Synopsis: (as told by the back of the book)

Three ordinary girls, one game-changing proposal.

Best friends Evie, Krista, and Willow are just trying to make it through their mid-twenties in New York.  They’re regular girls, with regular looks and typical quarter-life crises: making it up the corporate ladder, making sense of online dating, and making rent.

Idealistic Evie, a copyeditor at a glossy women’s magazine, has her feminist story ideas shot down by her glamazon boss; starlet wannabe and confirmed drama magnet Krista just can’t get her big break; and artistic, sensitive Willow is veering into self-destructive behaviors, keeping her would-be boyfriend at arm’s length and her secrets hidden.

All this changes when they come across the Pretty, a magic tincture that makes them, well… gorgeous.  Like, supermodel gorgeous.  And it’s certainly not their fault if the sudden gift of beauty causes unexpected doors to open for them.

Morgan’s thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book because in some ways it was just another story of three 20-something girls living in NYC and in some ways it was absolutely not.  I picked it up because I thought it would be – after a few novels in a row that were slow and difficult for me to get through, I wanted something fun.  I love reading about other young women in the city, even when the book is predictable or low quality writing.  This book was certainly more than I knew I was getting myself into.

It was exactly what I’d wanted in that it immediately sucked me in.  For two days, I did nothing but race through the pages of this book.  It’s an ideal summer read – it will make you laugh, sigh, and cringe.  It’ll also make you think.  Clark posits a number of theories as to the role of beauty in our culture and truly forces readers to consider the question “if you could take a magic potion and become beautiful, really and truly beautiful, would you do it?” Clark satirizes the ways in which our society will treat women differently based on their looks.  Once the girls take the potion, things miraculously fall into place for them.  But this new “power” brings with it hurt, resentment, and anger.  

This book is certainly not perfect but I did not care.  It is a simultaneously fun and thought provoking read, and I would encourage you to get lost in it as well.

Interested in this book?  Click here to buy it on Amazon or find it at your local bookstore!