Review: You Could Be So Pretty, Holly Bourne

Holly Bourne is one of my favorite authors of all times, really. Her books always leave me gasping, screaming and just, they’re excellent okay. I got lucky enough to read You Could Be So Pretty and, well. Let’s see if this met my VERY high expectations!

You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne
Published by Usborne Publishing on September 28, 2023
Genres: dystopia, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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A dystopian YA novel with a shocking twist, You Could Be So Pretty is The Beauty Myth for teenagers.
“The Doctrine exists to make us believe we are less than, so we don’t have the strength to overthrow everything. Masking, and Ceremonies, and Chosen Ones – how we’re all groomed to worry constantly about what we look like – it’s a deliberate pressure. It’s designed to keep us down. To limit us. Divide us. Masks…Beauty…it’s all about weakening and dividing us.”
Belle Gentle follows the rules of The Doctrine to the letter and is so close to Having It All. She’s the highest Pretty in school, A Chosen One in her spare time, and she’s about to win The Ceremony and fulfil her destiny. So why does she feel so suffocated by her perfect life?
Joni Miller is an Objectionable and hated by everyone for her repulsive looks. But Joni doesn’t care. She just needs to win the Scholarship to The Education, so she get the power to overthrow The Doctrine and wake everyone up. The only person standing in her way is the prettiest girl in school.
Set in a dystopian world, of normalised sexual violence, and where girls are expected to maintain impossible beauty standards of beauty, You Could Be So Pretty explores what happens when two enemies are thrown together. As Belle and Joni confront their prejudices, the reader is left asking themselves: Is this world really so far from our own?

I received this book for free from NetGalley, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: (click to reveal)

eating disorders, domestic abuse, sexual harassment, assault, pornography, misogyny.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• I feel like I’m going to have a hard time describing You Could Be So Pretty, but I’ll try. This book feels like a slap in the face, and one you see coming. I mean, when you read this, everything feels eerily familiar, yet different. You’re intrigued, confused, curious, you know something’s deeply wrong here and, deep down, you know how deeply it echoes with real life, too. It’s supposed to be a dystopia, but to be honest, it hit really close to home at times and, woah. I loved that.
• Holly Bourne takes us in a world where being Pretty means everything. Characters who identify as women put on literal masks, make-up and hair and everything to look as pretty as possible, not to let any flaw, any gray hair, anything show. Everyone has to be perfect, everyone desperately seek approval, validation from others on their looks… and the ones who don’t are invisible, don’t fit in, are mocked. I absolutely loved the way the world was built and how terrifyingly real it felt.

• You Could Be So Pretty is told from two different POV. We follow Belle, a rule-follower, always masking and seeking validation and Joni, a rule-breaker, never masking, living with her “rebel” mother. I loved how their visions of the world crashed, how their interactions put everything back into question for Belle and how they changed, grew with each other. They were both such fantastic characters, each with their own views, personalities and I loved them both!
• You Could Be So Pretty is incredibly addictive. I really won’t spoil it all for you, but I couldn’t stop reading, wanted to see what would happen, next, was so fascinated and terrified at the same time. I was sad, angry, emotional, rooting for these girls and for it to end on a happy note, as well. Honestly, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read and I know it’ll stay with me for a long, long time.

OVERALL

☂️

Just read You Could Be So Pretty. It’s a must-read, should be required reading kind of YA dystopia, where everything echoes so terrifyingly what we’re living, as well. Just read it, please. You won’t regret it.

FINAL RATING : 5 stars!

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Did you read You Could Be So Pretty, or do you want to? Any similar recommendations for me? Let me know in comments!

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