Book Review: Pretty Little World

Title: Pretty Little World
Authors: Elizabeth LaBan and Melissa DePino
Source: Free in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:

On a cozy street in Philadelphia, three neighboring families have become the best of friends. They can’t imagine life without one another—until one family outgrows their tiny row house. In a bid to stay together, a crazy idea is born: What if they tear down the walls between their homes and live together under one roof? And so an experiment begins.

Celia and Mark now have the space they need. But is this really what Celia’s increasingly distant husband wants? Stephanie embraces the idea of one big, happy family, but has she considered how it may exacerbate the stark differences between her and her husband, Chris? While Hope always wanted a larger family with Leo, will caring for all the children really satisfy that need?

Behind closed doors, they strive to preserve the closeness they treasure. But when boundaries are blurred, they are forced to question their choices…and reimagine the true meaning of family.

My thoughts:

I was so excited to read this book. I am always telling my friends and family we should just start a commune together. It is something I still believe, provided we all live in our own homes. Which is where I think the families in this story went awry..

The families in this story - Celia and Mark, Stephanie and Chris, Hope and Leo - had been living in each others pockets, yards, homes, for years. Taking care of each other's children, filling in where necessary. Yet they always had their own space. When this space started to become too constrictive for Celia and Mark, and threatened their little close-knit group, the walls came down, the final barrier to a shared lifestyle. On the surface, it seemed perfect! Hope desires nothing more than staying at home and taking care of the kids; Leo is excited to be able to cook for everyone. Everyone seems to get a little something out of this deal. But then lines become a little blurry, and the story strayed into an area I had never imagined. With three very different couples that bring their own baggage to the group, these differences become more apparent. Problems between married couples start to rise to the surface as well, and there is more than a little bit of looking over the fence at the neighbor on the other side, if you catch my meaning. The honeymoon period begins to wear off, and as it does, all involved must search inside themselves to decide what they really want.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought the plot was unique, although I wasn't sure about the turns some of it took, honestly. I didn't like that everyone was apparently unhappy in their marriage, that seemed kind of sad. And there was some weirdness with Stephanie and Leo that I didn't really like. And Hope and Chris. I don't know. I thought that it was a bit of overkill. Regardless of a few small things that I didn't care for, for the most part, I found this book very entertaining and I read it pretty quickly, not wanting to put it down! It was a good quick read, one that was different from most of the books that I have read.



Thanks to Little Bird Publicity for the chance to read and review this book!