Began reading: 28.2.2016
Completed reading: 5.3.2016
Overall rating: 3.6 stars
Paige, Sarah, Jess and Tallulah were best friends at school. Now, they've begun university and are living together at college, but it's not turning out like it's meant to. Tallulah's partying too hard, Jess is being secretive, Paige is embarrassing herself with an unrequited crush, and Sarah's struggling to keep up with her wealthier friends.
One night, Sarah saves Paige from drowning in the university swimming pool. Paige can't remember why she was there, and Sarah's too afraid to say what she thought she saw. Then Jess's body is found outside the college laundry.
It's not until Sarah meets the gorgeous and charming Johnny that she can tell someone her suspicions. But what really did happen that night at the pool? Does anything connect Paige's accident with Jess's death? As Paige starts to piece together her memories, the most terrifying question becomes clear: could it happen again?
Pretty Girl by J. C. Burke is a young adult novel that incorporates thriller, mystery and a hint of romance to create a hair-raising plot that makes teenager think twice about trusting strangers. I am familiar with Burke’s work, as I have studied The Story of Tom Brennan as part of my final high school English exam. I enjoyed the realistic plots that are central to Burke’s novels; however I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped.
I found very few grammatical errors, but I was impressed by the great quotes spread throughout the novel. These include:
Everything always comes back to Jess these days, because everywhere you look there’s something to remind you of her (p. 60).
The grass is still fluoro green, meticulously mown, yet lush and thick like a carpet of the best quality. The garden beds are full of blooms, lines of them, coordinated in circles of matching colours. Paige wonders how outside can stay so neat when inside the lives at Nottingdale are messy and drowning in chaos (p. 109).
Plans have a beginning, middle and end. They have a destiny and that’s what drives them, otherwise there’s no point to them (p. 311).
Maybe you only hear what you want to hear or see what you want to see… (p. 311).
‘I loved your term “genetically privileged”. There were times I wondered if I had a connection with you. We know what it’s like to be the outsider. From an early age you and I knew we had to find ways to break into their world. Or we’d just always be… ordinary’ (p. 323).
One of the positives of this book was the character development. It was realistic, and well-paced. In the beginning, Sarah was sensible and obedient, yet after meeting Jonny, she began to change — becoming reckless and outright passionate. Paige appeared to be afraid and shy, yet developed into a brave and strong young lady. Tallulah was introduced as the ‘wild child’ of the group, always partying and taking drugs. Yet, as the story progresses, she becomes the loyal, compassionate friend. I believe that character development plays a significant role in novels, so I’m glad that Burke made it obvious from the beginning.
The plot was incredibly relatable, especially since it was set in Australia. There were the little things, such as pastoral care and not being able to have nicknames on year 12 jerseys, that I found to be relatable. However, the concept of ‘stranger danger’, resentment for the economically privileged, and the trauma that follows a series of accidents is to be expected from people who have experienced such ordeals. As I’ve mentioned previously, realistic plots are central to Burke’s novels. For example, The Story of Tom Brennan focused on issues including incarceration, drink driving and relationships. Relatable plots make the book more interesting, and allows readers to easily imagine the situation, which is another aspect of writing that I look for when reading.
Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end and where the negatives begin. I found the plot to be predictable. For example, the psychopath was easy to identify and I suspected them from the very beginning. It was just a matter of time before it was mentioned in the book. The return of Paige’s memory was also predictable — of course she would remember everything at the very moment her friends go missing. It was so predictable, it was almost laughable.
The lack of detail really bothered me. With the exception of Jack, the appearances of the characters were pretty much non-existent. For example, I had no idea of Jonny’s hair colour until the latter end of the story. There was no physical description of the other main characters, and this really irritated me. I found it difficult to imagine the girls at Sebbie’s bar or Wil and Sarah together, as I had nothing to base their appearances off. I was pleased that the character’s location was described in detail. For example, the garden at Nottingdale, and Jonny’s place on Eclectic Avenue were described in depth. Regardless, I was left a little disappointed at the lack of physical descriptions.
The plot’s structure was unclear to me. I felt that nothing really ‘jumped out’, and it just plodded along. The only part that I found to be identifiable was the complication. In what I believed was the resolution, there were more issues that were introduced, so it did not feel like the plot was being resolved and coming to a close. I found myself forcing myself to keep turning the page more than once, which wasn’t very good.
Judging from the blurb, I assumed that Jess’ tragedy and Paige’s accident would occur, then all the after-effects and issues would follow. However, the story began after the tragedies, where Sarah was attempting to move on. I admit, it did bother me, especially since I could only view the characters’ thoughts and reactions from memories. I would have enjoyed it more if I was experiencing it with the characters. It was confusing and annoying to have to wait for the characters to look back to reveal something.
The story contained two perspectives: Sarah’s and Paige’s. I thought it was puzzling that Tallulah’s perspective wasn’t included, but that can be overlooked. Sarah and Paige seemed to possess different personalities and interests, so I assumed that the two perspectives would be varied. To my dismay, the voices tended by sound similar, and the third-person retelling made it all the more confusing. I guess it’s safe to say that I shouldn’t make any more assumptions, lest I be disappointed.
My favourite character was Sarah, as she was relatable. She was sensible, responsible and obedient. I found this quote to be especially relatable:
Number one, jeans are expensive, and number two, shopping for them is as much fun as going to the dentist. No, actually, worse because at least the dentist doesn’t mess with your self-esteem (p. 51).
She did have her flaws, those of which bothered me. Like Paige and Tallulah, Sarah was gullible, and at times, cringe-worthy. She was so slow to piece together the puzzle! I could understand the reason behind Paige’s slowness, but Sarah could be described as a bit dopey. How could she not see that Jonny looked similar to Harry, or that he called her ‘pretty girl’ for a reason?
Paige was my second favourite character, as she was also relatable. I found her to be so naïve, and I just wanted to make her see sense. It confused me when she just left Nottingdale. I mean, shouldn’t you have told Doctor Meg about your memories? She wouldn’t have had to put her life at risk to save Sarah. She was also too trusting and gullible, which made her slightly irritating.
In the beginning, I really disliked Tallulah. She was so rude to her friends, especially Paige, and I just wanted to slap her. She had experience with drugs, so why was she so mad at the way Paige reacted to them. I would have thought she would understand. Anyway, as the plot progressed, Tallulah began change. As I mentioned previously, she developed to become more compassionate and loyal, which was great.
*WARNING: SPOILER* I was hoping that Jonny would have been a good match for Sarah, so I was a little disappointed when he turned out to be something he wasn’t. On the other hand, I found his double-sided personality to be interesting, which is why mystery can be so intriguing. It bothered me that Paige and Sarah didn’t see his true nature sooner. Paige learnt what a psychopath was while she was at Nottingdale, yet she didn’t realise it sooner. When she finally came to the conclusion that he was dangerous, it was like, FINALLY!
Jimmy Jack, Jack Johnson, Jonathan Jackson, whoever he really was, had every attribute of the psychopath. Charming, manipulative, fearless, a great storyteller (pp. 310-311).
As for my favourite parts of the book, I’m sorry to say that there were none. This is a first for me, but there was nothing of real interest to me. I didn’t mind reading about Paige’s recovery at Nottingdale, but really, there wasn’t anything that stood out.
Recommendation time! If you like Unbecoming by Jenny Downer, The Story of Tom Brennan by J. C. Burke, or The Ivory Rose by Belinda Murell, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes The Riot Club, Wildchild, Heathers and Scream Queens.
Happy reading!
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