Pretty Amy

Pretty Amy #1

by Lisa Burstein

You'd think life couldn't get much worse than being arrested on prom night. But you'd be wrong.
No friends . My two besties, Cassie and Lila, are now officially parentally banned.
No summer of freedom . Instead, I'll be working at a convenience store, earning money just so I can cover bail.
No future . Just a series of humiliating "rehabilitation techniques" designed to teach me a lesson.
The only silver lining is Aaron--a mystery wrapped in a leather jacket andwielding car keys--who just happens to show up right when I need him. Now I only feel alive when we're driving together, the wind in my hair.
Maybe finally getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance

304 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She is the author of Pretty Amy, The Next Forever, Dear Cassie, Sneaking Candy, The Possibility of Us and Again. As well as a contributor to the essay collection, Break These Rules: 35 YA Authors On Speaking Up, Standing Out, and Being Yourself. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats.
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Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRETTY AMY brought me back to the chaotic halls of my own high school. I too had a friend like Lila, who always had to be the prettiest one in the room. I too was a middle-class white girl who was as exotic as a blueberry muffin (oh how I love that line!). And, most importantly, I too had a tendency to define who I was by how others saw me, by how easily I fit in, and how well I was liked.

Truth be told, I’m still a little like Amy.

Lisa Burstein knows how to capture adolescence and the turbulent teen years with perfection, and she does it with an amazing blend of laughter, seriousness, cringe-worthy moments, silliness, and a whole lot of heart. She populates her world with so many fresh and varied characters that completely leap from the page, sucking you even further into the story and Amy’s life. Lisa doesn’t hold back. She tells an authentic, realistic, sometimes shocking young adult story, with a voice that is creepy in how spot on it is. It actually kinda makes me wonder how old Ms. Burstein really is…

Amy is endearing and wonderfully flawed. Her best friends, Lila and Cassie, perfectly illustrate the kind of girls I knew in high school, and they serve as the perfect catalysts for Amy’s journey of discovery. And let me not forget the hottie boys. PRETTY AMY has two excellent specimens –Aaron, the mysterious bad boy, and Joe, the adorable boy next door—and they are both quite scrumptious. As this will remain a spoilerific free review, let me just say that I picked my team early, cheered my man on throughout the novel, and in the end, totally won. (*raucous cheer*)

Yes, I love my main man. And I’m totally in awe of Amy, and how beautifully crafted her and her friends are. But actually, the minor characters are what completely wow me. From Amy’s bird, AJ, to the hippie counselor Daniel. From Connor, the surprisingly well-rounded (and well-meaning) co-worker, to Dick, the corny-joke telling lawyer. And finally, Amy’s hilarious parents…and particularly crazy mother. They make the story real. They are what bring the funny, and their presence is what helps Amy achieve her own psychedelic Wizard of Oz reenactment. PRETTY AMY ends up going so much deeper than I expected, and it is through scenes with these richly drawn characters that real growth occurs. Along with an exceptionally hilarious, shockingly unique, church bathroom scene, that had me wiping my eyes from laughing so hard. I will never look at a chocolate milkshake in quite the same way again.

Bottom line? PRETTY AMY is young adult Contemporary at its finest. It speaks to the teenage experience, provides valuable insight, and does it all through a thoroughly entertaining ride. It has definitely earned its place on my shelf of favorites, and I hope it will be on yours, too.

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turned out being much more intense than I expected, Pretty Amy is a contemporary novel filled with disasters and mistakes, during a hard journey to self discovery.

Amy lacks self confidence. She always has. This is what causes her to have trouble fitting in as well as constantly worrying about what others think of her. Her voice is very melodramatic which makes her sound like a genuinely lost, broken teenager. High school is hard and demanding in a lot of ways - especially socially; It would be easy for a lot of readers to relate to her. I did myself to a certain degree, I understood her completely and I get it. I really do. Nevertheless, I still found myself getting bothered by her constant crestfallen attitude. This became such a problem even for her, that she was ready to sacrifice her whole life for friendships that were not in any way worth it. And again, I get it. I get that she finally finds some friends with who she fits in - or at least better than before - so she would do everything to keep this friendship. Still, it's like she's so blinded by this want, that she fails to see that these so-called friends, are clearly not worth sacrificing a future for. I always have a hard time connecting with this sort of selfless, hardheaded personality. Regardless, Amy does have a knack for getting you to feel for her; I truly did. I also enjoyed her sarcastic tone. Her internal dialogue can get pretty amusing.

