Ordinary Beauty

Laura Wiess

Jun 2011 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Lauded by critics and authors for her heartbreakingly real heroines, Laura Wiess brings readers another devastating tale of betrayal and redemption rich with the raw emotion that made Such a Pretty Girl a classic.

How can you make someone love you when they won’t?

And what if that person happens to be your mother?

Sayre Bellavia grew up knowing she was a mistake: unplanned and unwanted. At five months shy of eighteen, she’s become an expert in loneliness, heartache, and neglect. Her whole life she’s been cursed, used, and left behind. Swallowed a thousand tears and ignored a thousand deliberate cruelties. Sayre’s stuck by her mother through hell, tried to help her, be near her, be important to her even as her mother slipped away into a violent haze of addiction, destroying the only chance Sayre ever had for a real family.

Now her mother is lying in a hospital bed, near death, ravaged by her own destructive behavior. And as Sayre fights her way to her mother’s bedside, she is terrified but determined to get the answer to a question no one should ever have to ask: Did my mother ever really love me? And what will Sayre do if the answer is yes?

Ratings and reviews

A hard book from the start for many reasons. A deep and dark subject matter with very rough characters and I just couldn't get into the story at the beginning, but once in the middle, I couldn't stop. A young adult who has endured the hardest childhood, but through it all is still able to find a hope for a different and better future for herself. I was straight appalled at the life she had to live with an abusive and alcoholic mother. It hurt me so much to see her stay there through all of the abuse because no child should have to live through the words she heard from her mother. With the ups and the downs, I was clueless as to how this book would end. At first, I wasn't so sure on how it was written. You meet Sayre in present day, but there are short glimpses into her past and then towards the middle you find out the details of her past. As I refuse to ruin this book - the way the story unfolds is priceless. A book for young and old alike - I had moments where I was angry and moments where my heart ached for this girl. A definite read, just take a moment to get into the meat of the story.

Laura Wiess is an amazing author with a talent for heart wrenching novels that leave you with a lot of hope and a bigger perspective. I've read all but one of hers so far, and I could't be more impressed. Ordinary Beauty is a fantastic read.

I wanted to cry through the whole book. The ups and downs were incredible. This is a book about true love. You must read this book.

About the author

Laura Wiess is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Such a Pretty Girl, chosen as one of the ALA’s 2008 Best Books for Young Adults and 2008 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, and Leftovers. Originally from Milltown, New Jersey, she traded bumper-to-bumper traffic, excellent pizza, and summer days down the shore for scenic roads, bears, no pizza delivery, and the irresistible allure of an old stone house surrounded by forests in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains Region. Email Laura Wiess at [e-mail] or visit LauraWiess.com for more information.