So Much Pretty

Starred review from January 10, 2011
In this remarkable debut, Hoffman addresses serious injustices in present-day America. In 1992, Claire and Gene Piper, both idealistic New York City physicians, eschew joining Doctors Without Borders and decide instead to move with their gifted two-year-old daughter, Alice, to upstate Haeden, N.Y., to pursue the simple life in the spirit of the '60s back-to-nature movement. After nearly two fruitless decades, Gene's hope of destroying corporate agribusiness in the name of "land and air and autonomy" has left Claire exhausted, in body and soul, and Alice determined to avenge a ghastly crime against all women that she realizes is implicit in Haeden's smalltown–ghost town mentality. Meanwhile, journalist Stacy Flynn indicts Big Pharm for forcing scientists to manipulate people into doing things the scientists believe are wrong, and factory food production for repurposing the countryside into a toxic-waste site. Hoffman's doomed characters burn their way off her angry pages. This searing novel will linger long in the reader's memory.

December 15, 2010

Hoffman's debut novel takes readers to the unsexy world of rural New York and a farming community with more than one secret.

Stacy Flynn is a reporter covering the tiny town of Haeden. Flynn is on the prowl for the story that will make her name in the field of investigative journalism, and she's decided that Haeden and its acres of dairy farms are just the ticket to an award. Flynn writes and edits the local paper, but she's not a Haeden native. Instead, she moved from Cleveland to take over the town rag, covering football games and pancake breakfasts under the occasional eye of the former editor. But when the body of a waitress and local favorite, Wendy White, turns up, Flynn bites into the story like a starving dog. Something is very wrong with the way the police and the town are treating White's murder, and she's not the only one who thinks that way. But there's another case, a more recent one, and that one really weighs on Flynn's mind. It centers on the most unlikely family imaginable: a pair of disaffected doctors turned hippies and their brilliant little girl, Alice. Unhappy with the way their lives were going in New York City, the Piper family moved to Haeden when Claire and Gene left medicine. Gene, Alice's father, also believes, as does Flynn, that the dairy business is poisoning the water and land for miles around. Told from Gene's, Alice's and Flynn's perspectives, along with those of many others, including the dead girl's, Hoffman's book rotates points of view every couple of pages. Although mostly well written, the story devolves into some snooze-worthy prose, particularly sections detailing agricultural practices and Alice's essays. The author tells the reader over and over that the women in this story are strong and, in the end, she proves it.

Hoffman wanders into the cow pasture a little too often, but the intersection of the lives of two smart young women with a shared consciousness turns what could have been a boring tale into something worth reading. 

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October 15, 2010

Inspired by a story Hoffman encountered as a police beat reporter in upstate New York, this is not a pretty tale: it deals with domestic violence and a community's sacrifice of individual well-being just to keep the peace. No more plot details available, but the publisher seems more concerned with positioning this debut as a dark and controversial work of topical import; it's recommended for book groups, and the author is making herself available for ongoing discussion. Watch this.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2011
A mixture of The Lovely Bones and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hoffmans first novel is a small-town murder mystery with a surprising twist. Haeden, New York, leaves much to be desired for Flynn, the young reporter covering the community beat. But when Wendy White, the local bar maid, goes missing, and Flynn begins uncovering some disturbing local secrets, things get very interesting. Meanwhile, high-school student Alice Piper is facing her own challenges. Shes smart, creative, and quickly outgrowing the small-town mentality of Haeden. Her family encourages her feisty spirit, and her best friend, Theo, is her accomplice in more ways than one. Hoffmans narrative oscillates between various characters, carefully building suspense, depth, and new insight with every chapter. Lets hope we will be seeing more of this talented new writer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)