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piper9004's review against another edition
2.0
This review originally appears on What Am I Reading?
Rate: 1.75 (Part 1 = 1; Part 2 = 2.5)
Another disappointment by Katie Sise. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you should read my review of The Boyfriend App. The difference is The Pretty App follows Blake, Audrey's ex-best friend. Similar to how the first book focuses on romance, his second book centers on physical beauty. However, the second book is much worse since it focuses on such a shallow topic. The whole book seems like Blake is throwing a pity party for herself and I'm interested in attending. Towards the end, Blake tries to become a well-rounded person, but majority of the time it seems like she's pretending. Plus, it was difficult making it that far in the book.
Part One: In the first part of the book, Blake engages in mean-girl-like activities and tries to justify them by saying that she didn't really want to say or do those things, but she wanted to be popular and powerful. It infuriated me. I hate bullies and for Blake to try to excuse her and her friends' behavior so she could follow in her sister's footsteps was disgusting. Blake went back and forth between bullying people and lamenting that the only thing she had going for her was her parents' wealth and her physical beauty. Blake made me sick, but I kept reading because I wanted to see want happened with the pretty app and the contest.
Part Two: Part two was a bit better because, after some false starts, Blake develops as a character by trying to do the right thing. She helps her fellow contestants and repairs her relationship with Audrey and her sister Nicole. The second part wasn't too interesting and the romance was a duplicate of a scene from a soap opera, but it was definitely better than the first part.
If you're considering reading this book, skip it. It's based on a shallow topic and does nothing to discuss that beauty comes from within.
Rate: 1.75 (Part 1 = 1; Part 2 = 2.5)
Another disappointment by Katie Sise. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you should read my review of The Boyfriend App. The difference is The Pretty App follows Blake, Audrey's ex-best friend. Similar to how the first book focuses on romance, his second book centers on physical beauty. However, the second book is much worse since it focuses on such a shallow topic. The whole book seems like Blake is throwing a pity party for herself and I'm interested in attending. Towards the end, Blake tries to become a well-rounded person, but majority of the time it seems like she's pretending. Plus, it was difficult making it that far in the book.
Part One: In the first part of the book, Blake engages in mean-girl-like activities and tries to justify them by saying that she didn't really want to say or do those things, but she wanted to be popular and powerful. It infuriated me. I hate bullies and for Blake to try to excuse her and her friends' behavior so she could follow in her sister's footsteps was disgusting. Blake went back and forth between bullying people and lamenting that the only thing she had going for her was her parents' wealth and her physical beauty. Blake made me sick, but I kept reading because I wanted to see want happened with the pretty app and the contest.
Part Two: Part two was a bit better because, after some false starts, Blake develops as a character by trying to do the right thing. She helps her fellow contestants and repairs her relationship with Audrey and her sister Nicole. The second part wasn't too interesting and the romance was a duplicate of a scene from a soap opera, but it was definitely better than the first part.
If you're considering reading this book, skip it. It's based on a shallow topic and does nothing to discuss that beauty comes from within.
justcrystalxo's review against another edition
1.0
blake seems so superficial.. but this shows that she has more depth then that. it shows that pretty girls arent necessarily happy either.. also gives a look into beauty pageants/ reality tv.
chrissymcbooknerd's review against another edition
2.0
So, it's only fair that I start this review by admitting my biases...
1. I had no idea that this was the 2nd book in a series, which obviously means that I never read the first book before starting The Pretty App.
2. I read The Pretty App in the middle of a Lifetime movie binge, which included the one about the five bitchy cheerleaders who ran the school and made everyone's lives hell, along with loads of commercials about a show the featured a reality TV show that was heavily rigged for ratings. So, if I have a tendency to think that The Pretty App read as a mix between the bitchy cheerleader movie and the weird reality TV, it may be because I'm hooked on Lifetime --- but, then again, it may just be true.
When I started The Pretty App, I actually threw the book aside several times before getting past the first few chapters. Blake Dawkins was such an exaggeration of the whole "mean girls" stereotype that I couldn't see myself getting very far with this one. I mean, page after page of Blake describing how perfect and beautiful she is -- and how everyone dreamed of having her hair and her waist and her breasts -- yeah, OVER IT!
