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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Why hasn't everyone read this book? It is deliciously satirical and honest and complex and confectionary. Suspend reality and judgement before starting and enjoy the hell out of it. I think
I found this book via NPR and thought it sounded different so why not try it? SO glad I did. It's blurbed by Meg Cabot and Dave Sedaris which gives a clue to people who will enjoy it, and also how bizarro its makeup is. IMO fans of those writers will enjoy this.
But really, everyone, read this book.
I found this book via NPR and thought it sounded different so why not try it? SO glad I did. It's blurbed by Meg Cabot and Dave Sedaris which gives a clue to people who will enjoy it, and also how bizarro its makeup is. IMO fans of those writers will enjoy this.
But really, everyone, read this book.
SPOILER
I really liked this book, but by the end I didn't understand the "super natural" aspect. I didn't understand how Tom could be dead but then alive but then dead again. I also wasn't a fan with how it was written as well. It was an easy and fast read but I just wasn't sucked into it like other books I've read.
I really liked this book, but by the end I didn't understand the "super natural" aspect. I didn't understand how Tom could be dead but then alive but then dead again. I also wasn't a fan with how it was written as well. It was an easy and fast read but I just wasn't sucked into it like other books I've read.
More like 2.5 stars because I did like the book overall. It was cute and funny but completely outlandish and absurd at the same time ( and purposefully so I might add). While I get that this was satire I'm just not sure of what. I suppose the message was supposed to be that beauty is only skin deep or fleeting and that its whats inside that counts or something "deep" like that, but I don't really think it worked. The message was never quite clear and probably superficial at best. Moreover, I didn't really think that the characters were very well developed, which that alone would have made up for numerous other flaws if they had been fleshed out a bit more.
I enjoyed the over-the-top-ness of Paul Ruddick's 'Gorgeous' and it kept me entertained for a couple of days but unfortunately I just wasn't able to connect with it in the way that I'd hoped to.
I enjoyed the over-the-top-ness of Paul Ruddick's 'Gorgeous' and it kept me entertained for a couple of days but unfortunately I just wasn't able to connect with it in the way that I'd hoped to.
A thoroughly enjoyable "chick lit" read. Not really what I thought when I read the synopsis, but just as enjoyable. Many girls dream of the fairy tale, and here's a modern book that shares that romantic vibe. The male author sometimes loses the teen girl's voice, and the book could use more detail or explanation in some places (his screenwriter resume shows here), but overall very fun to read. Just what you need after doing some heavy reading, or when you just need something light. For older teens or early adults--and up. We all love those dreams, don't we?
Review found on The Life & Times Blog.
The cover and the premise of this book really caught my attention when I first saw it. It seemed like an interesting mix of magic and self-esteem/inner beauty.
Becky is 18 years old and lives in a trailer park in East Trawley, Missouri, with her mom. She is very close to her mom, but there are some things from her mom’s past that she has never revealed to Becky.
“Things have happened to me, all sorts of things, grown-up things and I just, I got overwhelmed. I let myself get overwhelmed. And I don’t think that’s been fair to you, not one little bit. But something is going to happen to you. And it’s going to be magical. “She was gripping my hand very tightly and looking right into my eyes. “And it might be scary and you might not know what it means, not at first. But it’s going to change your life, forever. And Becky, I want you to swear to me, because I love you so much, and because you deserve everything, you deserve the whole world, so Becky, when the magic shows up — I want you to say yes.” –Paul Rudnick, Gorgeous
When her mom dies, after being sick for almost a year, she receives the opportunity of a lifetime; cash plus a trip to New York.
In NY, world-renowned designer, Tom Kelley offers her the chance to be the world’s most beautiful woman with the help of three dresses; one red, one white, and one black., she is hesitant, but eventually agrees to his terms.
Beck has some self-esteem issues. She feels awkward, didn’t really fit in at school, and believes she really is no one special, easily to be forgotten. However she does want more out of her life aside from working as a store clerk in her hometown, she is just afraid to really go after it. With the help of Tom, she begins to feel like her dreams might come true.
