Really the title says it all… This book was interesting, yet not amazing and it struggled to hold my attention throughout.
It focuses around the life of secondary school student Bree, whose life so far has been fairly un-extraordinary. Dumped at the very bottom of the school's social hierarchy, her life is a daily battle against boys, banter, and the infamous popular clique (shudder). Yet Bree is going to change this – armed with lipstick, words and tremendous courage – just how is she going to pull this off?
A success! This book is easy to read and able to attract a wide young adult audience. For underneath the typical teen clichés, Bourne addresses some serious issues faced by many adolescents today. From the strict social ladder to depression and self harm: this book is able to put life's issues into perspective. Despite being quite comical at points, this book also touches upon some very dark places, making Bree an inspirational character to which many young adults can relate.
However, in many ways this book is superficial and shallow, with our protagonist's happiness relying upon popularity. As she desperately seeks her peers' acceptance, we watch as Bree turns into a selfish, spiteful, and mean person. Her high school dreams are achieved simply by a makeover and a few bitchy remarks.
In addition, this book includes a slightly inappropriate relationship, which I'm not sure makes Bree the best role model to students nowadays. Nevertheless, Bourne's book is a key protest against the popularity scale we see around us. Through Bree, she makes us happy about who we are and shows why we should not change for the world around us. Yet, perhaps this teen idealism is part of what made this book so cliché.
Overall, enjoyable, but don't rush this to the top of your reading list.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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