WE ALL LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is the first book by Joanne Proulx that I've read (the author only seems to have written one other novel). It's an interesting and engaging examination of three suburban families whose lives become unravelled by a series of shocks and tragedy.

Well-written, well-paced, and featuring interesting and well-drawn characters. I enjoyed reading this, and would certainly be interested in reading more by the author.

This book tells the story of Michael and Mia. Their son, Finn, has a near death experience and the near death experience sparks problems in their marriage.;

This book is a tale of love between different relationships.

Overall, I enjoyed the storyline of this book. It was so beautifully written.

However, I really struggled to connect with any of the characters. They seemed unlikeable and I couldn't really "root" for any of them.

But a very well written book.

You have to go into this book sort of accepting the possibility that a privileged family could lose their financial stability the same night that their son passes out in the snow and nearly loses his life. It feels forced and contrived rather than organic, and that makes what comes afterwards also feel forced and contrived.

Joanne Proulx has an interesting premise, and she makes the most of it. Her characters make cringe-worthily bad decisions, to the point where you find yourself thinking, “I’d never do that” on just about every page.

Michael and Mia seem to have a solid marriage, but when his thoughts drift more to the “Mia doesn’t need to know this yet” realm, you realize that they are far more fragile than they realize. Finn seems like every high school boy you’ve ever met, which is a little unfortunate because you want him to have a more depth. His parents certainly seem to think he is perfect, whether because they are willfully blind or otherwise preoccupied.

There are multiple narrators, and you might find it difficult to warm up to any of them. Each is preoccupied with his or her own needs and issues, which you expect from the high schoolers but want more from when it comes to the adults.

I liked Joanne Proulx’s story idea, but there is some inconsistency with pacing and characterization. Too often you find yourself wishing for a little more depth.

I was thrilled to death for the opportunity to read an ARC of his new book. I was drawn in from the first chapter and could hardly put it down!

We All Love The Beautiful Girls
By
Joanne Prouix



What it's all about...

Finn is found by his father at a friend’s house...nearly dead in the snow. The resulting injuries are devastating as well as life changing.

Why I wanted to read it...

Complicated flawed characters have an immediate appeal for me. Finn and family are a mess. This mess only gets worse before it becomes reasonably livable.

What made me truly enjoy this book...

Although this wasn’t a book filled with puppies and kittens...it was one that made me think about the way a deeply flawed family has to learn to exist after a tragedy.

Why you should read it, too...

Readers who have an appeal for dysfunctional characters...should enjoy this deeply dark book.

I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and Amazon. It was my choice to read it and review it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an ARC of We All Love the Beautiful Girls by Joanne Proulx. I apologize for my delayed review.

The premise peaked my interest but from the early pages my attention was tested. The characters were so loathsome and the tone so dark that I had a difficult time reading on. It’s a story of rich people problems which I generally like but this time I did not care for anyone. I spent more time cringing then enjoying that I ultimately bailed at the 40% mark. This was probably the wrong reader for the right book.

Mia and Michael Slate are going through something when their son Finn has a tragic accident. This accident ends up affecting a lot of people and for me this book was watching how one night can change the course of many people's lives.

Most of this book I didn't enjoy, but I kept reading and finished it because I really wanted to figure out what would happen with Finn after his accident. His character arch was what kept me reading after the crazy drama from his parents. This would have been a book that I would have quit if I didn't love Finn so much and want to know where he would end up.

I liked the drama that Mia and Michael Slate were facing, but I felt as though it took a back burner to how crappy they were as people and parents. I didn't enjoy seeing them purposefully screw up things and would have instead loved to read more about the lawsuit and the financial and work drama that was lurking over their heads. I didn't like where this book went in that regards.

This was my first Joanne Proulx book and although I didn't like it, when I don't like a book for its plot I am completely willing to read another book by this author. It is when I don't like the writing where I feel as though I couldn't enjoy another book by the author.

WE ALL LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
Joanne Proulx
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 978--5387-1245-0
Hardcover
Fiction

I came for the title and stayed for the story. WE ALL LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is Joanne Proulx’s sophomore novel (after the critically acclaimed ANTHEM OF A RELUCTANT PROPHET). While Proulx writes neither quickly nor frequently the quality of her work makes her efforts more than worth waiting for. WE ALL LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is a skillfully told tale of cringe-inducing occurrences brought on by impulsive actions and recurring inactions.