Even though they use a small sample of her blood when designing the magical dresses, which I am assuming aids in the magic, it would have been nice to find out how the magic was actually possible.
But once it begins to work, Becky becomes Rebecca. And she finds out that if she is in the company of at least one other person, she looks like a gorgeous beauty, but when she is alone, she looks like her original normal self. Once the public sees Rebecca, they become so enraptured by her beauty, that all they want to do is stare, take pictures, and wonder who she is.
As great as it is to feel admired and for people to believe you are really beautiful, Becky soon discovers that there is catch to this magic.
Becky does fall in love (a little fast), but the romance does not take center-stage in this story.
I’m not sure how I exactly felt about this book. The plot was interesting, but it was not a story that I couldn't put down. But maybe it was just me. Overall it was entertaining and I liked it; just not as much as I was hoping I would. Gorgeous takes the reader on a journey with Becky as she learns of her mother’s past, her father, and of inner beauty and the importance of self-worth.
**I received this book courtesy of Scholastic Press in exchange for nothing, but my honest opinion.**
The cover and the premise of this book really caught my attention when I first saw it. It seemed like an interesting mix of magic and self-esteem/inner beauty.
Becky is 18 years old and lives in a trailer park in East Trawley, Missouri, with her mom. She is very close to her mom, but there are some things from her mom’s past that she has never revealed to Becky.
“Things have happened to me, all sorts of things, grown-up things and I just, I got overwhelmed. I let myself get overwhelmed. And I don’t think that’s been fair to you, not one little bit. But something is going to happen to you. And it’s going to be magical. “She was gripping my hand very tightly and looking right into my eyes. “And it might be scary and you might not know what it means, not at first. But it’s going to change your life, forever. And Becky, I want you to swear to me, because I love you so much, and because you deserve everything, you deserve the whole world, so Becky, when the magic shows up — I want you to say yes.” –Paul Rudnick, Gorgeous
When her mom dies, after being sick for almost a year, she receives the opportunity of a lifetime; cash plus a trip to New York.
In NY, world-renowned designer, Tom Kelley offers her the chance to be the world’s most beautiful woman with the help of three dresses; one red, one white, and one black., she is hesitant, but eventually agrees to his terms.
Beck has some self-esteem issues. She feels awkward, didn’t really fit in at school, and believes she really is no one special, easily to be forgotten. However she does want more out of her life aside from working as a store clerk in her hometown, she is just afraid to really go after it. With the help of Tom, she begins to feel like her dreams might come true.
Even though they use a small sample of her blood when designing the magical dresses, which I am assuming aids in the magic, it would have been nice to find out how the magic was actually possible.
But once it begins to work, Becky becomes Rebecca. And she finds out that if she is in the company of at least one other person, she looks like a gorgeous beauty, but when she is alone, she looks like her original normal self. Once the public sees Rebecca, they become so enraptured by her beauty, that all they want to do is stare, take pictures, and wonder who she is.
As great as it is to feel admired and for people to believe you are really beautiful, Becky soon discovers that there is catch to this magic.
Becky does fall in love (a little fast), but the romance does not take center-stage in this story.
I’m not sure how I exactly felt about this book. The plot was interesting, but it was not a story that I couldn't put down. But maybe it was just me. Overall it was entertaining and I liked it; just not as much as I was hoping I would. Gorgeous takes the reader on a journey with Becky as she learns of her mother’s past, her father, and of inner beauty and the importance of self-worth.
**I received this book courtesy of Scholastic Press in exchange for nothing, but my honest opinion.**
How surprisingly delightful! How odd! The humor is so specific, it’s delicious and legitimately laugh out loud funny.
May Contain Some Spoilers
This book was an interesting read. I didn't find myself loving it but it was unique. I'm calling it a fairy tale because it seemed to have a lot fairy tale stories references like finding true love and marriage by the end of a year or risk turning back to herself(like Cinderella).
