I received the book, Pretty by Jillian Lauren as part of a Global Influence blogger campaign and was asked to make it my Labor Day quick read... well, as many of you know, almost all of my reads are quick reads and although I tried to make this one go quickly, I found that it required more thought and care than a 'quick' read...
From the Publisher:Bebe Baker is an ex-everything: ex-stripper, ex-Christian, ex-drug addict, ex-pretty girl.
It’s been one year since the car accident that killed her boyfriend left her scarred and shaken. Flanked by an eccentric posse of friends, she is serving out a self-imposed sentence at a halfway house, while trying to finish cosmetology school.
Amid the rampant diagnoses, over-medication, compulsive eating, and acrylic nails of Los Angeles, Bebe looks for something to believe in before something–her past, the dangerously magnetic men in her life, her own bad choices–knocks her off course again.
MY REVIEW:
Pretty delves into places that other books fear to tread- combining Bebe's addictions, decisions and search for religions into a strange and interesting journey and I applaud the author for taking on such a far-reaching project. That said, I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand it's well written and I find myself re-reading certain passages that just blow my mind, but on the other, it is dark and depressing in a way that I find somewhat off-putting. With a name like "Pretty" I don't know if I was expecting the book to be as dark as it was. In the same vein, I found some of the descriptive passages long and superfluousness - especially some of the detailed descriptions of the cosmetology techniques.
If you're looking for a quick, light read that leaves you feeling good at the end then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book that will take you into a strange and dark place and leave you with more questions than answers then I highly recommend checking out Pretty.
ABOUT JILLIAN LAUREN:
Author and performer Jillian Lauren grew up in suburban New Jersey and fled across the water to New York City. She attended New York University for three minutes before dropping out to work in downtown theater, where she performed with Richard Foreman’s Ontological Hysteric Theater, among others.
Her New York Times bestselling memoir, SOME GIRLS: My Life in a Harem, was published by Plume in April 2010. It has since been translated into fourteen different languages.
Her debut novel, PRETTY, was released on August 30, 2011.
Jillian has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review Daily, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Flaunt Magazine, Opium Magazine, Society, Pale House: A Collective and in the anthology My First Time: A Collection of First Punk Show Stories.
Her New York Times bestselling memoir, SOME GIRLS: My Life in a Harem, was published by Plume in April 2010. It has since been translated into fourteen different languages.
Her debut novel, PRETTY, was released on August 30, 2011.
Jillian has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review Daily, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Flaunt Magazine, Opium Magazine, Society, Pale House: A Collective and in the anthology My First Time: A Collection of First Punk Show Stories.
She lives with her husband and son in Los Angeles, CA.
As a special incentive to purchase Pretty, the first 250 people on 9/7 to order "Pretty" on Amazon, and email the receipt to pretty.the.book@gmail.com, And of course, there is a giveaway!!!
Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost for the purpose of my review. All opinions are my own.