WE ALL LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS chronicles a very difficult year in the lives of the Slate family, the members being Michael, Mia and Finn. Finn is the teenage son, awash in adolescent hormones mixed in a stew of love and lust for Jess, his older next door neighbor who used to babysit him. Michael and Mia are his parents. Michael is a somewhat unequal partner in a real estate development company which he started years before the story begins with Peter Conrad, his best friend going back to childhood. Peter and his wife Helen, are socially attached at the hip with Michael and Mia, while Peter and Helen’s daughter Frankie nurses an unrequited love for Finn. Got all that? This somewhat heartwarming tableau gets knocked sideways on a fateful and freezing Canadian evening in late February when two things happen. The first is that Michael learns that Peter, his good friend and partner, has been embezzling from him for years and has even closed him entirely out of the business ownership. Finn, meanwhile, is at a party where Jess, Frankie, and a bunch of other players are. Things happen, and Finn, in a drunken misery, passes out in the snow. There are missed opportunities galore here, resulting in a tragedy that resonates throughout the book and yes, even beyond it. The story switches from a third person past tense viewpoint to Finn’s occasional first person present narrative which is shot through with painful adolescent angst. This is fitting, given that it is upon Finn that a primary disaster and a secondary heartbreak land, both of which are permanent in very different ways. WE ALL LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS doesn’t only or even primarily focus on Finn, however. None of the characters in the book, either primary or secondary, come through the tale’s end unscathed. Proulx doesn’t take any prisoners in what is an unscathing look at how fragile and yes, how strong friendships can be, even when torn asunder.

WE ALL LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is one of those books that haunts the mind long after the last sentence is read. I was reminded topically though not stylistically of Evan Hunter’s classic LAST SUMMER, at least with respect to the manner in which the casual cruelty of adolescents (and yes, adults as well)
can so unexpectedly rise to the forefront. It can be forgiven that the book somewhat loses its way at the end as it flirts with the outer edges of diatribe. It’s irritating --- at least it will be some readers --- but does not change the power of what has gone before. It does not end tidily or well for everyone --- maybe not for anyone --- but very few things do in the real world. Neither the story nor its author flinches. You might, however. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2018, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 sordid, family secrets stars to We All Love the Beautiful Girls!

We All Love the Beautiful Girls is an elegantly-told story of the darker side of family.

Mia and Michael Slate are married and appear to have it all: an accomplished teenage son, Finn, and a happy married life heads and shoulders above their friends. They are that couple everyone envies. But as the stunning facade of their family starts to chip and peel, they are left in shambles as their finances are in jeopardy, and Finn is involved in a serious accident.

Michael retaliates for something that has happened to him and his family, and in doing so, sets in motion a chain of events that will upturn their entire community.

I was struck by how realistic and authentic the characters and emotions felt. The storytelling is rich without being overdone as the author explores the effects of the tragedy on each family member individually and the unit as a whole.

We Love All the Beautiful Girls has a slow start firmly setting in place all the key players. It requires patience at first, but the pay-off is grand. As the tension builds, Proulx presents the Slates as if they could be any fallible family; the losses, utter betrayal and upheaval, as well as discontent and discord, in sharp contrast to all the love at its heart.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the complimentary physical copy. All opinions are my own.

First published in Canada in 2017; published by Grand Central Publishing on August 28, 2018

We All Love the Beautiful Girls is an intense examination of an eventful year in the life of a married couple and their teenage son. The first days of January introduce two couples in their 40s playing Pictionary: Michael and Mia Slate, Peter and Helen Conrad. Michael and Mia have been married for two decades but still enjoy a vigorous (and rough) sex life, complete with a safe word that Mia never invokes. Michael and Peter are in business together. The Slates’ son, Finn, is finishing high school. The Conrads’ daughter, Frankie, has an ambiguous teenage friendship with Finn, who has a sex buddy relationship with an older girl named Jess when she isn’t with her rich boyfriend, who is the brother of Finn’s best friend. The novel is set in a prosperous community in Canada.

