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A review by andremay
She's Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Veronica has been from the start an insufferable character. She’s so self-righteous, it hurts.
- She thinks she cares about Mick. She even gets possessive when she sees how close she gets to Nico, her “husband” (an inside joke), yet she lies to her over, and over, and over again, acting surprised when Mick feels betrayed (and rightfully so).
- It all starts from her taking advantage of Mick while she’s vulnerable, telling her she’s going take a picture of her while there’s no film in the camera. However, there are multiple, and Veronica knows it.
- She develops all the pictures, and convinces Mick to let her post one of them on Instagram, with a little caption. Unbeknownst to Mick, after Veronica posts the picture, she adds a few tags to get more interaction and then it blows up to the point that she gets a spot at an art gallery for ten photographs from the series she took of Mick.
- She immediately accepts, without asking the person she supposedly likes about how that makes her feel, despite knowing Mick has some sort of phobia around being photographed, almost getting panic attacks just thinking about it.
- When Mick feels uncomfortable after finding out (and after being kicked out by her abusive mom because of the original photo that blew up), she has the audacity to ask her how can’t she see what a big opportunity the gallery is for her, and how it could potentially start her career and get Veronica in a good arts college.
A little dialogue from Veronica that seriously angered me:
- It all starts from her taking advantage of Mick while she’s vulnerable, telling her she’s going take a picture of her while there’s no film in the camera. However, there are multiple, and Veronica knows it.
- She develops all the pictures, and convinces Mick to let her post one of them on Instagram, with a little caption. Unbeknownst to Mick, after Veronica posts the picture, she adds a few tags to get more interaction and then it blows up to the point that she gets a spot at an art gallery for ten photographs from the series she took of Mick.
- She immediately accepts, without asking the person she supposedly likes about how that makes her feel, despite knowing Mick has some sort of phobia around being photographed, almost getting panic attacks just thinking about it.
- When Mick feels uncomfortable after finding out (and after being kicked out by her abusive mom because of the original photo that blew up), she has the audacity to ask her how can’t she see what a big opportunity the gallery is for her, and how it could potentially start her career and get Veronica in a good arts college.
A little dialogue from Veronica that seriously angered me:
“Suddenly, I was angry. “Can you try to be a little more supportive? How do you think it feels that no one noticed my work until I photographed a hot blonde? Do you realize this might be my only chance at this kind of recognition?”
And this is the CliffsNotes version Veronica’s attitude. Mick isn’t exactly a saint herself as the story unfolds, but in the beginning, she was a victim to Veronica’s manipulation constantly, which made it hard to finish the book.
Although it’s a fairly easy read (with noticeable plot holes), the characters felt so far away that I couldn’t really connect with any of them, making them forgettable, and irritable without any sense of self-preservation.
Although it’s a fairly easy read (with noticeable plot holes), the characters felt so far away that I couldn’t really connect with any of them, making them forgettable, and irritable without any sense of self-preservation.
Not to mention, Veronica's mom enables this behaviour, and when she finds out about what her daughter's been up to (a lot of illegal stuff that could have gotten her arrested or seriously hurt), she says she expects this from a teenager, but she's disappointed she lied? That's it? As if Veronica was only been caught underage drinking or something. Direct quote:
“It’s not that you’ve made these mistakes. You’re a teenager. That’s normal. It’s all this lying. How long have you and Nico been doing these things? It’s—”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death