PRETTY FACE

Author: Mary Hogan ISBN: 9780060841133 3/2009 YOUNG ADULT Publisher: HARPER TEEN

That's what I am. A funny girl. A friend. Nobody's girlfriend. The girl with the pretty face. Hayley wishes she could love living in Santa Monica, blocks from the beach, where every day—and everybody—is beautiful and sunny. But she just doesn't fit in with all the blond, superskinny Southern California girls who have their plastic surgeons on speed dial. Hayley is smart and witty and has such a pretty . . . face. Translation: Don't even think about putting on a bikini, much less dating superhot Drew Wyler. A bikini will never be flattering, and Drew will never think of her as more than a friend. Just when Hayley feels doomed to live her life in the fat lane, her parents decide to send her to Italy for the summer—not for school, not for fat camp, just for fun. It's there, under the Italian sun, that Hayley's vision of herself starts to change. She's curvy, not fat. Pizza isn't evil. And life is so much more than one-size-fits-all. Who knows? Once Hayley sees herself in a new light, maybe the girl with the pretty face will finally find true amore.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Mary Hogan's PRETTY FACE is a tender, funny, and highly relatable coming-of-age story. It is well written and, with beautifully vivid images, brings fully to life a teenager's struggle to find herself in a world that doesn't feel very accommodating.

All teenagers are body conscious but Hayley truly struggles. She is overweight, seeking solace and understanding from food rather than from within. She is surrounded by tiny bodies, at home as well as in school, so there is no escape from the plain truth that she is overweight. Her parents have tried to help her, to no avail. They finally decide to send her to Italy to stay with her mother's friend for a summer. It is the summer that changes Hayley's life. She learns to recognize beauty in all forms, internally as well as externally.

While the Italian trip is lovely and a dream opportunity for anyone, I can't help but wonder if Hayley wouldn't find herself eventually anyhow. Still, it adds dramatically to the story and brings worldliness to an, unfortunately, all-too-common issue. Patrice, the woman Hayley spends the summer with, is so opposite of Hayley's mother, and precisely what the angst-riddled teenager needs.

Ms. Hogan tackles the weight problem with sensitivity, but honesty. She has written a story that shows the humanity behind an "ugly duckling" and does it with humor.

There is premarital sex, and all the issues that go along with that, in this story. While there is no graphic portrayal of the act, I thought it wise to mention the fact so it doesn't come as a shock.

I enjoyed PRETTY FACE, and I think others will, too.

Kay James