But, I trudged through the mess and soon came to see that the character intentionally depicted herself as the queen bee of the mean girl bitches in order to hide her insecurities and to maintain her position at the top of the social ladder, because of course she has daddy issues that have left her convinced that her dazzling good looks are her only available asset. Okay, so we might get some character development from this one... maybe...
Basically, the plot is that a hugely popular app has been recently released from a sketchy corporation with the intention of locating the most beautiful high school girls in the country, who will compete on a reality TV show for the title of "the nation's prettiest" (and will then fulfill some ambassador type of good-will role as part of the prize). Blake is convinced that she will win -- and once she's actually chosen for the show, she begins to suspect that her placement is part of a scheme that actually has little to do with her beauty at all.
Unfortunately, most of the book is really just incredibly predictable. It's not hard to guess why Blake was chosen, who would benefit from the selection, and what role the handsome new guy at school plays in the whole mess. While I can't deny that parts of the story were pretty entertaining -- and I expect that the book might be more enjoyable with the backstory of Blake's former best friend and of the general sketchiness of the business in question (both of which seem to have been the focus of the first book), I overall wasn't incredibly impressed by this story.
Don't get me wrong -- it wasn't a bad book. I can imagine that fans of the first one in the series might enjoy it more than someone like me, who wandered into book 2 without any knowledge of the preceding storyline. And, I'm sure there's an audience for this book -- one, I suspect, that is probably quite a bit younger than I am.
At some point, I may go back and read The Boyfriend App, just to see what I'm missing.
But, with so many enticing options in my giant TBR pile, I can't imagine that it will really be anytime that soon.
1. I had no idea that this was the 2nd book in a series, which obviously means that I never read the first book before starting The Pretty App.
2. I read The Pretty App in the middle of a Lifetime movie binge, which included the one about the five bitchy cheerleaders who ran the school and made everyone's lives hell, along with loads of commercials about a show the featured a reality TV show that was heavily rigged for ratings. So, if I have a tendency to think that The Pretty App read as a mix between the bitchy cheerleader movie and the weird reality TV, it may be because I'm hooked on Lifetime --- but, then again, it may just be true.
When I started The Pretty App, I actually threw the book aside several times before getting past the first few chapters. Blake Dawkins was such an exaggeration of the whole "mean girls" stereotype that I couldn't see myself getting very far with this one. I mean, page after page of Blake describing how perfect and beautiful she is -- and how everyone dreamed of having her hair and her waist and her breasts -- yeah, OVER IT!
But, I trudged through the mess and soon came to see that the character intentionally depicted herself as the queen bee of the mean girl bitches in order to hide her insecurities and to maintain her position at the top of the social ladder, because of course she has daddy issues that have left her convinced that her dazzling good looks are her only available asset. Okay, so we might get some character development from this one... maybe...
Basically, the plot is that a hugely popular app has been recently released from a sketchy corporation with the intention of locating the most beautiful high school girls in the country, who will compete on a reality TV show for the title of "the nation's prettiest" (and will then fulfill some ambassador type of good-will role as part of the prize). Blake is convinced that she will win -- and once she's actually chosen for the show, she begins to suspect that her placement is part of a scheme that actually has little to do with her beauty at all.
Unfortunately, most of the book is really just incredibly predictable. It's not hard to guess why Blake was chosen, who would benefit from the selection, and what role the handsome new guy at school plays in the whole mess. While I can't deny that parts of the story were pretty entertaining -- and I expect that the book might be more enjoyable with the backstory of Blake's former best friend and of the general sketchiness of the business in question (both of which seem to have been the focus of the first book), I overall wasn't incredibly impressed by this story.
Don't get me wrong -- it wasn't a bad book. I can imagine that fans of the first one in the series might enjoy it more than someone like me, who wandered into book 2 without any knowledge of the preceding storyline. And, I'm sure there's an audience for this book -- one, I suspect, that is probably quite a bit younger than I am.
At some point, I may go back and read The Boyfriend App, just to see what I'm missing.