This book is about Becky, whose mom died recently and since she is newly out of high school, she's sort of stuck. So when Becky finds a shoe box with a phone number in it, she calls it and finds Tom Kelly, who knew her mother and makes her a proposition: to become the most beautiful woman in the world by allowing him to remake with 3 dresses. Becky accepts and becomes this beautiful woman, Rebecca (an alter ego of sorts) but it has a price, she must fall in love and be married by the end of the year.
This novel is very interesting because the reader is shown a lot about the celebrity lifestyle as well as a supernatural perspective of it. The little supernatural elements were fascinating, with the Queen's consulting corgies and such. The things Becky did was cool and it was nice to see that she was still herself at points. Though, I got frustrated when she seemed to think she could do whatever she wanted. There is a lot of drama in this book, especially near the end. And warning, this book could be offense for English people.
I kind of liked the plot because it followed a fairytale of sorts and then when it went away, there was a lot of self discovery. I liked the plot twists because they were always seen ahead of time. The pacing wasn't bad and the writing style was fine.
I found that I really didn't like Becky. While I didn't exactly hate her, liking her was not an option. There was really nothing there that I could relate to or really sympathize for. I mean, she kinda felt realistic but not enough for me to be like " that's one realistic character to note". I kinda liked the prince because he could be adorably honest.
I honestly couldn't force myself to love this one as different as it was from some of the other books I've read. But, there were some elements of it that I liked and some things were just okay.
This book was an interesting read. I didn't find myself loving it but it was unique. I'm calling it a fairy tale because it seemed to have a lot fairy tale stories references like finding true love and marriage by the end of a year or risk turning back to herself(like Cinderella).
This book is about Becky, whose mom died recently and since she is newly out of high school, she's sort of stuck. So when Becky finds a shoe box with a phone number in it, she calls it and finds Tom Kelly, who knew her mother and makes her a proposition: to become the most beautiful woman in the world by allowing him to remake with 3 dresses. Becky accepts and becomes this beautiful woman, Rebecca (an alter ego of sorts) but it has a price, she must fall in love and be married by the end of the year.
This novel is very interesting because the reader is shown a lot about the celebrity lifestyle as well as a supernatural perspective of it. The little supernatural elements were fascinating, with the Queen's consulting corgies and such. The things Becky did was cool and it was nice to see that she was still herself at points. Though, I got frustrated when she seemed to think she could do whatever she wanted. There is a lot of drama in this book, especially near the end. And warning, this book could be offense for English people.
I kind of liked the plot because it followed a fairytale of sorts and then when it went away, there was a lot of self discovery. I liked the plot twists because they were always seen ahead of time. The pacing wasn't bad and the writing style was fine.
I found that I really didn't like Becky. While I didn't exactly hate her, liking her was not an option. There was really nothing there that I could relate to or really sympathize for. I mean, she kinda felt realistic but not enough for me to be like " that's one realistic character to note". I kinda liked the prince because he could be adorably honest.
I honestly couldn't force myself to love this one as different as it was from some of the other books I've read. But, there were some elements of it that I liked and some things were just okay.
I wasn't expecting to like this. It's totally not the kind of book I would like. And I didn't, for the first half. I thought it was funny so I kept reading, but I didn't see where it was going. From the start of part two though, I loved it. It was cliche and hilarious and more then a little bit of a fairy tail, but I loved it anyway, and felt genuinely sad near the end of the book at parts.
This entire book was a mess. A funny, fluffy, enjoyable, occasionally original mess, and one that I really enjoyed, but still a mess. Maybe it was my weird debaters brain trying to figure out the extent of magical powers and the logical limits behind Tom Kelly's abilities, and how this all fit together, but I couldn't really understand what was going on most of the time.
During the times I was willing to just let go of reality and go along with it though, I found a hilarious, heartwarming, and offbeat Cinderella story. With a pretty adorable prince to go with as well.
During the times I was willing to just let go of reality and go along with it though, I found a hilarious, heartwarming, and offbeat Cinderella story. With a pretty adorable prince to go with as well.