Thursday, August 6, 2015

Summer Reading Challenge: Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica





This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!



This week's book is Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica.



About the book:

A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica.

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head… 

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home. 

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.
This book is told through multiple points of view: Heidi, Chris and Willow.  Heidi is the ultimate do-gooder: she works for a non-profit, doesn't kill spiders, recycles everything and takes in a young stranger and infant.  Chris is Heidi's husband and he isn't exactly thrilled about Heidi bringing a stranger and infant into their home.  Willow is the teenager that Heidi notices in the cold one day and ultimately offers a meal and shelter to.  As the book progresses, we learn more and more about these characters: Heidi: who hasn't gotten over losing a child; Willow: who actually came from a good childhood; and Chris: is he cheating on his wife or not?  This book is very complex and what you see on the surface is not what is really going on.  This book focuses on themes of grief, abuse, the foster system and homelessness.  I was not expecting the outcome of this book and was on the edge of my seat as the story progressed.  Like Kubica's bestseller The Good Girl this book is also a very intense psychological thriller.  An added layer to this thriller is that you could see how these events could unfold in real life.  This book will consume you (kind of like the baby does with Heidi...) and takes you on a roller coaster ride of a story. 
Buy the book:
     Amazon
       Barnes and Noble
      Parnassus Books





About the author:

Mary Kubica holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter.
Connect with the author:
   Twitter
   Website

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