But, with so many enticing options in my giant TBR pile, I can't imagine that it will really be anytime that soon.
bookmarklit's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. I liked this one for a lot of the same reasons I liked The Boyfriend App, but it did fall short comparatively. The one thing that bugged me the most was the TOTALLY underdeveloped love interest/plot line. Good lord was that some insta-love.
tarabean25's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately this one wasn't written as well as the first, in my opinion. There was little story line and the ending was rushed. Also, one small detail that got under my skin were inaccuracies with the descriptions of in n out burger. Sorry, this California girl couldn't get past that part!
aprilbooksandwine's review against another edition
3.0
I think reading The Boyfriend App and The Pretty App back to back really lead to a higher level of enjoyment for me than if I had read these books on their release dates a year or so apart. Read my review here
eunicecherry's review against another edition
4.0
This is the follow-up book to "The Boyfriend App", and I still feel like it was a really good read. Though the story is very cliche (pretty girl, queen bee of high school realizes she's more than just a pretty face) the way Katie writes her characters makes you feel for them, and that's the best kind of author you can find. Such a simple (and eerily realistic situation) concept to base a book on and so well done. I love the mix of technology and societal issues that Katie talks about in this book, maing it an easily relateable story.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
So great to read this book back to back with the Boyfriend App, so great, so enjoyable, and I loved it!
aylea's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book without reading The Boyfriend App, so that might have changed my experience with the book. There were a few times where there was obviously backstory that I didn’t know. Still, it didn’t necessarily read like a sequel and the story made sense even without reading the previous one.
I enjoyed this book while I was reading it, but when I finished it I felt unsatisfied. My impression was that it was good, but it missed the mark in some things.
I started out the book feeling thoroughly annoyed with Blake. She’s pretty! She’s popular! She has everything she wants! Except that she’s lost a bunch of friends because she’s a total jerk to a lot of people! And her family is the worst sometimes! But, y’know, she’s pretty, so that’s all that matters, right? And we’re supposed to feel sorry for her. I didn’t. I wanted to go hang out with the kids she wasn’t friends with.
But I liked the concept, so I pushed past how annoying she was (and how proud she was of being the mean Queen Bee of Harrison High) and eventually she got to the point where she was tolerable. Because she wanted to change. And as she progresses in the beauty contest, she expresses more of a desire to change. I did grow to like her by the end of the book, even if the ending was somewhat predictable.
I have a few questions that I’m sure was answered by the first book. For one thing, there wasn’t enough evidence for me to feel like she truly was a mean girl. I also didn’t understand why she had been so mean in the first place. The biggest problem for me was that I didn’t see any true motivation for why she wanted to change. I just assumed it was regret for doing terrible things to people, but I didn’t find any textual evidence to support it. Maybe it’s because I didn’t read the first book? She starts out sounding almost proud of how she rules the school, even though she acknowledges that she’s mean. I didn’t feel like she showed much remorse needed to convince me that she wanted to change who she was.
Even though the book is a sequel and these questions might be answered in the first book, it would have been nice to have more of this insight into the main character about what is going on in her head about why she is the way she is.
The romance didn’t quite sell me either. She’s mean and appears shallow at school, but the new, hot boy at school finds her attractive and wants to take her on a date? Then on the date he says that he likes her and is sure that, deep down, she’s a nicer person than she acts and he believes that she can change? It just didn’t seem believable to me.
The book wants to make a point about how being mean is bad and how there is more to the importance of a person than what a person looks like. There are encouraging passages like this:
And it’s a good message. But because I don’t quite understand the character’s motivations for changing, it fell flat for me. I love books and other things about people finding their real beauty (and I would love to hear more about the real beauty app her friend came up with), but I wanted more from the character in order to feel like she really believed it.
It’s just not quite convincing enough, but still a fun read.
I also reviewed this for The Children's Book and Media Review. The review for that is as follows:
Blake might be pretty, rich, and the Queen Bee of Harrison High, but she has her problems too, especially when a new app is announced that might change her life. The Pretty App is designed to find the prettiest teenage girl in the country. When Blake is chosen as a finalist, she is taken to a reality show where she will compete to be the prettiest of all. When it appears that her presence in the contest might only be to help her dad’s political campaign after he bought her way into it, Blake has to decide how badly she wants to win and that someone’s importance is not based on their physical appearance. With the help of her friends, she works to become a better person than she was in the past.
