Picture drawn by Maggie Stiefvater, 2009. Header made by S.F. Robertson, 2010.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Gorgeous by Rachel Vail


Gorgeous by Rachel Vail
"She's looking good . . . but Allison Avery can't believe it. Growing up with beautiful, blond sisters, Allison has always been the dark-haired, "interesting-looking" Avery. So when the devil shows up and offers to make her gorgeous, Allison jumps at the chance to finally get noticed. But there's one tiny catch, and it's not her soul: The devil wants her cell phone.

Though her deal with the devil seems like a good idea at the time, Allison soon realizes that being gorgeous isn't as easy as it looks. Are her new friends and boyfriend for real, or do they just like her pretty face? Allison can't trust anyone anymore, and her possessed phone and her family's financial crisis aren't making things any easier. Plus, when she finds out that she might be America's next teen model, all hell breaks loose. Allison may be losing control, but how far is she willing to go to stay gorgeous forever?"- summary from Amazon

I love this new trilogy by Rachel Vail, as it's really interesting reading about the lives of these three sisters and how, even though they're all under the same roof, there are still secrets and feelings kept that the others don't know about. It makes for a intriguing, original read since each book takes place over the same time period from each of the girls' perspective and so could be repetitive but it's not because of this particular angle. Gorgeous brings middle sister Allison to the forefront and gives us a (very) slight supernatural edge to the story. Reading this made me want to read the first book Lucky again and also I now can't wait to get my hands on Brilliant, the final book, coming out in May.

Allison is a great character and is realistically portrayed by Vail who makes sure the turmoil and insecurity of being a middle sibling is part of the characterization. I loved her sarcastic voice as well as her talk and portrayal of the slightly obscure historical figure Gouverneur Morris. The friendship dynamics between Allison and her old and new best friends were handled really well and it was an interesting aspect of the novel. I also really liked the romance- it was definitely written realistically and, while a bit cliche, still really cute.

Overall, a highly recommended read along with Lucky, and pretty much any other Rachel Vail book. I love her!


FTC: ARC recieved from publisher (way back when, lol). Amazon link is an Associate link. Any profit goes toward funding contests.

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