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Making Pretty Kindle Edition

3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

"There is passion here, a piercing accuracy, a rare sensitivity and power. . . . One can only marvel." — New York TimesSet in Southern Rhodesia under white rule, Doris Lessing's first novel is at once a riveting chronicle of human disintegration, a beautifully understated social critique, and a brilliant depiction of the quiet horror of one woman's struggle against a ruthless fate.Mary Turner is a self-confident, independent young woman who becomes the depressed, frustrated wife of an ineffectual, unsuccessful farmer. Little by little the ennui of years on the farm works its slow poison. Mary's despair progresses until the fateful arrival of Moses, an enigmatic black servant. Locked in anguish, Mary and Moses—master and slave—are trapped in a web of mounting attraction and repulsion, until their psychic tension explodes with devastating consequences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Will appeal to fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell.” — Kirkus Reviews

“In a breathy first-person narrative, Montana describes what it’s like to be lost and to finally find herself again...Fans of Sarah Dessen’s character-driven novels will appreciate Montana’s journey of self-discovery.” — Booklist

“Haydu’s dialogue shines.” — Publishers Weekly

“Haydu is a masterful wordsmith.” — Kirkus on OCD Love Story

“Looking for a book to read and discuss? This is it.” — Kirkus on Life by Committee

“An authentic, heartfelt read about the power of truth and the beauty of self-discovery.” — Sarah Ockler on Life by Committee

“Life by Committee is a fun, smart, and moving read with every delicious ingredient-romance, secrets, and unexpected twists. Assignment: Read this one.” — Deb Caletti on Life by Committee

From the Back Cover

Montana and her sister, Arizona, are named after the mountainous states their mother left them for. But Montana is a New York City girl through and through, and as the city heats up, she's stepping into the most intense summer of her life.

With Arizona wrapped up in her college world and their father distracted by yet another divorce, Montana's been immersing herself in an intoxicating new friendship with a girl from her acting class. Karissa is bold, imperfectly beautiful, and unafraid of being vulnerable. She's everything Montana would like to become. But the friendship with Karissa is driving a wedge between Montana and her sister, and the more of her own secrets Karissa reveals, the more Montana has to wonder if Karissa's someone she can really trust.

In the midst of her uncertainty, Montana finds a heady distraction in Bernardo. He's serious and spontaneous, and he looks at Montana in the way she wants to be seen. For the first time, Montana understands how you can become both lost and found in somebody else. But when that love becomes everything, where does it leave the rest of her imperfect life?

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00C0UHLEG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quill Tree Books (May 12, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 12, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

About the author

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Corey Ann Haydu
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Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
20 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2015
    Incredible characters who raise interesting issues for young women and their parents.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2015
    The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.”

    ----Bob Marley

    Corey Ann Haydu, an American author, pens her new novel, Making Pretty which is based on the fragile as well as promising lines of friendships, family values, sisterly bond and relationship, in short, it's more about finding the respect and love despite of the challenges in one's life.

    Synopsis:

    Montana and her sister, Arizona, are named after the mountainous states their mother left them for. But Montana is a New York City girl through and through, and as the city heats up, she’s stepping into the most intense summer of her life.

    With Arizona wrapped up in her college world and their father distracted by yet another divorce, Montana’s been immersing herself in an intoxicating new friendship with a girl from her acting class. Karissa is bold, imperfectly beautiful, and unafraid of being vulnerable. She’s everything Montana would like to become. But the friendship with Karissa is driving a wedge between Montana and her sister, and the more of her own secrets Karissa reveals, the more Montana has to wonder if Karissa’s someone she can really trust.

    In the midst of her uncertainty, Montana finds a heady distraction in Bernardo. He’s serious and spontaneous, and he looks at Montana in the way she wants to be seen. For the first time, Montana understands how you can become both lost and found in somebody else. But when that love becomes everything, where does it leave the rest of her imperfect life?

    Montana and Arizona are two sisters who belong from a dysfunctional family background, well thanks to their plastic surgeon father who can't stop himself from getting married and divorcing after a few years. He has a series of girlfriends and have had four wives. Their father wants to fix every flaws of the women in this world, from his girls to his wives and girlfriends, but Montana never accepted the world of plastic surgery with her heart, her beliefs lied in the ugly truth behind plastic surgery.

    Due to her father's habit of getting married and getting divorced, Montana finds herself being friends with a don't-care-attitude girl named, Karissa. Their bond of friendship lies in the imperfection of their worlds.

