Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt has been difficult for me to review. I finished it a few days ago, and since then, I’ve been ruminating on it.

In its essence, Cruel Beautiful World is a novel about family and love. But the horrible underside of humanity is afoot as well. Yes, it takes place during the same time as the Manson murders, but that isn’t the true specter that hangs over the characters’ psyches. The true roots of the novel’s conflict lie in the question: How well can we really know the ones we love?

The climax and denouement of Cruel Beautiful World answer this question two ways. Without giving you any spoilers, I’ll say that one represents the beautiful and one represents the cruel.

Plot-wise, Cruel Beautiful World kept me guessing, but it also made me think. The prose is full of detail and texture. Leavitt uses concrete imagery to convey a strong sense of time period and setting.

Check out this section of character description to see how Leavitt deftly weaves history into the narrative:

“Not only did he support the antiwar movement, but he’d marched in Boston a few months ago and even got to talk to Abbie Hoffman, who was there giving a speech. William wore a Not-So-Silent Spring button on his jacket lapel, a dot of yellow imprinted with an upraised red fist that held a sprig of greenery. ‘Hey, hey, LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?’ he chanted, and then he told them the answer, writing on the board the Vietnam death toll for 1968—16,899—a number so staggeringly high that the kids shifted uneasily in their seats, because they knew there was a draft. The boys could be called up one day. Their lives could end, just like that. ‘Not if you resist the draft,’ William assured them. He draw a map of Canada on the blackboard and tapped the chalk on it. ‘Or go here,’” (Leavitt).

Holy characterization, Batman!

Over all, Cruel Beautiful World is not a book of easy answers. There is no good without the bad (and sometimes vice versa?). I recommend this book to readers who enjoy family novels with a tinge of darkness. Cruel Beautiful World is full of emotion. I think I cried at least twice, and my heart is as black as my coffee.

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, free love and the Manson murders, Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt is a bittersweet novel about two sisters who discover that life very rarely lives up the their dreams.

After their parents' death when they were young, Charlotte and Lucy moved in with their much older, distant relative Iris. At one time extremely close, the sisters began drifting apart as teens and by the time Lucy disappears, Charlotte has no idea what is going on her sister's life. At the urging of Iris, she goes to college as planned but she is soon struggling to keep up academically with her fellow students. Meanwhile, Lucy's life with her thirty year old teacher boyfriend William Lallo is slowly falling apart as she grows increasingly unhappy at their remote home in rural Pennsylvania. Iris is trying to come to terms with her empty nest while at the same time dealing with the realities of growing older. After Lucy's life with William completely unravels, Charlotte tries to make sense of what happened to her sister in the year since she and Iris last saw her.

Oldest sister Charlotte is rather shy and serious but she is fiercely protective of Lucy. Determined to get into a good college, she is focused on getting stellar grades and acing her SAT. Completely consumed by thoughts of her future, Charlotte does not even notice when she and Lucy begin to drift apart. After Lucy runs away, she realizes she knows absolutely nothing about her sister's life in the months leading up to her disappearance but this does not stop her from trying to find Lucy. After her hard work in school leads to an academic scholarship to a prestigious college, Iris insists she follow her dream instead of remaining at home with her. Charlotte is stunned by the reality of life on campus as her hopes of finally fitting in are quickly shattered and worse, she is struggling in all of her classes. An out of the blue phone call from Lucy resurrects old resentments, but Charlotte puts aside her feelings to try to rescue her sister.

Lucy is a bit of free spirit who struggles to live up to her teacher's expectations. When popular teacher William Lallo takes a special interest in her, she is excited and thrilled to finally have a class she excels in. When their relationship takes a romantic turn, Lucy sees nothing wrong with a thirty year old man loving her but she knows society will not turn a blind eye to their romance. As the school year draws to a close, she eagerly looks forward to them leaving and starting a new life together in Pennsylvania. Dismayed to find herself living in isolation with no friends and plenty of empty hours to fill while William is at work, Lucy soon falls out of love but with no money or job skills, she feels trapped by her impetuous decision. Trying to find some measure of independence from William, she begins roaming the countryside where she befriends the owner of vegetable stand, Patrick. Convincing him to let her work for him, Lucy's yearning to escape William continues to grow but will she find a way to escape her controlling boyfriend?

Taking place during the tumultuous late 60s and early 70s, Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt is a compelling character driven novel that is beautifully written. While heavy foreshadowing leaves little doubt how Lucy's story will end, Charlotte's story arc is less defined but just as intriguing. The storyline is somewhat poignant yet ultimately uplifting as it wends its way to a satisfying conclusion. ( )

This novel has great potential to be more of a psychological thriller but the story line is kept too shallow for that to happen. The plot is interesting and keeps the reader turning pages. I would have liked more insight into what different characters were thinking throughout the story. Would also love to know what happened to the characters after the novel ends. It has good potential, just scratches the surface of this phenomenon in American culture. ( )

I picked up this book blind on someone else's recommendation, and it just swept me away. I love it when that happens. Set in 1969, the story opens with Lucy, a high school sophomore, running away with her English teacher. Her older sister and adoptive mother are left to grapple with her disappearance, while Lucy herself discovers her new life was not the fantasy she'd envisioned. All of the characters became so real to me as the story unfolded, especially the girls' guardian, Iris, who is also coping with getting older and losing her independence. This is a bittersweet story that rings absolutely true. ( )

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but in this instance you can. I fell in love with the vintage look of the cover and then completely fell in love with the book as well. I picked it up one day and read a little of the story and was immediately drawn to Caroline's writing style. The next time I picked the book up, I didn't put it down again until I was finished. I felt something for each character, which rarely happens to me when reading. I was completely surprised by an event that happens in the book but I loved that it kept me guessing about how the book would end. I love this book so much and I've found a new favorite author! ( )