All the Beautiful Girls
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Sarah Scott
About this listen
“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 façade of a showgirl with big ambitions.” (Sara Gruen, New York Times best-selling 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)
©2018 Elizabeth J. Church (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities.
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Funny, Dynamic Writing
- By Sofia Macht on 06-13-18
By: Ottessa Moshfegh
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She's Come Undone
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.
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Really disappointing narrator!
- By Jessica Williams on 01-21-12
By: Wally Lamb
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The Vine of Desire
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Anju and Sudha formed an astounding, almost psychic connection during their childhood in India. When Anju invites Sudha, a single mother in Calcutta, to come live with her and her husband, Sunil, in California, Sudha foolishly accepts, knowing full well that Sunil has long desired her. As Sunil's attraction rises to the surface, the trio must struggle to make sense of the freedoms of America - and of the ties that bind them to India and to one another.
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Vine of desire
- By Mz Shantay on 03-27-21
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Hiding Out
- A Memoir of Drugs, Deception, and Double Lives
- By: Tina Alexis Allen
- Narrated by: Tina Alexis Allen
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Actress and playwright Tina Alexis Allen's audacious memoir unravels her privileged suburban Catholic upbringing that was shaped by her formidable father - a man whose strict religious devotion and dedication to his large family hid his true nature. When Tina was 18 her father accidently discovered the truth about her sexuality. Instead of dragging her to the family priest and lecturing her with tearful sermons about sin and damnation, her father shocked her with his honest response. The two became trusted confidants in a relationship that eventually spiraled out of control.
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Self-indulgent crap
- By Bridgid O'Donnell on 03-27-18
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Grand Central
- Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion
- By: Melanie Benjamin, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, and others
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City's Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.
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Grand Central: Memories
- By ZacharyKindle Customer on 05-03-17
By: Melanie Benjamin, and others
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Charmingly Yours
- A Morning Glory Novel, Book 1
- By: Liz Talley
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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For Rosemary Reynolds, life in tiny Morning Glory, Mississippi, is just like the fabric store she runs: it seems she's always waiting around for someone else to make the first stitch. Then a dear childhood friend passes away, leaving behind a gift that sends Rosemary on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Despite her mother's protests, Rosemary heads to New York City for a stay in her cousin's trendy SoHo loft. On her first day in town, a wrong turn leads her to Little Italy...and into the arms of handsome, outgoing Sal Genovese.
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One I'll listen to again and again!
- By Allison on 09-09-16
By: Liz Talley
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Second House from the Corner
- By: Sadeqa Johnson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Felicia Lyons, a stressed-out stay-at-home mom, struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantras, and breathes her way through most situations, but on some days, like when the children won't stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away.
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No ending to any of the situations that opened.
- By Tina on 03-12-16
By: Sadeqa Johnson
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Some Girls
- My Life in a Harem
- By: Jillian Lauren
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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A jaw-dropping story of how a girl from the suburbs ends up in a prince's harem and emerges from the secret Xanadu both richer and wiser. At 18, Jillian Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The "casting director" told her that a rich businessman would pay pretty girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties. Soon, Jillian was on a plane to Borneo, where she would spend the next 18 months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah....
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Boring, Pretentious Book
- By Marcos on 04-23-11
By: Jillian Lauren
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The Wangs vs. the World
- By: Jade Chang
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he's just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family's ancestral lands - and his pride. Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America - and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could.
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Spectacular
- By Barbara on 10-11-16
By: Jade Chang
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Boardwalk Summer
- A Novel
- By: Meredith Jaeger
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel, Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In this new novel from the author of The Dressmaker’s Dowry, two young women two generations apart discover the joy and heartbreak of following their dreams. Aspiring Hollywood actress Violet makes a shocking choice in 1940, and 70 years later, Mari sets out to discover what happened on that long ago summer. Santa Cruz, Summer 1940: When auburn-haired Violet Harcourt is crowned Miss California on the boardwalk of her hometown, she knows she is one step closer to her cherished dream: a Hollywood screen test.
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Wonderful Story set in Santa Cruz.
- By Christina on 11-02-19
By: Meredith Jaeger
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Mustique Island
- A Novel
- By: Sarah McCoy
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s January 1972 but the sun is white hot when Willy May Michael’s boat first kisses the dock of Mustique Island. Tucked into the southernmost curve of the Caribbean, Mustique is a private island that has become a haven for the wealthy and privileged. Its owner is the eccentric British playboy Colin Tennant, who is determined to turn this speck of white sand into a luxurious neo-colonial retreat for his rich friends and into a royal court in exile for the Queen’s rebellious sister, Princess Margaret.
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Vivid Imagery
- By GeauxGetLit on 07-24-22
By: Sarah McCoy
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Truly Madly Yours
- By: Rachel Gibson
- Narrated by: Emma Bates
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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When pretty hairdresser Delaney Shaw returned home to Truly, Idaho, for the reading of her stepfather's will, she planned on paying her respects and getting out of town. But it seems the will has some unexpected stipulations - like the one that says if Delaney wants her inheritance she needs to stay put and have nothing to do with sexy Nick Allegrezza...for an entire year!
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Truly Enjoyed
- By MaxineSap on 10-12-13
By: Rachel Gibson
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
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Great stories but only 5 of 17 are included
- By Terri Kirk on 07-13-12
What listeners say about All the Beautiful Girls
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- RueRue
- 05-10-20
Excellent
Excellent book. It had interesting, realistic (and some hateful) characters, a well defined time and place ( Las Vegas circa late 1960's), and a compelling story. Trigger warning, there are some pretty discriptive sections of sexual activity, some of it abusive,
The narrator was perfect for this, no over-emoting, enhancing the emotional impact of the story.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jamie Aguilar
- 07-07-18
Loved it!
Incredible read. It’s hard at times, as your heart breaks for Lilly, but is fantastic! Thoroughly enjoyed this jewel of a book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-19-18
Incredible Story
What a great read!I couldn’t wait to get in the car and hoped for traffic so I could listen longer. Great characters, lots of twists to the story. I’m sad he story has ended. LOVED IT!
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2 people found this helpful
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- lisa hopkins
- 09-23-23
Love is painful and good
The truth life is hard and we can still be soft sometimes. So enjoyed the non religious look at moving on from pain .
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- Christina Whalen
- 07-14-24
Triumph over Tragedy
While I was rooting for the main character and felt bad for all the things she went through, I wasn’t completely drawn into this book for some reason. It wasn’t a bad read and parts of it are. Hard to forget, I didn’t love it either.
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