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James Snyder
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The Beautiful-Ugly Kindle Edition

by James Snyder (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 675 ratings
First, both her parents disappear, in an instant, from her life after their horrific auto accident. Next, the faceless child protection agencies (that now control everything in their lives) come and snatch away her only sibling—her brother Eric—to something called a foster home. Only then do they come back for her…

Suddenly a young life that was surrounded by a loving family one moment and spiraling out of control the next…is now in freefall. That’s when six-year-old Connelly Pierce begins her incredible, fourteen-year odyssey across America and into the darkest underbellies of this strange new world she must learn to navigate. All the while, changing from that once little girl into young womanhood, and beginning to understand—if she has any hope of surviving, of finding her brother who’s now gone missing, of breaking through to the other side of whatever awaits her—she must count only on her own self, her own mind, her own heart, to get her there.

Still, there was one more thing she had to learn. And that was that fighting an ever-changing, faceless and uncaring system was one thing. But running away to fight the entire world, even with all her anger and rage, was something entirely different…

Girl, Interrupted meets She’s Come Undone
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  1. Print length
    521 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    20 September 2014
  4. Reading age
    15 - 18 years
  5. File size
    4.0 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product description

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 when, 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 military thriller AMERICAN WARRIOR. He is also the author of the suspense thriller DESOLATION RUN, the young-adult/new-adult trilogy THE BEAUTIFUL-UGLY, the short story collection TALES OF THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY, and other literary works. "Berlin Diaries" is his occasional blog at JamesSnyder.net where he further discusses the backgrounds of his, and other, writings. He currently lives in Texas.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00NRWJF2W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bandera Publishing Company; 2nd edition (20 September 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 521 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0991527062
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 675 ratings

About the author

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James Snyder

James Snyder

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James Snyder was born in Memphis, Tennessee and lived in many parts of the United States before settling with his family in Napa Valley. Among a variety of careers and occupations, he was a soldier with a tactical mobile operations unit in Germany, as well as an executive for a Fortune 500 company.

Among others, he has published short stories in the Houghton Mifflin Black Mask anthologies, the Ginosko Literary Journal, and was a finalist in the New Letters’ Alexander Patterson Cappon Prize for Fiction. His literary works include the novels AMERICAN WARRIOR, DESOLATION RUN, THE BEAUTIFUL-UGLY, FRENCH QUARTERS, SOLDIER IN GERMANY, and the short story collection TALES OF THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

His author’s website and contact are at jamessnyder.net. He currently lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
675 global ratings

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Top reviews from Australia

There are 0 reviews and 15 ratings from Australia

Top reviews from other countries

  • Donna
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on 16 January 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Good read.
    Report
  • Steve Bridger
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime Storytelling. An exceptional Work.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    In truth I have never been affected so much by a book before. If I could give 10 stars then I would 5 stars are not enough. James Snyder is a rare and wonderful talent. He not only tells a story - his writing makes you live and breathe it. You become emotionally immersed. 'The Beautiful Ugly' is searingly visceral if you're ready to be challenged, to be enraged by the wrongs of society against children, if you're ready to witness evil and then fly high on soaring strength of the human spirit then give yourself a gift and read a book you won't forget.

    The use of language, the insights into human nature, the descriptions of both physical and spiritual themes are breathtaking. Do not read this book if you have a sensitive nature. Do read this book if you want to wake up your mind and feel the blood pumping faster through your veins. Ultimately 'The Beautiful Ugly' is life-affirming. Take your time and relish each word and relish the work of a true master storyteller.
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  • CLICKS by Madison
    5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening, emotional book!
    Reviewed in the United States on 7 August 2021
    Verified Purchase
    “Snyder has composed a beautifully written book, but yet the content is ugly. It is an ugly picture of the foster care system in America. But, through the ugly, this book tells a beautiful story and gives hope.”-Green Gables Book Reviews

    My thoughts-Reading “The Beautiful Ugly” by James Snyder made me feel so many different emotions! The rawness of this book will anger you. While reading this, I felt anxious, hopeful, very sad, in disbelief, anger, shock, and frustration over and over in this work of fiction that could be very real. That is a very scary fact. What happens to kids in the US when their parents die and there is no extended family? What happens to kids when they are “in the system” – who watches over them day to day? Or are they left on their own?

    In this 5 star book, “The Beautiful Ugly“, Connolly slowly returns to consciousness-but she won’t move or open her eyes-not yet, not until she’s sure it is safe. She immediately knows where she is. And why. Her wrists have been tended to, they will heal. But, will she ever heal? Her life…what happened to her life! Her parents were gone when she was so young and the places she lived, can she even remember them all? Her only goal-what kept her going was to find her brother and then, and then…now she is here. Alone again.

    In this book, Connelly revisits her life and her choices, and what she had to do to simply survive. What comes next? Is there a next for Connelly or is this it?

    Read this amazing, eye-opening book. There truly is always hope.

    (There are some scenes in this book that some readers may want to skip over.)
    Report
  • Bookaddict
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Parent's Worst Nightmare
    Reviewed in the United States on 30 January 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Loving responsible parents know that they alone can raise their children to develop their talents, while providing them with a secure home, safety, and happiness. But when a madly-in-love young couple are unexpectedly killed in a collision, before getting the paper-work organised, their two children find themselves with no other relatives, no provision for their future and no way to survive. On top of that, they are never actually told clearly what has happened by the bored, flighty overloaded social workers, who seem incapable of genuine compassion.
    All they have is each other, but not for long! The children are torn apart, regardless of their trauma. The boy was destined to be a scientist, like his mother. Well, that didn't happen.
    The girl took after her happy-go-lucky artistic father. The story is told about her life, her search for her brother Eric, despite the foster care system, while his life spirals downwards; the appalling abuse Connolly endured as a beautiful young developing girl, and the depths of depravity she descended into before ending up in an mental institition.
    Desperation to help her by one dedicated doctor led to the first good thing in her young life. I have read this book twice and enjoyed reading it both times but the horror and shock did not diminish. Despite it being very long due to three books being combined, I would have preferred it to be even longer so that the many gaps could be filled, such as why Angelina ran crying from the restored cottage when Connolly started painting her, and what Connolly's art work actually portrayed, and what she did with the clay in all its natural colours. Did she weld sculptures? Did she exorcise her demons? We are not told. Hints are given, then the story rushes to a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion. In some ways we are cheated, since her existance is always carrying her life story towards her artistic brilliance. Did that happen?
    Did she and Will live a long happy married life and have other children? A brilliant story though.
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  • julie6
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Great read!!
    Report

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