“Beauty’s overrated. Only someone who took his own beauty for granted could have been able to say something so outrageously stupid with a straight face.”

I have been waiting for a novel like this. I just wanted a fun-to-read book that wasn’t mindless entertainment and this book exceeded all expectations. It is about a collection of characters and their families, who are challenged by their relationships, their love for their families and the tensions that develop between people with opposing viewpoints. The story centers around the fear that seizes the community after a convicted sex offender moves into the neighborhood. The book is ver clever and smart and the author writes both male and female points of view equally well. I got totally sucked into the story and couldn’t stop reading until the conclusion. No, this book doesn’t have a traditionally “happy ending”, but it is a book that contains truth and empathy and offers a narrative that is a joy to sink into.