📚 I read this book last June and I just noticed that this was a NetGalley arc that I never reviewed. Ugh! I have no idea why I skipped posting a review about it, or how I didn’t even notice it until now… but I’m making up for that because this was a great book.

📚 This book makes you feel something. You can’t avoid it. It’s sad, hopeful, intense, painful, lonely, heartbreaking, and heartfelt. It’s quite a ride emotionally.

📚 The relationship between Jack and his little brother Matty is worth reading the book for. The things they go through, and how Jack protects Matty while experiencing things no kids should, was heart-wrenching and beautiful in equal measure.

📚 Jack, Matty and Ava are so well-written that you want to reach into the pages and help them through the mess they are in. Honestly, you don’t read a book like this, you experience it.

📚 This book is a dark thriller and quite intense at times, and there may be triggers for some people (suicide, abandonment, abuse, murder, etc), but at its core it is a beautifully written love story. Love between brothers and new love between Ava and Jack. It’s worth reading.

📚 A sequel is forthcoming according to Goodreads and I’ll be first in line to read it.

Thank you @NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group / Roaring Brook Press for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. And I apologize for my terribly late review.

This story was so haunting and I'm still thinking about it. The characters were very well developed, flawed yet relatable, the world building was amazing, and the plot was unique. I am grateful for the opportunity to read.

This book is dark and emotional. There are a lot of heavy topics addressed and the patron/reader definitely needs to know there will be sadness when they approach this book. Anderson paints a desperate picture of a boy who is trying to survive and save his younger brother by sheer will. He has such strength and love.
I wish Anderson wrapped up the story and kept this as a stand alone. There were some loose threads left for a hinted sequel.
Thanks for the ARC! We have this book now in our library and I've book talked it to students with positive reception.

Unfortunately the writing style for this story just didn't work for me. I think that this new series will find its audience but sadly it just wasn't for me.

Ava lives with her abusive father. Jack must take care of his brother Matty. Their lives intertwine in the hunt for mysterious money from a heist that connected their families years ago.

Beautifully written and suspenseful, Jack and Ava are easy to love as characters and feel connected to as survivors of true emotional injustices. Anderson provides amazing prose that keep you reading. The dual perspectives are uniquely written, Ava begins each chapter, Jack (& other minor characters) narrates the main story. Looking into each perspective makes this novel so unique and allows the reader to see this story from all sides.

Absolutely beautiful.

An absolutely heartwarming and heartbreaking story - absolutely wonderful characters with a beautiful message behind the story.

This book was very atmospheric, and much darker and more serious than most YA books that I pick up.
The author was very good and detailed, but the story just didn't grip me the way that I hoped it would.

"What Beauty There Is" is a stunning story that was totally unexpected for me. I'm so glad to have read it, even though it did rip out my heart again and again. I feel such a deep connection to these characters and the hardships they have faced. Cory Anderson is such a beautiful writer and I definitely will be looking forward to her future books (I hear there is a potential sequel to What Beauty There Is? Hopefully!).

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing my review copy.
Cold, dark and chilling but extremely beautiful prose. I don't mind reading difficult stories as long as they move me. This did just that.

I really liked this book and how she got over someone. I enjoyed the romance and the friendships. I liked she came to enjoy her family. I liked that she was able to get over a boy and move on with her life. Great story.

Reading this felt like a fever dream… At times, particularly at the beginning, I really wanted to enjoy this. I wanted to root for Jack and Matty, but I never could. There was just something about the way the story was unfolding that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Things seemed to just be happening, and while I get that’s how life is, even in the slice of life books I read I want there to be something more.

Maybe I was just placing too much of my personal emphasis on the idea of Jack trying to find this lost money, but that was such a non-issue? Jack seemed invested in the sense that he was trying to look out for Matty, but at the same time none of what Jack was trying to do was really…. helpful? Even that scene of the local shop owner running him out of the store even though he needed employees was just foolishness. Then Jack being feverish and on the verge of death for so much of the book? Why. Just why.

Add on top the fact that the drug dealer man just kind of limped off into the snow at the end..; there wasn’t a real conclusion. The one we did get involved an unnecessary character death and a resolution that wasn’t personally satisfying. The only reason this book was enjoyable as it was, was because of Matty. I did like him, I wanted better for him. I hope he grows up to have more common sense than his brother because he deserves it.

I read this in a reading vlog for my youtube channel and overall it was not my type of story. I found it a bit boring and unbelievable in parts. The ending was rather confusing and didn't come together well for me.

I tried reading What Beauty There is, but it didn't grab me. I don't know if it was the mood I was in or the style. I'll have to try another time since I do think it has potential.

A sweeping, moving story about life and love and loss, and finding beauty amidst cruel circumstances. It dances that narrow line of painting a stark portrait of reality, while also not diving too deep into hopelessness. I look forward to more by Cory Anderson.

The author richly paints the Idaho winter landscape and harsh reality of Jack and his brothers' lives, trying to survive despite their situation in life. I really appreciated the almost-poetic flow to the short chapters and passages, adding a touch of beauty amid the dire starkness of their story.

Jack and Ava provide two distinct narrators and points of view (POV), however, I was uncertain who the omnipresent narrator at the beginning of many chapters was. Not a bit deal, but it distracted me throughout the novel, wondering if it was Death or a force or person representing Death.

There were numerous deep or insightful thoughts or questions sprinkled in the narrative, enriching the reading experience and allowing the reader to get into the characters' heads without being too obvious.

Excellent debut! I am looking forward to the sequel.


****Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for giving me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

I just could not get into this one. I'm not sure if it was the writing or if it was the story itself. I had to sadly dnf it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I actually chose this book without reading what it was about...I mean, with a title like that, it should be a great book full of beauty, in my opinion. But, while the story itself was really good, this was not a great pick for me personally. There was not an ounce of beauty in this book...for me. It was quite honestly one of the most depressing books I have ever read...from beginning to end. I really felt for these brothers who could not seem to catch a break...Again, really good in itself and if you love heavy and dark stories, you would probably really like this one. The older I get, the less I like dark and depressing...especially in today's World. We have enough of that.

This book completely surprised me in terms of narration, prose, emotion, and so many other factors. While I knew that the premise was mildly heartbreaking, I did not expect to become too attached and I could not put this story down. Jack is a stronger person than most, and he is written so well. This book is a raw and real story that I think everyone would love.

How far will you go to make sure your sibling is safe and who can you trust? What Beauty There is examins how paths cross and the lengths someone will go to protect the ones they love. Anderson packs on the suspense and anxiety of not knowing what will happen next. Jack and Ava are the dynamic protagonists and the reader can sympathize with their situations. Yet the story and plot are very heavy, weighted with the suspense of a final ending. At times it's hard to read because of the situation the two teens find themselves in.

This bok was not for me. I wanted to like it, but the way it was told just didn't work for me, and I ad trouble getting into it.