The drama begins in February, when Michael discovers that Peter has taken over ownership of their business by abusing Michael’s trust. The only thing that distracts Michael from the shock of discovering that betrayal is the realization that Finn is well past his curfew. In segments of the story told in believable language from Finn’s point of view, we follow Finn to a party where teenage drama and a combination of alcohol and drugs leave him upset and wasted. Finn nearly freezes to death, leading to the loss of his hand. Every word in this section of the novel conveys tension; it is completely absorbing.

Finn continues to narrate part the story from his first-person perspective while the rest of the story is told in the third person. The first-person focus on Finn lets the reader understand the family dynamic from a perspective that Finn’s self-centered father and self-pitying mother cannot provide. The story follows the characters through a number of confrontations and potentially life-altering events as they struggle to move beyond their respective crises.

To some extent, We All Love the Beautiful Girls is a relationship drama. Can the long and intense friendship between Mia and Helen survive Peter’s betrayal of Michael? Can either marriage survive? What about Finn’s friendship with Frankie and his romantic (from his perspective) relationship with Jess, who is probably engaged only because of her boyfriend’s wealth? Can Finn’s friendship with his best friend survive the fact that they betrayed each other with their careless actions?

Finn’s friends and their parents are breaking up for all the usual reasons, “like every other human being trying to survive love on this planet.” Michael hits baseballs and smokes weed with a kid who might be turning into a surrogate son, a stranger to whom he can open up, something he seems incapable of doing with Finn. For his part, Finn is convinced (with reason) that his parents don’t understand how he feels and aren’t doing enough to help him cope with his loss. Mia at least understands that having a child means loving him in difficult times — “no quitting” — but Finn’s parents struggle to find the right way to express their support.

While the novel examines characters in the context of familial and other relationships, it also probes deeply into the interiors of Michael, Mia, and Finn, each of whom must probe their own interiors, to find themselves, during the course of the novel. Michael is rooted in anger that he can’t express, that always bubbles just below the surface but threatens to manifest itself in senseless violence. Mia is feeling her age and, while flirting an old friend who represents Michael in his lawsuit against Peter, wonders if rejuvenating her sex life would rejuvenate the rest of her life. Michael and Mia can’t agree upon an approach to Finn’s disability, while Finn is understandably self-conscious, doing his best to ignore or conceal his missing hand while refusing to participate in therapy or to wear a prosthetic.

The last third of the novel brings each family member to a climactic moment, one that requires a choice to be made. The cliché is that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, but that isn’t always true. Finn wants to believe it, but the novel’s most powerful question is whether Finn and his parents will gain strength from or be destroyed by their losses. Some of their initial reactions to adversity might be shameful, but that only makes them human. Yet bad actions often have consequences that are more severe than intended, and people who make poor decisions, as well as their victims, must live with the resulting harm. The novel illustrates that the things we do to make ourselves feel powerful may actually weaken us by forcing us to recognize and live with the consequences of our destructive impulses.

We All Love the Beautiful Girls tells a smart and nuanced story, blending themes of love and karma with themes of pain and anger. The story balances depressing realities against hope that people can overcome their worst tendencies and can address the horrors that befall them. The story’s touching, poignant moments never feel contrived or melodramatic, although Finn’s meditations on love and Mia’s remonstrations with Michael and repeated comments about the difficulty of forgiveness and the importance of not quitting on your kids sometimes seem like a heavy-handed attempt to scream the novel’s lessons at readers who might not otherwise get it. Still, the strong characters, dramatic plot, and sharp prose easily overcome the novel’s few flaws.

RECOMMENDED

Michael and Mia Slate begin to have marriage problems after their son, Finn, suffers a near-death experience. This is the story of the Slate family and their revelation of how love is measured between neighbors, friends, and family.

Joanne Proulx writes a beautifully poetic story about very ugly events in the affluent Canadian town of Old Aberdeen. We are immediately thrust into the middle of the life of a family with very little introduction, and it’s almost better that way. The characters seem to develop right before your eyes, even as you’re learning whose portion of the story you’re experiencing at the time.

Written from multiple points of view, Proulx uses subtle cadence changes and an editor’s nightmare – no quotation marks! – to distinguish the characters, but the action is linear, so it’s not confusing after you initially get your bearings.

