Pretty Is As Pretty Does: A Novel
by Alison Clement | Women's Fiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0743453522 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0743453522 Global Overview for this book
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The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
If Lucy Fooshee's story doesn't make readers both howl with laughter and cry with empathy, they might want to check themselves for a pulse! For in Alison Clement's fiction debut, she has created a thoroughly real protagonist -- one whose struggle for identity and transcendence will mirror their own.
A big fish in a very small pond, Lucy Fooshee knows her turf. A local beauty queen, Lucy holds her scepter high in her small midwestern town, where taking down a wealthy farmer is about as much success as a girl could hope for. Newly married to the second-richest farmer in the county, Lucy feels the envy of her neighbors -- and gloats. After all, she's got everything she ever wanted: great clothes, a nice house, and the love of a hardworking man who pays for it all. So what's the problem?
The problem is that Lucy's definition of "everything" changes when Billy Lee comes to town. A "dark horse" whose past is sketchy and whose future is unsure, Billy Lee isn't exactly a reasonable girl's dream. But Lucy is beyond reason when it comes to Billy Lee. "People think they know what love means, but they don't.... And when you do know, nothing else matters.... It's like one of those dog whistles you blow and nobody can hear a thing, but all the dogs bark and whine and go crazy. And whenever Billy is around me that dog whistle is blowing." Alas, when Lucy responds to that call of the wild, it leads her to a place fraught with pain, uncertainty, and loss. But one thing she doesn't lose is her spunk, and for that we are mightily glad.
If Lucy Fooshee's story doesn't make readers both howl with laughter and cry with empathy, they might want to check themselves for a pulse! For in Alison Clement's fiction debut, she has created a thoroughly real protagonist -- one whose struggle for identity and transcendence will mirror their own.
A big fish in a very small pond, Lucy Fooshee knows her turf. A local beauty queen, Lucy holds her scepter high in her small midwestern town, where taking down a wealthy farmer is about as much success as a girl could hope for. Newly married to the second-richest farmer in the county, Lucy feels the envy of her neighbors -- and gloats. After all, she's got everything she ever wanted: great clothes, a nice house, and the love of a hardworking man who pays for it all. So what's the problem?
The problem is that Lucy's definition of "everything" changes when Billy Lee comes to town. A "dark horse" whose past is sketchy and whose future is unsure, Billy Lee isn't exactly a reasonable girl's dream. But Lucy is beyond reason when it comes to Billy Lee. "People think they know what love means, but they don't.... And when you do know, nothing else matters.... It's like one of those dog whistles you blow and nobody can hear a thing, but all the dogs bark and whine and go crazy. And whenever Billy is around me that dog whistle is blowing." Alas, when Lucy responds to that call of the wild, it leads her to a place fraught with pain, uncertainty, and loss. But one thing she doesn't lose is her spunk, and for that we are mightily glad.