    Her life becomes colorful and bright when she meets the next-door-neighbor-kind-of-boy named, Bernardo and Montana does everything that a normal teenager would do to make themselves look desirable in the eyes of an opposite sex.

    The author's writing is incredible, I mean the plot develops at a snail pace, but it has so much to offer, so many flaws turning into one big problem and then saving the characters from that mess. I mean whole situation that the author put up through Montana's life was pretty messed, filled with never-ending flaws and sadness. There were so many issues-mature ones thrown at Montana's life only to make us see how she surfaces through them.

    Montana cannot be compared to a typical teen, since she goes through a lot of drama that her life has to offer, father's problems, plastic surgery, his sister, her friend, Karissa with her emo secrets and drama, Bernardo, the man she is trying hard to impress. The last aspect I loved the most, I mean it's true we only let others see us in a way we want them to see, and we do that often when we are in love. Montana's life was constantly dictated by the negative and irrational choices that made her look cool in the eyes of her friends, whereas her narrative voiced just the opposite of what she did.

    The characters are all kept closer to reality and their authenticity was very evident from their demeanor and especially the way they acted in a messed up situation- vulnerable and impulsive. The relationship between Bernardo and Montana was not very promising, I mean they fell very fast and moved very fast in the pace of their relationship. They acted more like lusty teenagers, who can't get enough of each other.

    Overall, it's an enlightening book especially given the theme of the story and it is quite emotional too. If you have a nose for unusual plot and compelling storyline, then do read this book.

    Verdict: If you're are a huge realistic YA fan lover, then definitely grab a copy f this book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2015
    I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

    I'm not really sure what I expected when I started on this book. I guess I was looking forward to a young adult novel that made me cry at the right places, smile and root for Montana, and truly care about the characters in this book.

    That really wasn't what I got.

    The book is about Montana and Arizona, two sisters who had their mother leave them when they were very young. While their mother still calls them and sends them the yearly birthday card, they live with their plastic surgeon father who remarries like he changes his underwear and has a different girlfriend every other week. Well, when their father announces that he is going to be marrying Karissa, Montana's 23 year old friend, Montana and Arizona feel completely lost and are angry, bitter, and upset by the decision.

    Sure, I got the young adult novel. But the problem with this one was that it felt TOO young. I had to keep reminding myself that Montana (half the time I found myself having trouble even remembering this girl's name, that's how little I felt attached to this book and the characters) was not a twelve year old girl. She whines throughout this entire books, has some weird type of stalkerish/instalove romance with this guy she sees in the park (who stares at her so frequently he actually starts reading all the same books he sees her reading). Okay, maybe when you're...seventeen (I keep forgetting how old she is because she acts like she's twelve throughout the entire book), maybe that's a cute thing (although I probably would have been creeped out by it when I was that age), but I don't know. I thought their entire relationship was weird. They were telling each other that they loved each other after being together for like two weeks (even Montana's sister, Arizona, kept pointing out that they've "been together for five minutes").

    Another huge issue I had with this book was the detachment with their father. I mean, Arizona came home drunk in the beginning of the novel, and her dad didn't even punish her for it. He acted like it was completely normal. This baffled me, and I should have realized that this book wasn't for me in the very beginning.

    I don't know. Maybe the part of me who has two daughters kept kicking in during this book and wondering why the hell no one was paying attention to this girl in the way that she needed. It seemed like no one really seemed to care what was going on in her life, because everyone was wrapped up in their own. It did not make for a very memorable novel, unfortunately.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017
    One of the best books I've read in a very long time, and one of the most identifiable. We're kind of the same person, myself and Mon; she still hangs out with people who piss her off, and that drives me crazy...but then I realise that I do the exact same thing, just to belong. She keeps big secrets so that no one will get mad at her and break off a relationship with her, and it's real. It's all so, so real. It's gritty, it can be hard to read, but it's so beautiful. It had real emotions, real reactions, it IS beauty. ♥

    I did not purchase this book from Amazon, but I love this book so much I had to leave a review; my copy was unread, unopened, and pre-proofed, but I highlighted so much and it will continue to get traction off of my bookshelf. Such valid views, beautiful quotes, etc. Highly, highly recommend.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Becky
    4.0 out of 5 stars Messy & Heartfelt
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2016
    I'm a big fan of Corey Ann Haydu and I really liked this one. It felt messy in the right way, and emotional in that way you feel right before you start crying over something you think you shouldn't be upset about but you are. Does that even make sense? It's the best way I can think to describe it. Like swinging from one feeling to another so fast you get whiplash. Like that.

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