Amy's mom, she needs her own lovely paragraph. *stab stab* If I ever had to maim a fictional mother, Amy's would be the one I would choose! Easily one of the most cold-hearted parent I've met fictionally; her exaggerated anger and seemingly uncaring attitude towards Amy and her situation definitely riled me up. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't even listen to what Amy had to say. I don't think she never even asked, or found out, what really happened. On the other hand, why wouldn't Amy just explain? Her mother simply assumed Amy was a drunk drug addict who deserved everything she was getting. I'm sure some parents are like that so I won't say it's unrealistic, but it still made it terribly hard for me to believe.

This is a tough story. It's filled with loneliness and regret. Longing and self doubt. But it's a story that has heart. It addresses real issues that too many teenagers encounters. Peer pressure, reckless decisions, loyalty, insecurity - really, every teenager goes through bouts of these at one point or another (though not always as deeply). It's a great portrayal of high school angst. I thought it was well written and easily engrossing, which is why I still quite enjoyed it even though I didn't completely connect to Amy herself. If you enjoy contemporaries with a raw, tense vibe, but also comical at times, I think Pretty Amy would easily capture your attention!

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated 4 stars
“Four Stars: A rocky road for a teenage girl who struggles to find her identity.

It is prom night for Amy. As her mom drops her off, she receives an earful on her poor choices, her bad influence friends and her attitude. Not once does her mother offer any encouraging words or even tells Amy she looks pretty in her dress. No matter, Amy still intends on making this the best night of her life. She, along with the narcissistic Lila and the rebellious Cassie, plan to have a fabulous time at their senior prom. Soon all hopes for a magical date are dashed when Lila's boyfriend fails to show up with his two friends, who are supposed to Amy and Cassie's blind dates. Furious, Lila drags the other two over to Brian's house, only to find out the terrible truth; they have no dates for the big dance. Lila finds a plastic bag stuffed full of pot, which she steals. The girls then try to sneak into their prom but are turned away. The girls smoke the pot and drive around completely stoned, until the cops pull them over and arrest them. Their magical prom night ends with the girls tossed in jail. Bailed out of jail, Amy quickly learns that her life is going to get a whole lot worse and fast. As the turmoil grows, Amy feels that she is alone, cut off from her two best friends, while dealing with parents who don't understand, as well as an unctuous lawyer who tries to force her to turn on her friends. Add in a miserable job at the gas station, expulsion from school during the final two weeks of her senior year, and a possible impending jail sentence, well as you can see Amy is in the middle of a big bad mess. What will happen to this misunderstood teenager as she grapples with these troubling issues?

What I Liked:
*I already mentioned in another review, that I don't often read contemporary fiction. I guess this month has been an exception. I will tell you that the majority of Pretty Amy was rocky for me. You have a story revolving around a protagonist who isn't the most like-able person. Amy chain smokes, and on occasion smokes weed and drinks. She is disrespectful and for the most part has a bad attitude about life. I really didn't feel much sympathy for her either because I felt like she was given so many chances and numerous offers of help but she bats them away, drowning in misery. Yet, I understood why she behaved as she did. Amy is one of those girls who easily gets lost in the crowd. She is desperately fighting to find her identity. She doesn't want to be the simple, unnoticeable girl she was up until her freshman year when she met Lila and Cassie. With these two girls, Amy finds the validation she is craving. She lets go of the boring Amy and becomes the bad girl who smokes and thumbs everyone else. Even though she feels accepted and has two friends, she still lacks her own unique identity, as she allows herself to be a minion to Lila, always acquiescing to Lila's whims. As the story progresses you watch Amy very slowly transform and eventually find her own identity.
*This is a coming of age book that is a very rough ride, but in the end I liked Amy. I liked that the author was able to make me feel a whole range of emotions during this read. Do not pick this up expecting a light, fluffy read centered around prom, it is anything but that.
*I appreciated that the author dealt with some very real and difficult issues as she takes you through all the drama and angst that Amy endures. It isn't pretty, but in the end I loved watching Amy's growth.
*I enjoyed Lisa Burstein's writing style. She tackles troubling topics but she gives Amy a snarky voice, which peps up the book. There are plenty of funny and sarcastic comments peppered throughout the read, which spices it up.

