By: Siobhan Vivian
Release Date: April 1, 2012
Author Website
Summary:
An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.
It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.
This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two. (goodreads.com)
It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.
This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two. (goodreads.com)
My Ramblings:
This was (mostly) a great book. I'll get to the mostly in a minute- let's start with the great.
High schoolers are mean. They are not always mean in a straightforward manner, sometimes it's sneaky and subversive, but there is a tendency to put certain people up on a pedastal while tearing others down. Sometimes you are on top of the world one day and at the bottom of the heap the next. Vivian captures this perfectly. We follow the 8 chosen girls as they discover they are the most beautiful, or the most ugly, girl in their grade. They each react differently, some revel in their newfound poularity and some rebel against the label they've been slapped with. Some want to hide, while others just try to get through the week without falling apart. It's all portrayed so very well. I honestly cared about each one of these girls and what they were going through. You wanted them to come out of it stronger. You wanted them to realize that they are not the label they've been given. You wanted them to all be okay.
It was really interesting to see how each of them dealt with their situation. I could definitely see the reasoning behind the way each of them reacted, and it made it all very realistic. I also tried to imagine what I would have done in the same situation. I don't want to give too much away because I think it's worth reading and discovering for yourself. Especially when you finally realize who was making the list and why they did it. There's a reason for everything in this book and it comes together beautifully.
But.... and her comes the "mostly great" part. I was invested in these girls stories and was happy to see how the stories were wrapping up, and then I came to the sad realization that there were not enough pages to wrap up every girls story. I wanted to know how each story ended, I wanted to know what was going to happen next, or at least a hint at what might happen next. I got that for some of the girls but not all and I have to admit that it was a huge dissapointment. I felt like I was missing something. The writing was beautiful, the characters were fabulous, but the ending really left me a little hallow.
Still- this book was enjoyable and it definitely made me want to pick up more of Vivian's books.
