A review by pikasqueaks
Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu
4.0
Definitely a strong contender in the realm of contemporary YA. Incorporating a strong narrator who is both strongly flawed and has a strong voice, MAKING PRETTY steps aside from the ideas that teenagers have to be nice, boring kids who sit inside all day or are awful human beings. Montana and Arizona are sisters who have the commonality of being raised by ex-hippies who should have never had children to begin with.
The mom is your standard freebird cliche, she needed to get out of there in order to feel her true calling or whatever or something. This always seems to go hand-in-hand with the hippie stereotype in YA. But to pair with that, there's the father who was never able to seal up the hole she left, and instead just went after women in a more dangerous way than your average serial monogamist.
Montana is lost and needs some sense of family -- and she finds it in her boyfriend, and believes she finds it in her new friend, Karissa. But those relationships come with a number of issues on their own, throwing Montana into the mix of some serious family drama that gets worse as the book goes on.
I'd like to say she comes out of it stronger, but she kind of leaves that open to be seen.
MAKING PRETTY deals with sister relationships -- especially between a sister who needs to keep the other too close, too similar, in order to feel connected to her, and the other, who wants to break free of the restraints she's been under her whole life. This is balanced really well with the other stories, but remains the most memorable part of all.
The mom is your standard freebird cliche, she needed to get out of there in order to feel her true calling or whatever or something. This always seems to go hand-in-hand with the hippie stereotype in YA. But to pair with that, there's the father who was never able to seal up the hole she left, and instead just went after women in a more dangerous way than your average serial monogamist.
Montana is lost and needs some sense of family -- and she finds it in her boyfriend, and believes she finds it in her new friend, Karissa. But those relationships come with a number of issues on their own, throwing Montana into the mix of some serious family drama that gets worse as the book goes on.
I'd like to say she comes out of it stronger, but she kind of leaves that open to be seen.
MAKING PRETTY deals with sister relationships -- especially between a sister who needs to keep the other too close, too similar, in order to feel connected to her, and the other, who wants to break free of the restraints she's been under her whole life. This is balanced really well with the other stories, but remains the most memorable part of all.