The Prettiest by Brigit Young
Release: April 14th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Source: Amazon
Synopsis:
A must-read for young feminists, The Prettiest is an incisive, empowering novel by Brigit Young about fighting back against sexism and objectification.
THE PRETTIEST: It’s the last thing Eve Hoffmann expected to be, the only thing Sophie Kane wants to be, and something Nessa Flores-Brady knows she’ll never be . . . until a list appears online, ranking the top fifty prettiest girls in the eighth grade.
Eve is disgusted by the way her body is suddenly being objectified by everyone around her.
Sophie is sick of the bullying she’s endured after being relegated to number two.
And Nessa is tired of everyone else trying to tell her who she is.
It’s time for a takedown. As the three girls band together, they begin to stand up not just for themselves, but for one another, too.
The Prettiest Review:
I loved reading this book! People sometimes comment or remark about someone’s color, sexuality or gender as joke thinking that it is harmless. What they don’t realize is that the person on the receiving end would start feeling inferior and shameful for the same. What I really liked about this story is how it shows how a small list of names can have such a huge impact. There are many such events that still take place in school, whether it is sexual harassment or bullying etc. It is wonderful to see such stories out there to make people understand and not be hateful.
Coming back to the story and to the characters. I always feel that an author is talented if they are able to change my perception of a character over the course of the story. I loved Sophie in this story. Even though the story focuses on Eve, I thought Sophie emerged as the true star. I hated Sophie in the beginning, but slowly start to love her character. Not just Sophie, but I felt bad for even Brody, even though I hated him for the most part. Also, even Eve and Nessa are interesting in their own ways. I thought Amina and Rose were interesting as well, and wishes the author had written more about them.
On a side note, I also loved how the author tries to encourage readers to get into poetry and phrases Emily Dickinson. I felt like reading a Dickinson book after reading this even though I am not a fan of poetry. After reading this book, I have added the author’s other novel “Worth a Thousand Words” to my TBR list and would definitely read that sometime. Overall, this book was excellent!
