Such a Pretty Girl

By: T. Greenwood

Narrated by: Mara Wilson

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Living peacefully in Vermont, Ryan Flannigan is shocked when a text from her oldest friend alerts her to a devastating news item. A controversial photo of her as a pre-teen has been found in the possession of a wealthy investor recently revealed as a pedophile and a sex trafficker—with an inscription to him from Ryan's mother on the back.

Memories crowd in, providing their own distinctive pictures of her mother Fiona, an aspiring actress, and their move to the West Village in 1976. Amid the city's gritty kaleidoscope of wealth and poverty, high art, and sleazy strip clubs, Ryan is discovered and thrust into the spotlight as a promising young actress with a woman's face and a child's body. Suddenly, the safety and comfort Ryan longs for is replaced by auditions, paparazzi, and the hungry eyes of men of all ages.

Forced to reexamine her childhood, Ryan begins to untangle her young fears and her mother's ambitions, and the role each played in the fraught blackout summer of 1977. Even with her movie career long behind her, Ryan and Fiona are suddenly the object of uncomfortable speculation—and Fiona demands Ryan's support. To put the past to rest, Ryan will need to face the painful truth of their relationship, and the night when everything changed.

©2022 T. Greenwood (P)2022 Tantor

Not as advertised

(2 stars for the book, rounding up to 3 stars for the audiobook experience.)

Warning: If you bought this book based on the synopsis, be prepared for a bait and switch.

Such a Pretty Girl advertises itself as being a nod to the Brooke Shields story meets the Jeffrey Epstein/Ghislane Maxwell story, suggesting that the book might touch on a time in Hollywood where sexualizing children was standard practice. The synopsis suggests the Hollywood story will somehow intersect with the story of man very much like Jeffrey Epstein. Lastly, indicative of Brooke Shields' story, the synopsis explicitly states that the story is going to heavily focus on the complicated relationship between mother and daughter. The novel only really delves into one of these storylines: the toxic mother/daughter dynamic. In short, this book is a fairly rote story about a terrible mother with big dreams to be a star who resents the fact that she has to live those dreams through her daughter.

This book could have had an important conversation about how society has had a long history of sexualizing girls through means like advertisements (remember the infamous Calvin Klein ads from the 80's starring Brooke Shields and later his risqué ad campaign from the 90's?), films like Pretty Baby and Taxi Driver, and in beauty pageants that have young girls barely out of diapers singing love songs, to who, the creepy men on the judges' panel?

This book could have been an exploration of sex trafficking networks, like the one operated by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. Instead, it was mostly a coming-of-age tale that frankly felt pretty safe and kind of boring. This book focused way too much on the mundane, everyday lives of barely developed characters for my personal taste. The most interesting character in the story is Fiona, Ryan's mother. Everyone else is pretty much too good to be true. I did appreciate the way this concluded, though other reviewers were unsatisfied by the conclusion, so just keep that in mind, if you decide to read this book.

I do, however, have to say that this book is made more bearable in its audiobook format. Mara Wilson does an incredible job as the narrator. She gives each character a distinct voice, and really brings their personalities to life. I will definitely be listening to another audiobook read by her.

Wonderful story

A great novel I will recommend to friends! Just finished a book about Epstein so the timing was perfect!

My New Favorite T. Greenwood Book

I loved this. The story is compelling, the characters are close to the heart, and the lyrical prose is magical on audio.

Warning: May cause listeners to sit in their car at the curb to finish just one more chapter!

Mara Wilson Shines As Narrator

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Everything about it - the characters, the story, and the narration by Mara Wilson - absolutely superb!

Unimpressed

Unfortunately I did not like the ending. I didn’t know I was near the end until it finished. I had to check if I accidentally fast forward the entire book.

Disappointing

I struggled to get through this one. The narration was spot on, that made it bearable, but my God, how many times did I hear the words " Lost River"? I Lost count around 468. It was too long and rambling, I couldn't keep the characters straight. it might be better in print vs. audiobook, but the story itself was frustrating.