And The Not So Much:
*As I said this book takes on mature issues and Amy often indulges in self destructive behaviors such as drug use and chain smoking. There is also a great deal of cursing. For these reasons, I would strongly recommend this book for older, more mature teenagers. This is not a book for young, very impressionable girls.
*This book was a bit rough for me. I had a hard time in the beginning connecting with Amy, mostly due to her bad attitude and self destructive behavior. The book is definitely a bit slow and has a serious tone. I kept reading because I was holding out hope that Amy would find redemption. I will avoid spoilers, but I am glad I kept reading it. Even though it was a difficult read at times, I learned a great deal and once I finished the story stuck with me.
*One of the most troubling aspects of the novel was the turbulent relationship Amy has with her parents. The mother daughter relationship is extremely strained and very trying. The two are constantly locking horns and tensions run high. Amy's father,on the other hand, is more aloof and hands off, the detached parent. He really loves his daughter but fails to connect with her. Somewhere along the way they forgot how to communicate with one another. The hardest part is that they both really love and care about Amy but they have never given her the positive validation and attention she so desperately craves. At the end, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a more full resolution. I would really have liked for Amy and her mom to sit down and just talk.
*Joe, I really liked this character but he plays such a small role. He is, for the most part, a background character but he plays a crucial part. I really wanted to know him a bit better.

Pretty Amy, is intense and at times a difficult book. It follows a teenage girl on the brink of adulthood as she makes a critical mistake that sends her life spiraling out of control. Amy must fight to somehow put the pieces back into place, but unfortunately they won't fit like they used to. Amy is forced to find her way and eventually her own true identity. It is an emotional and hard journey, but in the end, it was one I truly appreciated. I would recommend this for mature readers only.

Favorite Quotations:
“I am one of the legions of middle-class white girls who search malls for jeans that make them look thinner, who search drugstores for makeup to wear as a second skin, who are as sexy and exotic as blueberry muffins.”

“If bitching were karate, my mother would be a black belt.”

“When nothing felt like everything.”

“I hated that he knew who I had been before I was me.”

“I thought about saying I was sorry, but I wasn’t even sure what I had done wrong, other than turning into the kind of girl my mother had warned me I would be.”

“Eventually daylight came, not all at once but slowly, like the sky was set on a dimmer switch. The moon and stars finally snuffed out.”

“In high school you are not given a choice as to who you become, you are signe up long before that based on looks, smarts, and talent, and then corralled into your group. The problem was, I didn’t like my group.”

“You do a poll and I would say most people would choose to be somewhere else, doing something else, and if they really had the option, being someone else.”

“I wanted to keep chasing the impossible dream of teenage-girl perfection, even though I was further away from it than I had ever been.”

“When presented with mediocrity or failure, I’d chosen failure. I’d chosen to be the best failure I could be. I guess I’d finally succeeded...”

“You’re acting weird, and not the way you usually act weird. Like, bald Britney Spears weird.”

“I knew the weirdness between us that had begun freshman year had been because we’d started having feelings that scared us, that made us want to pretend we didn’t feel anything at all. That made ignoring each other safer.”

“Unfortunately, I am only myself. I am scared and alone and unsure, but I am practicing. I am scared and alone and unsure, but that doesn’t mean I always will be.”
A big thanks to Heather over at Entangled Publishing for providing me a copy for review purposes.
Posted @ http://rainydayramblings.typepad.

[Jasprit · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

“It’s easy to believe
that someday I will just like A.J unlocked from his cage.
That the bars I’ve put around me will fall away.
That I will feel like that little girl again.
Finally and beautifully free”

When I first saw the cover to Pretty Amy I thought it would be a light fluffy easy going read, but once I picked up I realised it went much deeper than I originally thought. Amy has been looking forward to her prom for a while now, on the night she gets dropped off to her friend Lila’s house she’s jangling with nerves. It could be her biggest night of her life, an unforgettable night. And yes it does become that but for all the wrong reasons. Amy, Lila and Cassie don’t end up going to prom but caught with pot in their possession by the police, they’re taken to the station, where they’re eventually allowed to go home further pending their trial. Dealing with disappointed parents doesn’t compare to the rest of the stuff they have to deal with. They’re suspended from school, so will miss the final week, banned from their own graduation and the icing on the cake? Amy’s mum states that she will have to pay for her lawyer out of her own money, so she has to get a job! How could what was meant to be the night of her life? Quickly spiral out of control? But Amy is given a sort of reprieve, her lawyer Dick could probably prevent her from going to jail but she has to dob her only friends in instead.

