'Breaking hearts because there's nothing to watch on telly' (Pretty Things - Sarra Manning)

Member Name: slinkyindieninja

Product:	Pretty Things - Sarra Manning
Date:	07/08/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun read, range of characters

Disadvantages: Characterisation weak, lacking emotional punch

'Indie-emo hybrid' Charlie has decided that he and his best friend, wannabe-footballer's wife-type Brie - who thinks Charlie should be her boyfriend and doesn't believe that he's gay - will be spending their summer avoiding boredom and trying to get the best roles in the play their drama workshop in Camden will be putting on. Daisy is a lesbian, serious about acting, and learning to express herself through art. Infamous heartbreaker Walker wants to be a film director and wants to find out what it's like to be an actor.

But Walker, having gotten on the bad side of Lavinia, is picked as the male lead. Brie is the female lead, and is terrified. She doesn't understand the play - but she does have an amazing memory. Daisy was hoping to get the lead but instead she has to play a character she hates, and spend time with Walker and Brie, both of whom she cannot stand. Charlie falls for Walker, but Walker likes Daisy, and it's not so much a love triangle as a huge great mess...

This book was a fun read. I did enjoy reading it, but I didn't like it as much as the other books that I have read by this author. It is told in alternating chapters by all of the four main characters - e.g. the first chapter has Charlie as the narrator, the second Daisy, and so on. I thought the characterisation suffered from this - I never really got to know any of the characters deeply, I felt I was learning only superficial things about them, and at times they seemed clichéd - especially Charlie and Daisy, who seemed based on stereotypes. The story didn't have real emotional impact, and I was disappointed as Sarra Manning's other novels have always hooked me emotionally. It also lacked a real twist, I could tell how things were going to work out quite a long way before the end.

I would recommend "Pretty Things" to 14-17 year olds, I think it would make a good holiday/beach/plane journey read. Adults who enjoy teen fiction should only rush to read this if they loved the author's other work.

Summary: Not as good as any of the authors other novels but still fun