You Could Be So Pretty - The Times Book of the Week

A clever, witty, emotional and powerful book. A must for everyone, and a great book to look at including on any educational syllabus.Holly has smashed it out of the park again. No spoilers here - but definitely one of my all time favourites.

💋𝕐𝕠𝕦 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝔹𝕖 𝕊𝕠 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕪💋By Holly Bourne @hollybourneyaBeauty comes at a price, and girls must pay.Imagine living in a society where girls have to constantly check themselves in the mirror, apply the latest beauty products to their face and fight each other for the popularity status by being ranked by their number of likes only to be ridiculed by boys and treated like a piece of meat thats sexualised and verbally/physically abused!Oh, wait! Hang on a minute, we do!!!😱This is what Holly Bourne has managed to portray brilliantly! She has stated that this is not a dystopia novel, but she has used terms and vocabulary from the dystopia genre to tell her fictional (almost realistic) tale.The Doctrine dictates how you dress, how you should apply your mask, how you should behave, follow the rules through pain and endless financial difficulties, and you will be happy! Belle follows this path.Or work against the Doctrine and rebel, grow grey, don't wear makeup and wear comfy clothes, and be ignored for the rest of your life as an objectionable! Joni follows this way.So when Joni and Belle uncharacteristically become friends, this is when the drama begins.Joni's mum, who rebelled against the Doctrine, quotes'Let's celebrate these apparent abominations''Let's see them as beauty instead of failure. Every line we have is a life lived and wisdom gained. Make no mistake-its entirely deliberate that the Doctrine declares us disgusting and invisible when we feel our most educated, knowledgeable, proud, and angry. They fear what older women have learned and what we know, so they make visuals of our life's experience an object of disgust.'The battle between beauty and being free is huge!So many young girls and women feel the social pressures to look and behave a certain way. These are unrealistic expectations resulting in mental health issues, eating disorders, and sometimes death.Is reaching these goals worth the effort?In my mind, no!Thank you, @jac_in_a_book and @aloveofbooks_nic, for buddy reading this one with me!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me! 🤓

This book has changed me, it is so beautifully written with such a strong viewpoint on feminism. It seemingly explains a dystopian world where women are controlled and limited as part of the patriarchy…only it isn’t fiction, it happens now, in our modern world. Holly Bourne has made the lives of Joni and Belle come to life, showing us how our lives are impacted by the ever changing standards of an impossible society. Plus there’s enemies to lovers 😘

Marketed as a young adult book, I think this should be on the curriculum!Written as a dystopian tale, this addresses the very real pressures that our young people (and indeed, most women) are subjected to in today's society. Genuinely thought provoking....

You could be so pretty is a much needed YA dystopian story of the pressures that society and the beauty industry subjects women to.Unfortunately I’m finding it hard to rate this as highly as so many others have, while I agree with most of the points made I feel that this didn’t necessarily hold up to scrutiny. The characters feel very one dimensional and their issues seem very black and white. I’m a little confused to the age that this is marketed towards, it reads quite young but some of the themes and content are clearly only appropriate for older teenagers. I am not the target audience for this genre but I do work with teens and I feel that they could cope with a little more nuance in the themes.In spite of this I do feel that this is a very relevant book and is a good starting place for some of the deeper conversations needed.Thanks to Usborne Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this thought provoking book

I know this book is classed as young adult literature, but as a woman who is definitely passed that stage in life, I found this story to be fascinating. Shocking, serious, funny but above all a possible glimpse of the future. Well written,fast paced and thought provoking.

inhaled dystopian YA books back in the day, but I think I over binged on them and they don't really do it for me anymore. However Holly Bourne wrote this one, and I love her smart feminist themes, so I had to add this to my TBR.YA dystopia is the perfect outlet for exploring rebellion against oppressive regimes, and I think the premise worked well here. However the world building felt a little bit simplistic, and straight forward for me personally.But I enjoyed Holly's thought provoking social commentary, and watching the growth of her main character was inspiring. I think it's an engaging read for younger people, and I'd recommend as a great place to start empowering discussions around gender equality.

The most important book I've ever read! I love how Bourne writes and makes her points through the characters -- how they act and feel and think. Absolutely love! A must read if you love a great story about 2 women's brought together in an unlikely circumstances. Feminism here we come.

Would have liked more world building. A bit formulaic