Hi everyone,
How are you?
Today is my spot on the tour for what beauty there is by Cody Anderson. Thank you so much to Dave, penguin and the author for my copy of the book.
Synopsis:
Winter. The sky is dark. It is cold enough to crack bones.
Jack Morton has nothing left. Except his younger brother, Matty, who he’d do anything for. Even die for. Now with their mother gone, and their funds quickly dwindling, Jack needs to make a choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money.
Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one. Trust no one. Now Victor Bardem is stalking the same money as Jack. When he picks up Jack’s trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or help the brothers survive.
My thoughts:
I just need to mention the fact that the proof copy of this book is sooo pretty 😍. Ok, now we can move on.
I’m not going to lie the synopsis of this one really didn’t hook me at all. However, for the most part, I was quite surprised.
I also just want to mention that the opening chapter of this book is one to watch out for . It opens with a suicide, this is the opening chapter so, it’s not really a spoiler and I think I should mention it because I know it will be very triggering for some people.
Ok so, Firstly, I want to talk about the characters, let’s start with Jack. I really liked him as a character. His protectiveness of his brother, the way he wants to do whatever it takes to protect his family and his kindness. He was trying to make the most of a really bad situation and having no luck most of the time which, I think is something many of us can relate to. His little brother Matty was so adorable. I just wanted to give him a hug. The love he had for his brother led him to make some pretty silly decisions at times but, that is understandable.
Ava was very mysterious in the beginning. We get snippets of her past and the reasons why she is, and acts the way she does as the story progresses. I liked that we got insight into her past bit by bit as it added to the intrigue. Her relationship with Jack was complicated but cute and I loved the scenes where the three of them (Ava, Jack and Matty) where together.
Cody Anderson’s writing style really added something to the story. I thought the little scenes at the beginning of every chapter where a bit jarring at first but, once I got used to them, they became an addition to the story that I didn’t know that I needed.
The ending was quite satisfying, I just wanted a bit more from it and there were some parts where the story slowed down a bit and I wasn’t as invested but, once the book picked up again I was back in the world with these characters, along for the ride. The underlying messages of love and loss, atmosphere, characters, mystery and writing were all so well done and overall this was a really good read.
Author bio:
Cory Anderson is a winner of the League of Utah Writers Young Adult Novel Award and Grand Prize in the Storymakers Conference First Chapter Contest. She lives in Utah with her family but was born in Idaho.
All Cory’s life she’s felt the strong bonds of family and siblings. Her writing is based in these close relationships, and in the gritty experience of growing up in the wild Rocky Mountains.
From an early age, Cory loved books. Her family often visited the library, where she discovered White Fang. Within its pages she learned about courage, and the power of kindness. She read all the time. By seventh grade, she was writing. For years, Cory underlined and dog-eared the pages of books, picking scenes and phrases apart until she could decently put them together again. She became fascinated with the mystery of the Great Story. What Beauty There Is is her debut novel.
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