What readers think of Cruel Beautiful World, plus links to write your own review.

I had no expectations when I started this book ...I was simply blown away that I couldn't put it down! There were so many aspects to why it held my attention that it is difficult to explain. Certainly the character development....but Ms. Leavitt was also able to make me alternately disapprove of or sympathetically identity with each of them...sometimes in the same chapter. I haven't had that experience for quite a while with a book! Themes of family, hints of pedophilia with the male character...or maybe he was just a nice guy misunderstood? See what I mean? By the time I got to the elder love story at the end, it was hard for me to accept there wasn't an alternate story here too! I read this in one sitting...highly recommend!

I received this book from BookBrowse and Algonquin Publishing as an Advanced Reading Copy and wish to thank both groups. What caught my attention in the pre publicity promotion was a quotation from Lily King, one of my favorite authors: "Backdropped by the Vietnam War and the Manson murders Cruel Beautiful World is a fast-moving page turner about the naivety of youth and malignity of power." For me it was a stretch to comprehend that the two historical events play a major role in the plot. They are briefly mentioned; however, I could only find a possible connection between the Manson girls and the actions of one character.

Since I have been recently glued to the Olympics, I will add that in my overall rating of this book this minor flaw is only a one thousandth point of a deduction.
The reason I want to give this book a 5 is Leavitt's characters. The events in the span of their lives from a 16 year old girl to an 82 year old man in an assisted living facility are authentic. How many boys and girls have made a reckless decision at the age of sixteen and lived through the disastrous consequences of their decisions? Not all have had tragic endings, but I think readers will relate to the consequences of the reckless decisions of Lucy on many different levels. How many young girls with low self esteem have found a charismatic teacher, who if he asked, you would lie on railroad tracks for him? If you haven't had a teacher who brought out the best in you, then perhaps you will not understand why Lucy Gold falls in love and runs away with her English teacher, William Callahan. If you are a parent, aunt, or big sister or simply a friend of an adult who loses a child, you will grieve with Iris, the aunt who raised Lucy and Charlotte, Lucy's reticent and pragmatic older sister. If you have ever fallen head over heals in love and the recipient of your love does not meet your expectations; but you still love him or her, you might be able to come to terms with the relationship of Iris and Doug. If you live with the guilt that you somehow have failed a loved one, you will relive that guilt through Charlotte and Patrick. Watching Iris and Joe, I do believe that a second chance at love can be a reality. Much has been written about the connections that residents in assisted living make, but Iris deserves love at age 80.

I will let the readers decide on the character of William Callahan. Although I was saying to myself in the first part of the book, "You are making a terrible decision William" in regard to Lucy, I thought that maybe they might work. The author is so good at manipulating the reader that I began to question my allegiance to Lucy, but then she places Charlotte and William in a conversation and his action haunts me even twelve hours after I have finished the book.

I think the book is due to be published in October of 2016. I think it will rise quickly on the best seller list. I think also that because the characters could exist today that teenagers and parents will take notice as well as older children caring for their elderly parents. I don't think polls exist on favorite characters in fiction of the year; but in case I have missed them, I am voting for Iris as my favorite character of 2016.

I love books like this where you get the back story on all the characters, not just the linear plot line, but information on each character so you understand and sympathize with each one. There is tragedy here, but also survival. I found it pretty impossible to put down. Leavitt is a very good writer and the book is a winner.

I found this book very hard to put down. The story kept my interest and the writing is excellent.

When Lucy runs off with her lover/teacher William, it releases a torrent of emotion and confusion in her sister, Charlotte, and her "surrogate mother", Iris. Their feelings of disappointment and resentment are countered by their
feelings of love and concern. No one knows where Lucy went, why or perhaps with whom.

After finally hearing from Lucy, Charlotte seeks to find out the truth behind Lucy's disappearance despite her feelings of betrayal. Her discoveries are illuminating - not only of Lucy, but of her own life and that of others.

The author's writing is gentle and appealing even in the most difficult situations. Her characters are believable and real. Great reading.

I absolutely loved this book! Loved the era & loved the characters. They all experience loss & have their own ways of dealing with that loss, yet they are all similar in their own way. I will definitely recommend this book to others. I would love to see a 2nd book that follows Charlotte & Patrick to see where their lives take them!

When I started reading Cruel Beautiful World, I found I couldn't put it down. The story flowed and the characters were so believable. To know what each character thought and how they all were connected in some way was brilliant. This book was about an event we have all read or heard about happening to a young girl. Reading about what happened to her and to those she left behind kept me reading way into the night. This book will be a great one for discussion for my book group. It is a book I have continued to think about after finishing it. The ending was just right.

This book really kept my attention! Parts of it were happy times, but sometimes I was really angry and rooting for Lucy to get away from her controlling boyfriend. Lucy thought that running away with her teacher would be all sugar and spice but she soon found out that it wasn't the case. The book gave the stories of all the characters and how they came to be who they are and how their lives were affected. The book was well written and I felt that I was right there rooting for all the characters.

I have never read any of Carolyn Leavitt's books, but after reading Cruel Beautiful World, I have a feeling I'll be reading more. I love the author's seamless prose, as if she and the characters are right before you, speaking and living their lives. It's 1969 and the world is seemingly ready to implode with the backdrop of a raging war and social unrest. Woven into this intricate web is the story of two sisters and the responsibilities of life and ultimately the decisions we make. The definition of family is redefined and the final pages are full of emotion and the realization that everything that makes us human also gives us purpose.