What I liked about this book;
Amy was such a strong character, with all the crap she had to put up with, the constant pressure from her parents, her lawyer and her therapist to dob her friends in she battled on against everyone’s better judgement. She displayed a stubbornness and stood her ground, despite them constantly pushing her buttons and even using shock tactics. At times I usually felt hugely sorry for Amy, despite all the bravado she was a lonely girl who had no one; she wasn’t allowed to contact Cassie or Lila, her old friend Joe didn’t want to know her anymore, she didn’t feel comfortable opening up to her therapist and each time she talked to her mother they would get into a shouting match. Her only friend was her bird A.J. the only person that wouldn’t pass judgement on her. But then sometimes you wanted to clock Amy from her stubbornness. Yeah I understand that they were the only friends she had, but if her friends were put in the same situation would they do the same thing for her? But I definitely preferred Amy’s character to her mothers. Honestly I don’t really know what to make of her, I think she did care about Amy but she just had a funny way of showing it. She couldn’t understand Amy’s sarcastic temperament, she was at times way over the top; insisting to Amy’s principle that she had to attend Amy’s graduation even though Amy was not allowed to go? And slashing and burning her mattress because she thought it contained heroin? All Amy wanted was her mother to be there for her;

“her only job tonight was to tell me I was beautiful
that I was her beautiful baby girl all grown up, but she couldn’t even
do that”

I adored Amy’s dad, he was relatively calm and laid back but quite under the thumb of his wife. I also adored Joe, Amy’s former friend; it was heart breaking reading their scenes together because all he wanted was Amy how she was before, before she met Cassie and Lila, but had Amy changed so much and was it too late change back?

Despite the “dark cloud” hanging over Amy; the mistake that had been made and the choice that still had to be made, the story was laced with humour which certainly did lighten things up. I loved Amy’s snarky humour and her sarcastic comments, I looked forward to her meetings with her lawyer, therapist and when she went to work to see what she would come up with next.
Overall Pretty Amy is a bittersweet coming of age story which I surprisingly enjoyed. You’re probably wandering what does Amy finally do in the end? Does she make the right decision? My lips are sealed you’ll just have to find out for yourself.

A big thank you to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

This review and more can also be found on my blog: The Readers Den

[Christina (Ensconced in Lit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended so I decided to give it a try.

Pretty Amy is a coming of age YA novel about Amy, a graduating senior who is hanging out with the wrong crowd~ beautiful Lila and trash talking Cassie. Amy finally feels like she fits in, but during a fateful prom night her life changes forever, and she has to finally grow up.

This novel is well written and while Amy is hard to like sometimes because of her bitterness, anger and frustration, we somehow get the sense she'll turn around at the end. I loved her parrot AJ and liked Conner.

The difficulty with novels such as this is that this is material we've all seen before. Teenage angst and a troublemaker who eventually sees the light through tough love. And there are some romance issues in the background. I recently sat in on a group of child psychiatrists who were talking about words they used to describe teenagers. These descriptives included overconfident, hormonal, defiant, experimental---all which were shown in this novel to the tee. The difficulty is going beyond the expected. I immediately compared this novel to Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver which remains one of my favorite novels. These two novels have a very similar beginning-- but the books are vastly different in the way the material was handled. Unfortunately, while this book has many strong points, it does little to get out of the stereotype. However, the voice is what is unique and gripping, and that is what carries the reader to stay until the end.

That said, this is a strong first novel. While there were no surprises, it was well written and flowed nicely with good characterization.

[equilibri · Rating 1 out of 5]

And the award for the most obnoxious, pathetic and mind-numbingly boring protagonist goes to Amy! I'm giving this up even before I've read halfway through the book - that's a personal first.

I'm so pissed at this book! Its blurb led me to believe I was in for a thoughtful coming-of-age story. Boy, was I mislead. It reminds me a little of Curtis Sittenfeld's 'Prep'. I slogged through pages and pages of endless whining, insecurities and incredibly bad decisions with no personal growth in sight.

