Synopses & Reviews
A powerful novel about a gutsy showgirl who tries to conquer her past amongst the glamour of 1960s Las Vegas — and finds unexpected fortune, friendship, and love.
It was unimaginable. When she was eight years old, Lily Decker somehow survived the auto accident that killed her parents and sister, but neither her emotionally distant aunt nor her all-too-attentive uncle could ease her grief. Dancing proves to be Lily’s only solace, and eventually she receives a “scholarship” to a local dance academy — courtesy of a mysterious benefactor.
Grown and ready to leave home for good, Lily changes her name to Ruby Wilde and heads to Las Vegas to be a troupe dancer, but her sensual beauty and voluptuous figure land her work instead as a showgirl performing everywhere from Les Folies Bergere at the Tropicana to the Stardust’s Lido de Paris. Wearing sky-high headdresses, five-inch heels, and costumes dripping with feathers and rhinestones, Ruby may have all the looks of a Sin City success story, but she still must learn to navigate the world of men — and figure out what real love looks like.
With her uncanny knack for understanding the hidden lives of women, Elizabeth J. Church captures both the iconic extravagance of an era and the bravery of a young woman who dances through her sadness to find connection, freedom, and, most important, herself.
Review
“A gorgeously written novel with the bite of a gin martini, All the Beautiful Girls goes beyond the splashy, gaudy dazzle of Las Vegas in the sixties to reveal the beating heart beneath the glamorous façade of a showgirl with big ambitions.” Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of At the Water’s Edge
Review
“A beautifully rendered tale of personal redemption filled with friendship, loss, extravagant furs, and feathery headdresses.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“A razzle-dazzle novel about loss, love, and friendship...All the Beautiful Girls pulls back the curtain on the glamorous, titillating world of showgirls, revealing the emotional bruises hidden beneath the dazzling costumes.” Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue
Synopsis
"An exquisitely crafted novel of love discovered and friendship found."--Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls Ruby's life glitters with success, but she still must conquer her tragic past and discover what love really looks like.
Lily Decker never meant to become a showgirl. As a young girl in small-town Kansas, she danced to forget the pain of losing her family in a car accident. And dancing made her feel beautiful when the attentions of her Uncle Miles only brought shame. In 1967, Lily is grown and ready to leave her past behind. She changes her name to Ruby Wilde and heads to the Rat Pack's Las Vegas to make a name for herself as a troupe dancer. However, the competition is fierce and she finds work as a showgirl, instead, doing fan-kicks in sky-high headdresses and sparkling costumes. Her new life brims with glamour and excitement, but something is still missing. Is it love? What choices will she make to feel whole again, and at what cost?
With her uncanny understanding of the hidden lives of women, Elizabeth J. Church captures the iconic extravagance of an era and the bravery of a woman who blazes her own path to freedom.
Praise for All the Beautiful Girls
" Elizabeth] Church's lively coming-of-age tale transports us to a world of ostrich-plumed headdresses and pinky-ringed mobsters while tracing a tumultuous quest for acceptance and love."--People
"A gorgeously written novel with the bite of a gin martini, All the Beautiful Girls goes beyond the splashy, gaudy dazzle of Las Vegas in the sixties to reveal the beating heart beneath the glamorous fa ade of a showgirl with big ambitions."--Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of At the Water's Edge
"A stirring bildungsroman that follows a girl from trauma in 1957 Kansas to self-discovery in 1960s Las Vegas . . . Church paints an unflinching, frequently heartbreaking portrait of a resilient young woman's coming-of-age set against an exciting, glamorous backdrop."--Publishers Weekly
"Church's appreciation of language is apparent as she masterfully creates pictures with words . . . All the Beautiful Girls provides a delightful antidote to cold and dark mid-winter days."--Associated Press
"A beautifully rendered tale of personal redemption filled with friendship, loss, extravagant furs, and feathery headdresses."--Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Elizabeth J. Church is the author of The Atomic Weight of Love. All the Beautiful Girls is her second novel. Ms. Church lives in northern New Mexico.
Elizabeth J. Church on PowellsBooks.Blog
Since the publication of my first novel in 2016, I’ve been riding an exhilarating, sometimes confounding roller coaster. Some things I could have predicted, like the unmitigated thrill of meeting enthusiastic readers and authors I admire. Other things I naïvely never expected, like the reactions of people who know me personally — or think they know me...
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