Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Rating: 1.5

I really enjoyed Mary Kubica's book The Good Girl so was excited when she came out with a new book.  Unfortunately, I wasn't very far in before I realized that  

The Story:  Heidi sees a homeless teenage girl holding her infant baby and can't get them out of her head.


This book is very slow paced but I could have handled that if the character development was plausible. All of the characters had flaws and pain. I felt that the author was relying on hooking the reader for their sad circumstances, rather than doing proper character development with depth. Here are some things that I just couldn't overlook:

Heidi - Unrealistic and unbelievable behavior.  Doing things we all know not to do, no matter how much your heart is in the right place....and then things go downhill from there
Heidi's husband Chris - I don't know one man who would just go along with his wife's behavior
Willow - One minute Willow is acting like the 8 year old child she was when her family dissolved and the next she is acting like a 17 year old. I don't think the author knew what this girl's personality was supposed to be.  I understand abuse and her character was not realistic. She would revert to being 8 years old at all different tims (not just trigger moments) and her speech was sometimes very simplistic and other times very mature
Zoe - the 12 year old daughter was the most plausible character showing upset and frustration for her mother's unacceptable behavior and being a normal 12 year old

This whole plot line felt so contrived and did not have any twists. Definitely not anywhere near as good as her original book.

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