Review: Everyone is Beautiful
Title: Everyone is Beautiful
Author: Katherine Center
Published: February 17, 2009
# of Pages: 256
ISBN: 978-1400066438
My Rating: 4/5
Everyone is Beautiful centers around Lanie, a thirtysomething mom of three young boys (in three years, no less), married to a wonderful man who she truly loves, yet her life leaves a little something to be desired. When Peter, her husband, gets accepted into a music program at a great university, they pack up everything they own to move halfway across the country into a tiny little apartment, far away from the comfort of family, friends, and everything else that Lanie has ever known. Everyone is Beautiful is the story of Lanie’s attempts to take control of her own life, coming into her own as a person separate from her roles as wife and mother – and in so doing, she creates far more problems for herself and her family than she ever could have dreamed. If Lanie’s going to hold it all together, it becomes clear that she needs to figure out how to remain true to herself and her own priorities while balancing the demands of being a great mom, a supportive wife, and a true friend to those she’s come to depend on through all of this.
When I was contacted to review Everyone is Beautiful, of course I jumped at the chance because I’d heard only great things about Katherine Center. In preparation for the book tour, I made sure to read her first novel, The Bright Side of Disaster, and absolutely loved it. I was definitely worried that her second novel wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Well, lucky for me, it definitely did! Everyone is Beautiful is another fantastic novel with an addictive plot and great characters.
I was drawn in by this novel immediately. The very first scene in the book is one where Lanie is at the park with her three kids (three boys under the age of three, remember), and as you can imagine, utter chaos ensues. The scene is absolutely hilarious, and through it, the reader gets their first glimpses into the details of Lanie’s life, everything she’s going through as a mom, and her fun personality – it’s impossible not to get hooked at this point. The story just got better from there – of course there was normal kids’ antics all over the place, but there was also a story about a woman who is just feeling so lonely, so bored, so in need of intellectual stimulation that she really just needs some kind of huge change in her life.
I’m sure many women will easily relate to Lanie; especially moms, of course, but there is a lot to the story about the marriage between Lanie and Peter – and I know I’m not alone in saying that I’ve had my fair share of relationship issues. Lanie is so easy to sympathize with because many of us have been there. That’s what’s great about the book – it’s realistic while still remaining funny, heartfelt, and bursting with great characters.
There’s also something that I love about Katherine Center’s writing – although her books would probably be classified as chick lit or women’s fiction, there is definitely a literary quality to her writing style. The words just fit together well – I don’t know how else to explain it. It’s easy to get lost in the story partly because how seamless her writing is and how well each aspect of the book flows together with the next.
I would truly recommend Everyone is Beautiful for a quick, fun read with more depth than is typically found in this type of novel. I really, really liked the book and I think you will too!
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