The Beauty of Individual Things - by K Thomas Yoo (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Beauty of Individual Things follows Margot Andrews, a young American woman swept from New York high society into the dazzling yet fractured world of 1920s London. When the transactional demands of privilege collide with betrayal and violence, leaving her disillusioned and adrift, she escapes to the freshwater shoreline of lost childhood summers.

With her past unrecoverable and her future uncertain, Margot searches for a different life amid Detroit's dynamic and monied Prohibition era-with its yacht races, rumrunners, and industrial might. Set against a city on the rise, she must navigate her family's ruthless pursuit of social standing, the magnetic pull of charismatic boat racer Ellis James, and the relentless echoes of her past. The story explores the weight of loneliness and the personal cost of love and reinvention as Margot decides whether to remain a fragile ornament of her family's design or forge an identity that is beautiful, imperfect, and entirely her own.

Review Quotes

"A beautifully rendered journey into a forgotten chapter of history. Set against the backdrop of the 1920s, The Beauty of Individual Things captures both the danger of the early days of powerboat racing and a young woman's gradual, deeply human awakening to choice."

-Cynthia Tennent, author of Come Back to the Ballpark, Maisy Gray

"Ms. Yoo's debut novel is a lush, immersive journey into another time. Moving between a Detroit suburb and London, it follows Margot as she grows into herself while navigating the social expectations of the era. Beautifully written and deeply absorbing."

-A. VanOsdol

"Like a modern-day Pride and Prejudice, The Beauty of Individual Things captures the struggles of Margot Andrews as she discovers her voice and identity in the midst of pursuing her ideals during the heyday of Prohibition. Very entertaining!"

-Lan H. Reilly, author and illustrator