The Beautiful-Ugly (book #1) by James Snyder ~ Book Review

Book Synopsis:

The moment she felt her consciousness seeping back inside her, she knew where she was. She didn’t have to look. Or listen. No one had to come whisper in her ear. She could smell it that far out, returning…

When sixteen-year-old Connelly Pierce wakes up inside an unknown psychiatric hospital, with both her wrists slashed, she begins the arduous task of piecing together the events of her life that led her there. Her own cognitive behavioral therapy (as she had learned so well from them). Starting with the sudden death of her mother and father when she was six, and the only world she knew disappeared, literally, overnight. That’s when, with no known or, at least, close relatives, she and her nine-year-old brother Eric find themselves cast into the nightmare quagmire of government child protection agencies, and Connelly begins her incredible, fourteen-year journey—her odyssey—into her own brave new world. A world, she realizes, she must not only quickly adapt, but fight back as well, if she hopes to survive.

Book One of the Beautiful-Ugly Trilogy.

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About the Author:

James Snyder was born in Memphis, Tennessee and fell in love with the cadence and sound of storytelling as a child, listening to the meandering tales of his Southern grandmothers and great aunts. While still a child, his family moved to Napa Valley, California where he attended middle and high school, and began taking writing classes at the local college. He left after a year to join the military, and was a soldier with a tactical mobile operations unit in Germany. It was there, while pulling a Harz mountaintop guard duty one night during a snowstorm, he had the chance encounter with another soldier that ultimately became the genesis for his debut novel, the military thriller AMERICAN WARRIOR.

He is also the author of the suspense thriller DESOLATION RUN, the YA/NA trilogy THE BEAUTIFUL-UGLY, and other literary works.

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Review:

This is the first book I have read of James Snyder's and I can honestly say I am hooked on this story. This is a quick read and the focus is on the main characters life when she was little. It starts off with the reader learning that Connelly is in a mental hospital and from there she takes us through the first couple years of her life after her parents died in a horrible car accident. This is a heart wrenching read for sure. The subject is a hard one to tackle but Snyder did this with ease. Some of the writing is choppy and repetitive but we are hearing from a six year old so it is very fitting. I can't wait to read the next two books in this Trilogy. This book leaves off right as it is it is getting very heartbreaking and the story is getting very in depth.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars and look forward to reading more from James Snyder.

~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. I received a copy of the above book in exchange for a review. All opinions are honest and my own.*~