hallmark Hall of Fame adapted Riding The Bus With My Sister for a film by the same name. It starred Rosie O'Donnell as Rachel's sister Beth and Andie MacDowell as Rachel, and it was directed by A...more
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“A person comes into the world with a fist-and a grasp. Yes, we are built to fight one another, but also to embrace. How cleverly we are created.”
—
10 people liked it
“There were two kinds of students who liked the library: those who devoured one book after another and those who savored the same book repeatedly. Now she understood those rereaders differently ... she realized it was not the rereading that led to fresh insights. It was the rereader-- because when a person is changing inside, there are inevitably new things to see.”
—
7 people liked it
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04. August, 14:18 Uhr