Although the concept of a beauty contest app leading to a reality show is interesting, the characters of the book were not as strong as they could have been. Blake wants to be a better person, but the book doesn’t provide a lot of evidence about why she has had such a change of heart from her previous behavior. There are some good messages about how people are more than what they look like and how it is important to not be mean, but they fall flat because it is not clear how the character herself came to those conclusions. The book is a fun read but the message did not have the strength it could have had with more character development.
I enjoyed this book while I was reading it, but when I finished it I felt unsatisfied. My impression was that it was good, but it missed the mark in some things.
I started out the book feeling thoroughly annoyed with Blake. She’s pretty! She’s popular! She has everything she wants! Except that she’s lost a bunch of friends because she’s a total jerk to a lot of people! And her family is the worst sometimes! But, y’know, she’s pretty, so that’s all that matters, right? And we’re supposed to feel sorry for her. I didn’t. I wanted to go hang out with the kids she wasn’t friends with.
But I liked the concept, so I pushed past how annoying she was (and how proud she was of being the mean Queen Bee of Harrison High) and eventually she got to the point where she was tolerable. Because she wanted to change. And as she progresses in the beauty contest, she expresses more of a desire to change. I did grow to like her by the end of the book, even if the ending was somewhat predictable.
I have a few questions that I’m sure was answered by the first book. For one thing, there wasn’t enough evidence for me to feel like she truly was a mean girl. I also didn’t understand why she had been so mean in the first place. The biggest problem for me was that I didn’t see any true motivation for why she wanted to change. I just assumed it was regret for doing terrible things to people, but I didn’t find any textual evidence to support it. Maybe it’s because I didn’t read the first book? She starts out sounding almost proud of how she rules the school, even though she acknowledges that she’s mean. I didn’t feel like she showed much remorse needed to convince me that she wanted to change who she was.
Even though the book is a sequel and these questions might be answered in the first book, it would have been nice to have more of this insight into the main character about what is going on in her head about why she is the way she is.
The romance didn’t quite sell me either. She’s mean and appears shallow at school, but the new, hot boy at school finds her attractive and wants to take her on a date? Then on the date he says that he likes her and is sure that, deep down, she’s a nicer person than she acts and he believes that she can change? It just didn’t seem believable to me.
The book wants to make a point about how being mean is bad and how there is more to the importance of a person than what a person looks like. There are encouraging passages like this:
“It struck me right then that the term mean girl didn’t only apply to high school girls. Mean was a way of being and thinking and existing in the world. It was taking instead of giving. It was bringing others down instead of up. Could I really be a part of that?” (331).
And it’s a good message. But because I don’t quite understand the character’s motivations for changing, it fell flat for me. I love books and other things about people finding their real beauty (and I would love to hear more about the real beauty app her friend came up with), but I wanted more from the character in order to feel like she really believed it.
It’s just not quite convincing enough, but still a fun read.
I also reviewed this for The Children's Book and Media Review. The review for that is as follows:
Blake might be pretty, rich, and the Queen Bee of Harrison High, but she has her problems too, especially when a new app is announced that might change her life. The Pretty App is designed to find the prettiest teenage girl in the country. When Blake is chosen as a finalist, she is taken to a reality show where she will compete to be the prettiest of all. When it appears that her presence in the contest might only be to help her dad’s political campaign after he bought her way into it, Blake has to decide how badly she wants to win and that someone’s importance is not based on their physical appearance. With the help of her friends, she works to become a better person than she was in the past.
Although the concept of a beauty contest app leading to a reality show is interesting, the characters of the book were not as strong as they could have been. Blake wants to be a better person, but the book doesn’t provide a lot of evidence about why she has had such a change of heart from her previous behavior. There are some good messages about how people are more than what they look like and how it is important to not be mean, but they fall flat because it is not clear how the character herself came to those conclusions. The book is a fun read but the message did not have the strength it could have had with more character development.