What Beauty There Is

A 2022 William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist, What Beauty There Is is Cory Anderson's stunning novel about brutality and beauty, and about broken people trying to survive--Intense, brutal, and searingly honest, perfect for fans of Patrick Ness, Laura Ruby, and Meg Rosoff.

To understand the truth, you have to start at the beginning.

Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years, Ava's father, a merciless man, has controlled her fate. He's taught her to love no one. But then she meets Jack.

Living in poverty, Jack Dahl is holding his breath. He and his younger brother have nothing--except each other. With their parents gone, Jack faces a stark choice: lose his brother to foster care or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money.

Suddenly, Jack's and Ava's fates become intimately--and dangerously--linked as Ava's father hunts for the same money as Jack. When he picks up on Jack's trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or speak and fight for Jack's survival.

Choices. They come at a price.

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: 04/06/2021
Pages: 368
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781250268099
Age: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.5
Point Value: 10
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 517673 / What Beauty There Is


Award: William C. Morris YA Debut Award - Finalist


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 02/01/2021 pg. 73
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 03/01/2021
Publishers Weekly 02/15/2021
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2021
Booklist 04/01/2021 pg. 62
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2021 pg. 103

About the Author
Cory Anderson is a winner of the League of Utah Writers Young Adult Novel Award and Grand Prize in the Storymakers Conference First Chapter Contest. She lives in Utah with her family. What Beauty There Is is her debut novel.