Unpretty by Sharon Carter Rodgers

The Michaelangeles Movement has kidnapped a man and taken him to an undisclosed location. Hummingbird Collins witnessed the kidnapping, and now is getting harassed by one of the movement's members. He keeps sending her cassette tapes to listen to, disclosing some information of the background of the movement, but not disclosing any whereabouts of the kidnapped man. Hummingbird's lawyer brother, a former NFL player recluse, and a retarded man have all become involved in the perplexing case that involves a higher power than any of them expect. In order to solve the case, they must delve into the strange mind of the "artist" they are dealing with who desires to remove all things "unpretty" from the earth, and trust the strange mumblings of the retarded man...before time runs out.


Sharon Carter Rodgers has set out, as an author, to be as different, abnormal, and offbeat as possible. I like it. Despite the strange character names and the strange purpose behind this book, I find Sharon Carer Rodgers interesting. However, in all their abnormalacy, they still slipped into typical traps along the way.

The character base is scattered. Hummingbird is an interesting enough character, as is her brother. The ex-NFL player acts as a superhuman bailout tool. The retarded man is passable. The "artist" villain is interesting enough, and his philosophical ramblings are intriguing. He may be the most interesting character; however, this is not a model cast of characters. Rodgers needs to work in this area a bit more.

Rodgers builds an interesting case centered around obscure historical facts and philosophy and driven by an odd writing style. One plus is that Hummingbird has no romantic subplot. There is virtually nothing wrong with the body of the plot; things go south when the showdown occurs. However, while the showdown is quite cheesy and predictable, the villain's outcome is quite different and interesting. An epilogue serves to answer some of the reader's question regarding the movement, but the author leaves most of it up to the reader's imagination.

All in all, Sharon Carter Rodgers is an interesting author that needs help with character development. However, they may be able to use their creativity properly in the future.

3 stars