"I probably should have been scared to smoke that much (pot), but I needed to be annihilated. I had to forget tomorrow, when I would wake up in one of the three hotel rooms we’d rented, alone in that big bed..." See, her obnoxious manipulative friend, who loves pushing Amy around, set her up with her stoner boyfriend's pal. Amy haven't met him yet, but she thinks it's a good idea to rent a hotel room and plan for sex on prom night.

So when the guys stand them up, she is devastated. All her fairy-tale dreams for the most important night of her life are smashed to bits! So of course they do what any upset teenager in this situation would: get arrested for driving around stoned out of their minds with a big bag of pot in the car. Oops!

Amy has no sense of personal responsibility. Everything just happens to her and everybody is out to get her. She bitches and moans about her parents, who care about her and provide her comfortable middle-class life. But evidently, all they want is to make Amy's life miserable and refuse to understand her.
When her dad picks her up from the police station, Amy comments: "I thought about saying I was sorry, but I wasn’t even sure what I had done wrong, other than turning into the kind of girl my mother had warned me I would be."
Really? You don't know what you've done wrong?

Amy actually describes herself and her friends as 'rebels', while looking down on 'loosers and dorks' at her school.
Has there been some kind of tragedy to make Amy this messed up? Nope. She just keeps spiralling down through making one bad choice after another. Throughout the book, she's being dragged kicking and screaming into accepting any kind of responsibility and she genuinely hates everyone for it. It's an endless pity party of a selfich entitled brat.

Now, why would the author choose to inflict Amy on unsuspecting readers? I guess she was trying to create a complex character. Judging from the tone of the book, we are supposed to sympathize with Amy because of her sarcastic commentary - which of course is a cover for her deep insecurity. But look how incredibly witty she is! She snarks at her mother, her father, school, and even her 'friends' - only to herself, of course. This might be a somewhat realistic portrayal of a teenager, but did she have to have no redeeming qualities?

I don't care that she's seventeen. I don't care that she's supposed to be a flawed character. There's flawed, and then there's insufferable. At this point I don't care if she's ever going to learn , though judging from some reviews, her transformation is less than impressive. I give up. There are enough annoying characters to deal with in real life. I don't need them in my books too.

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Amy is friends with Lila and Cassie. Well, I'm not sure you would call these girls friends but they hang out together. Amy ended up falling into their group after not fitting in with anyone else. She keeps hanging around these two because somehow, they make her feel like she belongs, and in her eyes, they're cool. After planning to go to prom with Lila and her boyfriend, and a couple of other boys rounded up for dates, the girls are stood up and decide to crash the prom without dates. They do this while high on pot, and end up being arrested. Amy is suspended from school and now facing possible jail time. Amy's relationship with her parents was already fractured before this stunt, especially with her mom, so this doesn’t help the situation at all. Even though her parents try to provide help, Amy resists at every turn.

After seeing the cover, and reading the description, I starting reading Pretty Amy thinking it was one of my light, fluffy, vanilla reads. I couldn't have been more wrong. In the beginning of the book you see Amy following her friends into bad decision after bad decision and she ends up getting into quite serious trouble. Does this shake some sense into her? Apparently not, because through the rest of the story, she continues to make mistake, after mistake. I kept reading on, hoping that this girl would get a clue. Instead, she kept defending her so-called friends' motives until the bitter end. I have trouble enjoying a story if I don't like the main character. Sadly, I couldn't bring myself to like Amy or even connect with her. I didn't feel any valid reason was given for her angst or why she continued on her downward spiral. It wasn't until the very end that we finally see some changes in Amy's attitude and behavior. I'm sure the feelings and actions, portrayed in this story, are typical to many teenagers today. I just didn't find it enjoyable to read about. I feel really bad writing negatively about a story. Others may find this type of story enjoyable. This just wasn't for me. I'm rounding my rating up to three stars because I feel my negativity might be due to personal preference.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this.

[Kate Avelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

We've all been Amy at some point in our lives, even if we didn't spend prom night in jail. A must-read for lovers of contemporary YA!

[Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS REVIEWON B'S BOOK BLOG! +AUTHOR INTERVIEW

An ARC of this title was provided by the author for review. 

Unfortunately, I am only myself. I am only Amy Fleishman. I am one of the legions of middle-class white girls who search malls for jeans that make them look thinner, who search drugstores for makeup to wear as second skin, who are as sexy and exotic as blueberry muffins ... and one of the only girls I know to get arrested on prom night. 