The prose is visually elegant and descriptive without being excessively wordy. And it’s a quick read with action interspersed throughout and a steady progression toward an ending that felt a little clipped. But maybe that was just my personal desire to spend more time with the characters - the mark of a really good book.

Wow what a heartbreaking yet hopeful book! Micheal and Mia have to deal with being conned by their best friends then their son has a horrible, life altering accident. Now normally couples become closer when dealing with two gut wrenching situations but Micheal and Mia start going to other people for love and support....then when I didn’t think things got worse it sadly did. A turn I def did not see coming. My heart broke for everyone and wow I cry!

Mia and Michael Slate have a wonderful life, with their son Finn. Then one night, it all goes wrong. They find out their best friend and Michael's business partner has cheated them out of millions, and at the same time Finn goes to a party at a friend's house and a series of tragic events change Finn's life forever.

I loved this book. It had characters you want to root for and ones you want to hate. There are lots of surprises along the way, and an excellent storyline that keeps you captivated. I highly recommend this book!

They always say that tragedy will either bring people closer together or tear them apart. Somehow this book does both. Reading it was simultaneously like watching a train wreck and story of redemption and hope. I don't know how else to put it. Michael and Mia deal with finding out they have been conned by their best friend while also dealing with a horrible accident that has permanently altered their son's future. Instead of coming together, they begin to lean on others and it is watching this ballet that is the heart of the story. One part of the story broke my heart. I guess it needed to be there to show how far out of control the damage got, but I felt it unnecessary, as though the author kicked the reader while they were down. However, I guess caring for characters this much is a sign of good writing.

We All Love the Beautiful Girls is the second novel by Joanne Proulx. This story centers around a family of Michael, his wife Mia, and their seventeen-year-old son, Finn. Initially, Michael and Mia are the perfect, happy couple. Michael runs a business with his best friend Peter, Mia is a former banker turned photographer, and as a family, they spend a great deal of time with their best friends Peter, his wife Helen, and their daughter, Frankie. But in a single night, their world comes crashing down as Michael and Mia discover that Peter manipulated paperwork so that Michael is not a partner in their business and Finn overindulged at a party resulting in life-changing damage. The author then weaves the tale of what can happen to a family when things start to fall apart.

Honestly, I am still torn over how I feel about this book. First of all, I didn’t find any of the characters likable. Most had some good qualities here and there, but it is absolutely the biggest example of flawed characters that I can recall reading. I loved Michael and Mia’s relationship in the beginning, but as the book progresses and the family falls apart, their marriage deteriorates rapidly and for reasons that aren’t immediately obvious.

Finn suffers serious physical consequences after drinking, trying drugs for the first time, and then passing out in the snow in temperatures well below zero. I wanted to sympathize with him but found it almost impossible. Finn had very little personality and only really showed interest in one thing – Jess – his previous babysitter, a family friend, neighbor, and the girl who took his virginity. His obsession with her and having sex with her, despite her being 5-6 years older and having a serious boyfriend, became tiresome very early on. Then there was Peter and Helen’s daughter Frankie. She appeared to have a little more personality than Finn, but her character was unremarkable. I did sympathize with her a great deal, however, because it was Frankie that suffered the most in the aftermath of Peter betraying Michael. Mia develops an inappropriate relationship with a former colleague, Michael starts hanging out with a teenage boy who gets high under the bridge, and Finn carries on doing nothing, continuing to take any responsibility for his fate and his relationships with his “friends,” even after being confronted, beat up, and so on.

Although I got into it eventually, the writing style and points of view were very confusing for a great deal of the novel, although Proulx’ talent in writing was still evident. Her imagery and purposeful display of raw and uncomfortable emotions are what kept me going with this story. My biggest problem was with the characters themselves, as well as, a slow-moving journey with these characters with only a few surprises scattered in the novel after the initial conflict. I loved Frankie’s reflections at the end of the novel, which humanized her more than any of the other characters, but I was left wondering if any of the other characters will make any changes in their new lives after everything that happened. I got the impression that this was not likely, but I can still hope.

We All Love the Beautiful Girls is definitely a thought-provoking novel that is descriptive at the same time as being somewhat vague. This book did not leave me feeling happy and carefree by any means, but I am glad that I chose to read it.

