On paper, this novel sounded like one I would love the moment I picked it up. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
The idea behind the novel is that at the start of every year a list is published, giving the names of the prettiest and ugliest girl in each grade. We follow the thoughts and actions of the eight named girls during the week building up to their final Homecoming dance.
Perhaps it is the obviously American bias that made this hard to get into, but I don’t think so. The issues these girls face are ones that could be experienced by teenage girls anywhere, so what made it so hard to like?
For me, the book starts with the main characters all seeming quite unlikeable. We never really get to see them let their guard down and show a little more than the surface until a long way into the novel. By which time, for me, it was a little too late.
While this wasn’t, for me at least, a book that got me remotely excited, I can see it being a book that will have its appeal.