Holly Bourne’s latest novel ‘You Could Be So Pretty’ is a bit of a departure from her usual style into the realm of dystopian fiction, but this dystopian world is chillingly recognisable.
Belle is a ‘pretty’ and spends hours everyday applying her mask, making sure everything is perfect and then photographing herself to secure her ranking as the prettiest girl in school. Joni is an ‘objectionable’ – she wears no makeup, doesn’t care about fashion and spends her free time volunteering in her mother’s refuge centre for women. And yet, both Belle and Joni are looking to escape and are competing for a scholarship to go away to university. When they are forced to study together, Joni decides she will try to awaken Belle to the sinister reality behind the Doctrine of their world.
Bravo Holly Bourne for yet another empathetic but scalpel-sharp feminist manifesto. In our world of instagram filters and tradwife hashtags, this book is also a stark warning against complacency – we need feminism just as urgently now as we’ve ever done in the past.
If you loved the Barbie Movie – read this book. It is equally thought-provoking and far more cohesive in message and plot. Brilliantly done!
Thanks to Usborne for the ARC. I particularly enjoyed the interactive element of being able to stick your own alternative book title onto the proof – I went with ‘You Could Be So Free’.
Swimming in Books 