I didn’t like this novel. It’s very well written, has a good story line, and technically there really isn’t anything wrong with it. So my opinion is 100% based on my personal relationship with the story and the characters... Everything in this novel is just so SELFISH. All of the characters (bar Frankie maybe) are self-indulgent, selfish, and every choice they make is based entirely on what they are feeling at that moment in time. I was quite enjoying the book until about halfway through and then I felt this bitter distaste growing inside, and finished it wanting to throw the book across the room. Nobody THINKS about anything - even their hindsight regret is entirely based on what they are feeling right then, not in any kind of real remorse.

It felt like a continuation of Gossip Girl in the time of #metoo. I couldn’t relate to any of it - for instance the Slates get ripped off by their business partner, losing millions, and they continue to live their very rich lives as normal. If I lost my job I would literally not have money to eat.

Anyway. We are in a rich area in Canada, and Michael Slate finds out that his business partner and best friend, Peter, has ripped him off, and he loses millions of dollars and his company in the process (this could have been avoided if he had actually read the papers he was signing). That same night Michael and Mia’s son Finn has a freak drunken accident and loses one of his hands in the process. The Slate Family falls apart with each individual retreating to their own comfort zones rather than dealing with it altogether. Finn is wrapped up in a weird teenage rich kid love triangle, Mia with pondering about cheating on her husband, and Michael with hitting baseballs with some random stoner kid he meets on the field. The rest of the story is about how they deal (or don’t deal) with everything.

I don’t have anything against the rich, nor do I usually mind reading about rich families, heck Jilly Cooper is my guilty pleasure, but this book just failed to hit the mark with me. Even the twists felt just wrong. They could have been the exact time for the characters to re-evaluate themselves, but no, they just continue plundering along. Instead of a “shit this is all my fault” it’s more of a “should I have maybe done this better because yes it’s my fault but you know this happened blabla”. Definitely not for me BUT I do think it’s a book that people will get more than I did. So don’t let this review put you off until you have tried it yourself. The writing itself is just lovely.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

When I finally finished this book I had to take a breath. JOanne Proulx is a marvelous writer and story teller, but I simply didn't like the storyline in We All Love The beautiful girls. I felt it dragged a bit and I can't say I felt anything for any of the main characters.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

While the description was very intriguing - I found myself struggling to get into this novel. I just could not connect with the author's voice and POV so it was not a good fit for me so I was not able to complete the novel and give it a fair and honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book - I wish you the best!

Mia and Michael Slate have a pretty wonderful life: solid marriage, good kid, nice house, and wealth.
That life crumbles over the course of one night. First, they find out Michael’s business partner (and best friend) Peter has swindled them out of millions of dollars and removed Michael as a partner in the company. Later, when their 17 year old son Finn doesn’t show up at curfew, Michael goes in search of him only to find him passed out drunk in the snow, barely alive.

The heartbroken Finn must come to terms with the permanent effects of that fateful night, both mentally and physically, and heal from the secret affair he has been having with the girl next door (who is older …and his former babysitter).

Mia and Michael try to stay strong for their son but are emotionally drained from his accident and the betrayal of their best friend. The couple begin to drift apart, leading to flirtations with infidelity, thoughts of revenge against Peter, and rage over the helplessness they feel about their son’s accident and mental state.

Michael is losing control: his best friend has betrayed him, leaving his family with nothing; his son is recovering well from traumatic injuries but is practically a stranger; he fears his wife may be cheating on him. It all builds until one night he decides to break the windows on his former business partner's house; a relatively tame act of revenge that allows him to release some anger and frustration.
The events that follow have devastating consequences not only for Michael and his family, but the entire town, when an innocent person unintentionally becomes collateral damage.

There are so many layers of human emotion within this novel; the way we work through trauma, betrayal, passion, revenge and what drives us when we feel helpless and out of control.
The drama surrounding the Slate family pulled me in and then the intense relationships between characters kept me enthralled.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A full review to follow but I could not put this one down. Joanne Proulx totally sucked me into the lives of this upper class Canadian family as they grapple with life after loss. Such a profoundly raw read that was interesting from beginning to end. Usually rich people annoy me when they become like us regular folk but somehow Proulx made me care for the slate family.