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kerry123's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kalliste's review
2.0
I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't. Amoris was just so whiny and annoying. I couldn't work out what Jamison loved about her, because most of the time he was complaining that she didn't understand anything about his life.
I think I would have preferred this from Jamison's perspective. A teen who is dedicated to writing and willing to do anything he can to follow his dream, except history and other people make it difficult. He's a huge part of this book and, while Amoris proclaims to love him more than anything in the world, she doesn't really seem to think about how anything might make him feel.
I think I would have preferred this from Jamison's perspective. A teen who is dedicated to writing and willing to do anything he can to follow his dream, except history and other people make it difficult. He's a huge part of this book and, while Amoris proclaims to love him more than anything in the world, she doesn't really seem to think about how anything might make him feel.
ashnoble's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Racism
bethd_elwell's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
Only the Pretty Lies is a story about two teens who are best friends and more, with all the usual difficulties teens face in that situation. It’s also very clearly a story about racism, both outright and more insidious. Author Rebekah Crane wrote at the end about a real incident she heard about involving a racist mural at a high school and that she framed this book around that, and that is clear. I appreciated her desire as a white author and concerned citizen to write something that would speak to her (fellow white, really) readers about how to be anti-racist and see things differently.
However, it just seemed as if she gathered up all the “right things to say” as a white person and slotted them into this book. It didn’t feel organic. The book has several story arcs, involving Amoris and her parents, her brother, her motherless best friend; her friendship and desire for more with Jamison; her path toward awareness of racial slights and being active not just in righting a big wrong but in helping those she’s known a long time be more sensitive. I just didn’t feel they cohered naturally, and as much as I support her desire to be a voice in these important topics, I didn’t think the novel worked well. I adored Crane’s The Upside of Falling Down, but I’ve been disappointed with the other two books of hers I’ve read.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/only-pretty-lies-young-adult-book-review/
Only the Pretty Lies is a story about two teens who are best friends and more, with all the usual difficulties teens face in that situation. It’s also very clearly a story about racism, both outright and more insidious. Author Rebekah Crane wrote at the end about a real incident she heard about involving a racist mural at a high school and that she framed this book around that, and that is clear. I appreciated her desire as a white author and concerned citizen to write something that would speak to her (fellow white, really) readers about how to be anti-racist and see things differently.
However, it just seemed as if she gathered up all the “right things to say” as a white person and slotted them into this book. It didn’t feel organic. The book has several story arcs, involving Amoris and her parents, her brother, her motherless best friend; her friendship and desire for more with Jamison; her path toward awareness of racial slights and being active not just in righting a big wrong but in helping those she’s known a long time be more sensitive. I just didn’t feel they cohered naturally, and as much as I support her desire to be a voice in these important topics, I didn’t think the novel worked well. I adored Crane’s The Upside of Falling Down, but I’ve been disappointed with the other two books of hers I’ve read.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/only-pretty-lies-young-adult-book-review/
gerwigverse's review against another edition
2.0
The publisher provided this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
"Convention doesn’t carry much weight in Alder Creek. It doesn’t in Amoris Westmore’s family either. Daughter of a massage therapist and a pothead artist, inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and blissfully entering her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. Why should she?
Everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door. Jamison was Amoris’s first crush, and their last goodbye still stings. But Jamison stirs more than bittersweet memories. One of the few Black students in Alder Creek, Jamison sees Amoris’s idyllic town through different eyes. He encourages Amoris to look a little closer, too. When Jamison discovers a racist mural at Alder Creek High, Amoris’s worldview is turned upside down."
I appreciate what the author was trying to do here, but there were some subjects that you must be careful of when touching them; otherwise, it'll feel flat and make your speech sound empty. Also, the execution was all over the place, the resolution was a bit fast-paced, and I couldn't care for the others despite really liking the male character. Not an enjoyable read for me, I'm afraid.
"Convention doesn’t carry much weight in Alder Creek. It doesn’t in Amoris Westmore’s family either. Daughter of a massage therapist and a pothead artist, inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and blissfully entering her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. Why should she?
Everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door. Jamison was Amoris’s first crush, and their last goodbye still stings. But Jamison stirs more than bittersweet memories. One of the few Black students in Alder Creek, Jamison sees Amoris’s idyllic town through different eyes. He encourages Amoris to look a little closer, too. When Jamison discovers a racist mural at Alder Creek High, Amoris’s worldview is turned upside down."
I appreciate what the author was trying to do here, but there were some subjects that you must be careful of when touching them; otherwise, it'll feel flat and make your speech sound empty. Also, the execution was all over the place, the resolution was a bit fast-paced, and I couldn't care for the others despite really liking the male character. Not an enjoyable read for me, I'm afraid.
victoria_plural's review against another edition
2.0
While I appreciate and respect what the author was trying to do with this book, it just never felt right.
Too “after school special” and not enough well fleshed out characters and actual analysis of the issues at hand. There were simply far too many issues to tackle within such a short book.
Also, not an important issue but something that definitely bothered me: the names. They felt like a YA dystopian future novel.
Too “after school special” and not enough well fleshed out characters and actual analysis of the issues at hand. There were simply far too many issues to tackle within such a short book.
Also, not an important issue but something that definitely bothered me: the names. They felt like a YA dystopian future novel.
notinjersey's review against another edition
4.0
I appreciated the story of Amoris, who slowly came to realize that the way Black people are treated in her town isn’t appropriate and began to stand up for the things that matter. Amoris’s life was far from perfect, although she imagined it was. Her father was often away from home, and when he was with the family, he was often high. Her brother begins to drink a little too much and Amoris must decide whether or not to help him. At the same time, her best friend Ellis is coping with the loss of her mother and uses this as an excuse to treat Amoris badly. This is all compounded by her childhood crush, Jamison, moving in next door.
Jamison is Black and through him, Amoris learns about how microaggressions hurt as much as outright racism. The mural that is painted in their school hallway has never been an issue, but Jamison is hurt by it. Amoris realizes the need to stand up for what is right, but also to let Jamison speak for himself and not play the white savior.
There was a lot going on in this book including drug use, alcohol abuse, racism, homophobia, and more. It was an interesting look at the way a community may be perfect to the eyes of some but not so great in the eyes of others.
Jamison is Black and through him, Amoris learns about how microaggressions hurt as much as outright racism. The mural that is painted in their school hallway has never been an issue, but Jamison is hurt by it. Amoris realizes the need to stand up for what is right, but also to let Jamison speak for himself and not play the white savior.
There was a lot going on in this book including drug use, alcohol abuse, racism, homophobia, and more. It was an interesting look at the way a community may be perfect to the eyes of some but not so great in the eyes of others.
huskyreads214's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great young adult book that tackles tough issues in a way that teens would be able to approach them. The author does an excellent job weaving a teen romance story into a larger narrative about social issues. I also appreciated that she not only developed her main characters, but made sure the reader cared about the minor characters too. I did bump it down to four stars for being slightly cheesy, but that's to be expected in a young adult book like this.