WIN an ARC of Gorgeous

Welcome to this stop on the Children's Book Week Giveaway Hop where you can win an ARC of Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick.

Title: Gorgeous

Author: Paul Rudnick

Publisher: Scholastic

Length: 305

Rating: 3.5/5

When Becky Randle’s mother dies on her eighteenth birthday, she is devastated. But in her mother’s things she discovers a phone number that changes everything. Tom Kelly, the world’s top designer, offers to make Becky three dresses, guaranteed to turn her from trailer park girl to world’s most beautiful woman. Remade as Rebecca, she flawless in everyone’s eyes except her own. But it’s Becky, not Rebecca that falls in love with the prince of England, and Becky isn’t sure Tom Kelly’s magic is enough to make the prince see the read girl inside the beauty.

This book was a fun and snarky, with something important to say about popular culture and how we see beauty. Also, the cover is, well…gorgeous!

I liked the conception of the fairy-tale magic of this book. Becky is only Rebecca when she’s with other people. Alone, she looks in the mirror and sees her normal self. There’s no makeover and the magic is really in perception. This makes the book more relatable, because everyone sees themselves differently than other people see them.

Becky’s story goes to all extremes. She stars in a movie with Hollywood it-boy Jate Mallow, is on the cover of Vogue, and of course, dates the prince of England. My favorite part about all these crazy adventures is that she brings her best friend Rocher (named after the chocolate of course) along with her. Rocher keeps Becky sane, and keeps the reader sane with her witty voice of reason through all the crazy adventures.

This book is unlike any other YA book I’ve read. While at times a bit long-winded in its lavish descriptions of the culture, this book will make you reevaluate the power beauty, both inside and out. 

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Lola and the Boy Next Door (Stephanie Perkins)

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Books (Penquin)

Length: 338 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

Lola is a budding fashion designer who never wears the same outfit twice. She’s a dutiful daughter with a hot rocker boyfriend, and her biggest concern is that her two gay dads don’t approve of him. Then the Bell twins move back in next door: perfect figure skating champ Calliope, and tall, inventive genius Cricket. With them they bring the baggage of the past and flip Lola’s life upside down.

I didn’t like Lola and the Boy Next Door as much as I loved Anna and the French Kiss. However, I did love that Anna and St. Clair were characters in this novel. Age is a big factor in the plot because of the how much older Lola’s boyfriend is, but I found it harder to connect to such a  character who is emphasized as being younger. Lola is only 16, and kudos to the writing for making her 22 year old rocker boyfriend (who is still younger than me) still seem like such an older guy. Cricket of course, is just a little older than Lola, but can she forgive him for the past?

Stephanie Perkins likes to write romances from an inner conflict point of view. Lola must decide which boy is “the one” when she feels that she loves both. At the same time, she must figure out who she is, with or without all her outfits. It all boils down to: who is the real Lola, and who does she belong with? (classic YA finding who you are)

There were some cute moments- I loved that Lola had two dads, and who doesn’t want a cute boy who loves them living right across from their window? (Taylor Swift anyone?)

I’ll leave you with this quote: “it’s a person’s imperfections that make them perfect for someone else.” Adorable.