BEAUTIFUL

Maggie Churko, the plucky daughter of Polish and Mexican immigrants, planned to enroll at the University of Illinois at Chicago to pursue her dream of becoming a DJ on a Spanish language radio station. Then her dad, a janitor at a downtown office building, was killed on a Saturday morning while collecting scrap metal to make extra money.

He left behind Maggie and three of her brothers, all of whom are developmentally disabled. Her two able-bodied brothers have long since moved away. After her father's death, Maggie is forced to choose between her dreams and her brothers, whom she can barely support. The decision gets harder when she falls in love and becomes even harder when an aggressive real estate developer who's acquired the property on both sides of the house Maggie inherited, pulls out all the stops to try and coerce her into giving up their home.

Beautiful, G.R. Kearney's second novel, explores the decisions Maggie must make and what motivates the decisions each of us must make about what is most valuable in our lives.

* This novel has not been published. If you're interested in reviewing sample chapters, please contact G.R.