Review: Gorgeous

GORGEOUS
Paul Rudnick
Paranormal/Contemporary Young Adult
327 pages
Scholastic Press
Available Now
Source: Finished copy for review

THE STORY (from Amazon)
When Becky Randle's mother dies, she's whisked from her trailer park home to New York. There she meets Tom Kelly, the world's top designer, who presents Becky with an impossible offer: He'll design three dresses to transform the very average Becky into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

Soon Becky is remade as Rebecca - pure five-alarm hotness to the outside world and an awkward mess of cankles and split ends when she's alone. With Rebecca's remarkable beauty as her passport, soon Becky's life resembles a fairy tale. She stars in a movie, VOGUE calls, and she starts to date Prince Gregory, heir to the English throne. That's when everything crumbles. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But the idea of a prince looking past Rebecca's blinding beauty to see the real girl inside? There's not enough magic in the world.

Defiant, naughty, and impossibly fun, GORGEOUS answers a question that bewilders us all: Just who the hell IS that in the mirror?

MY THOUGHTS
Gorgeous is a slightly strange and thoroughly surprising read; the synopsis providing us with a certain set of expectations for how events will play out, but when we crack the spine we find the words that make up the blurb, while inarguably accurate on the surface, don’t really encapsulate the feel of the story itself. We initially anticipate a lighter read, a cute fantasy in which a normal girl suddenly becomes extraordinary and finds both Hollywood royalty and real royalty kneeling at her exquisitely outfitted feet, and though it is that, there’s also a seriousness we don't quite see coming.

Gorgeous is at times a jarring combination of contemporary and paranormal, Becky’s transformation into superstar Rebecca always present to remind us of the supernatural element, but there are moments when the magic surrounding Rebecca’s beauty is discussed so matter-of-factly that it’s hard for us to determine whether we’re supposed to suspend disbelief and roll with it, or if we should in fact question the hows and whys of it all. Additionally, this story gets off to a very slow start, long descriptive passages and limited dialogue failing to grab our attention early on, and while the introduction of Prince Gregory about a third of the way through creates a spark of interest, the extensive descriptions of people, places and fashion force things that had finally picked up speed to slow back down.

Despite those flaws, Rebecca/Becky is an enjoyable heroine, a girl who wasn’t overly vain to start with and who therefore feels deserving of her chance at something more than an empty trailer in small-town Missouri has to offer. Once firmly ensconced in Rebecca’s new life, Becky never really loses herself, always attempting to let Becky shine out through Rebecca’s preternaturally flawless features, charming those she meets with more than a bat of her eyelashes or a toss of her hair. While she does have a tendency to run when things get tough, it’s simply a part of her journey to realizing her value as a young woman is not only reflected in her physical features. She’s flesh and blood instead of smoke and mirrors, and we can’t help but smile as her crash course in life’s ups and downs comes to a close.

Overall, Gorgeous is a slow and meandering read at times, often detouring on a related-but-not-necessarily-vital course before returning to the benefits and drawbacks of life as Rebecca, yet for all the bumps marring the road of our enjoyment we still desperately want to know how everything works out, invested in Becky’s future and her personal happiness.

*It should be noted that despite this book’s whimsical appearance and synopsis, it’s recommended for older YA readers. Becky’s best friend Rocher walks a fine line between being hilariously and irritatingly foul-mouthed, and uses her not-inconsiderable vocabulary frequently throughout.

Rating: 3/5

Find Paul:

 Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.