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A review by gracealicia
Pretty Girl by J.C. Burke
4.0
While somewhat predictable, Pretty Girl still makes a gripping read. J.C. Burke’s young adult novel centers around four-college freshman as they deal with the loss of one of their own. Told through the perspective of Sarah the Sensible and Paige the Brave, we follow along as the girls fight the pressure of their secrets. As Paige heals from a horrible accident that left her with days of lost memories, she clutches at the sole bright spot — her secret relationship with charming Jack. Meanwhile, Sarah meets romantic Johnny, and all it takes for her to fall is a compliment.
Immediately I identified with Sarah, being the one who doesn’t really drink, or smoke. I understand that feeling of being on the outside, of friendships of wealth — the isolation that comes with feeling a step away. Her early relationship with Wil is perhaps not the love of her life, but she is fond of him. I loved that phrasing “fond”. In so many YA books it’s love at first sight, passionate and brutal. It’s nice to see something more common, more every day. Not everyone has had an amazing passionate relationship. Most have had a fond one though.
I love the back and forth of Sarah. We watch as she lives through her day and then later we get a taste of her grief, as the things she likes and dislikes seem to become unimportant in the face of her friend's death. Watching Sarah fall for Johnny is painful – it’s hard not to see his flaws, his potential danger. At the same time, I can see why she does, he plays so well into her biggest insecurity.
Paige’s POV is interesting, we start to get a clearer picture of the girls, Tallulah always confident and partying hard, Jess was vapid and reckless and now dead. We also begin to get a taste of the mystery of the story – Jack. As an outsider, the red flags are big and bright! Isolating her from her family and friends. Jumping between hot and cold. Never easily contactable. Lack of social media presence. These all hint to his questionable motives. What makes it so scary is Paige’s (and Sarah’s) inability to see this – the holes is her memory stripping her of valuable insight.
One of the things I really loved in this book was the use of symmetry. Burke employs the use of symmetry to highlight the similarities of the girl’s journeys with Jack/Johnny. For instance, we see Johnny show up at Sarah’s door, drenched, to confess his feelings. Only to see almost the exact same scene play out with Paige in the next chapter. The creepiness of Paige telling Jack/Johnny everything he needed to know to later target Sarah was a great detail. The tantalizing slow release of details of Paige’s incident — the way it’s triggered through scent, was also really well done.
While I found Jack/Johnny to be an obvious baddie from his very first appearance, it didn’t detract from my overall read. The suspense was built well and the characters were relatable and well-written. I empathized with Sarah and Paige and enjoyed the little details used to build the suspense. I would recommend this to anyone looking for young adult fiction with hints of mystery and romance.
Immediately I identified with Sarah, being the one who doesn’t really drink, or smoke. I understand that feeling of being on the outside, of friendships of wealth — the isolation that comes with feeling a step away. Her early relationship with Wil is perhaps not the love of her life, but she is fond of him. I loved that phrasing “fond”. In so many YA books it’s love at first sight, passionate and brutal. It’s nice to see something more common, more every day. Not everyone has had an amazing passionate relationship. Most have had a fond one though.
I love the back and forth of Sarah. We watch as she lives through her day and then later we get a taste of her grief, as the things she likes and dislikes seem to become unimportant in the face of her friend's death. Watching Sarah fall for Johnny is painful – it’s hard not to see his flaws, his potential danger. At the same time, I can see why she does, he plays so well into her biggest insecurity.
Paige’s POV is interesting, we start to get a clearer picture of the girls, Tallulah always confident and partying hard, Jess was vapid and reckless and now dead. We also begin to get a taste of the mystery of the story – Jack. As an outsider, the red flags are big and bright! Isolating her from her family and friends. Jumping between hot and cold. Never easily contactable. Lack of social media presence. These all hint to his questionable motives. What makes it so scary is Paige’s (and Sarah’s) inability to see this – the holes is her memory stripping her of valuable insight.
One of the things I really loved in this book was the use of symmetry. Burke employs the use of symmetry to highlight the similarities of the girl’s journeys with Jack/Johnny. For instance, we see Johnny show up at Sarah’s door, drenched, to confess his feelings. Only to see almost the exact same scene play out with Paige in the next chapter. The creepiness of Paige telling Jack/Johnny everything he needed to know to later target Sarah was a great detail. The tantalizing slow release of details of Paige’s incident — the way it’s triggered through scent, was also really well done.
While I found Jack/Johnny to be an obvious baddie from his very first appearance, it didn’t detract from my overall read. The suspense was built well and the characters were relatable and well-written. I empathized with Sarah and Paige and enjoyed the little details used to build the suspense. I would recommend this to anyone looking for young adult fiction with hints of mystery and romance.