Review: Ordinary Beauty

Greta’s review:

I adored this book! It painted a world of unspoken darkness with tiny pinpricks of hope lighting the way as we hear the life story of Sayre Bellavia, a 17 year old girl who had to grow up too soon.

This book read like a Smashing Pumpkins ballad with a Nine Inch Nails chorus and an Everclear encore. It sucks the reader in with its unforgettable characters, remarkable eye to detail, and original plot.

I will warn you, Ordinary Beauty will make you cry, it will make you gasp, and it will make you sigh with warm fuzzies. It has every little thing you could ask for.

There is a bit of romance in the book but that’s not the center of attention. The main focuses of the book are the hardships young Sayre endures in her short life watching her mother kill herself slowly with drugs and alcohol.

It’s definitely not one of your cute little lip gloss black eyeliner gothy emo-pop books. This book is real. It will make you see that the ordinary beauty of the world is not just what the blinking neon signs point to. It’s the little things in life we take for granted. The starry nights, a freshly painted room, or a flower with a weed’s name. Ordinary beauty is closing your eyes and listening to everyone breathing around you. It’s your home, your heart, the people you treasure. It’s a song you can only hum because you forgot the words. It’s not letting go of what matters and what you can remember. It’s a beautiful memory and hope for tomorrow. No matter how you try to explain it, the ordinary beauty of life will always leave you with a loss for words.

Kristen’s Review:
Greta has a knack for finding some of these awesome books. I have to be honest – it was a really hard start for me because I’m a bit of a wuss. Thankfully Greta was sending me a play by play that it will all turn out ok and the pain and suffering is so worth it. Luckily my life has been pretty darn easy, but as a former teacher I could relate a lot with Sayre because of the lives of some of my students.

It’s amazing to me, that something so real and upsetting could also result in something so beautiful. I loved the author’s back and forth past/present telling of the story. Throwing in pain with gut-wrenching detail and then leaving you completely sobbing when things would start looking up. It’s hard to not spoil the book, but really – once you hit page 40 or so things startclicking along and you cannot pull yourself away from this story.

Greta’s Bottom Line:
I loved this book! I dug every little thing about it and am happy that the Bookworms have given me a chance to spread the word about this author. She is definitely a brilliant storyteller and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. Check out my review on How It Ends too!

Kristen’s Bottom Line:
Yes – everything Greta said! I loved it! This story gripped me in a way I haven’t felt in such a long time. I even had to explain to my 6 year old why it’s ok if a book makes you cry because I was literally snot-sobbing on the couch. Life isn’t wrapped up neat in little packages. The gamut of emotions I felt while reading Sayre’s story pretty much leaves me speechless.

Greta’s Final Notes:
I am a 32 year old teenager and this is a book I would have wanted to read back when I was in my brooding years (aka – high school). It totally gets the Greta Stamp of Approval.

Kristen’s Final Notes:
Don’t be a wuss – read this book! Fall in love with this amazing girl and better yet – fall in love with this amazing writer!

Keep your eyes peeled! We will follow up this review with an interview with Laura Wiess who will send one lucky follower of our blog a signed copy of Ordinary Beauty. Isn’t Laura the coolest??