I think I've learned at some point in my high school life that opening sentences are very important, as it has to "entice the reader and sets the subject, the tone and possibly the style for the whole work". Honestly, I've never paid that much attention to opening sentences of the books I've read in the past, though there are quite a few lines that caught my eyes and are still stuck in my head. The opening sentences of Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein, which I just showed you, are one of those very few that have made an impression on me, making me feel connected to the main character right away. There's something about the voice of Amy Fleishman in those sentences that reflects her endless insecurities and pessimism and angst, which I think is also the voice of many high school girls struggling to feel comfortable in their own skin, and all the while wishing they could be perfect. It's so real. And to me, that's what's so haunting about these sentences. 

Pretty Amy tells the story of Amy Fleishman, high school senior. We're introduced to Amy on the prom night that changes everything. Amy and her best friends Lila and Cassie are all ready to go to the prom, but their dates never show. Frustrated, Lila breaks into her boyfriend's house and takes back with her a huge bag of pot, which is quite a stupid thing to do, because later that night they're arrested for possession. It's a night of frustration, anger, and disappointment, and their lives start going separate ways and downhill after that.

Amy's mother doesn't handle the arrest very well. It can be said that the relationship between Amy and her mother isn't very healthy. There's a lot of forcing, crying, tantrums throwing, and banning.  For one thing, she takes away her cellphone and prohibits any contacts with Lila and Cassie. And then she hires a lawyer for Amy, for whose service Amy will have to pay on her own with the money she will earn from working at a convenient store (or was it a supermarket? I'm not sure), which is one of the things her mother forces her to do. To make things worse, Amy now has to visit a therapist who encourages Amy to talk when she doesn't want to. No, that's not all. On top of all that, she has to do community service, which turns out to be not a very good experience for our Amy at all.

The story of Amy Fleishman is quite a series of misfortunes. I really like it. I was hooked from the very first sentence. It's incredibly engaging and kept me wanting to know more, wanting to see how Amy will handle the situations she finds herself in. I could sense teenage angst on every page of the book. I found myself wishing the best for Amy and furious at her mother and was glad that mine isn't like that. Although I can't exactly relate to the story, it's Amy I can relate to, and I believe that it's true to a lot of girls, too.

Amy is a fantastic, strong character with a unique sarcastic voice of her own. Bad things keep happening to this girl, and in the middle of all that, she struggles to stand on  her own feet and become herself, after years of following whatever Lila and Cassie do. Amy used to be a nobody with a real friend, Joe, before she met Lila and Cassie. She was sick of blending in with the crowd, the face that didn't stand out. She wanted to be cool, to be different. When she starts hanging out with beautiful Lila and kickass Cassie, she ditches Joe and allows herself to form her shape around them. She picks up their habits like smoking. She feels like there's a place she belong when she's with them.

But does being with "cool" friends make her feel less insecure? No, not really. Amy still has very low self-esteem. I think she feels intimidated by Lila and Cassie that she wants someone to tell her that she's as good as them, too. She often needs reassurance that she's pretty and that there's someone worse off than she is. She does things and say words she feels she's supposed to do and say and she doesn't confront. You'd think hanging out with Lila and Cassie would boost up her self-confidence, but it's actually the opposite. That's kind of sad. But who cares, right? Being with the cool people make you look cool, and appearance is really what matters, isn't it?

Poor Amy. She's spent so much time with them and trying to become of one them that she doesn't quite know who she is anymore. Now, what happens when they're taken away and she's not allowed to see them or talk to them? She's lost, and doesn't know what to do. But there's nothing she can do now except to find herself again. I totally understood how difficult it is to try to do that after having thrown it away in order to fit in and be accepted. And Amy accomplishes that. She rises and stands up tall and fights for herself, as she  has to do what she has to do.

Maybe it takes encountering a dire situation together to know who your real friends are.

Lisa Burstein's writing in this book is impressive. Her words are very cleverly used. Lisa gave Amy just the right voice, the voice of a teenager who's struggling to be heard, who feels lost and scared and alone. You can tell Amy's feelings just by looking at things she says. There are a lot of lines that I've highlighted just because they're pure brilliance on Lisa's part. Sometimes they can make you laugh because they're so funny, and some other times they make you chuckle or snort because it's so true and the truth is ugly. Pretty Amy is undoubtedly very well-written. I think that's all I have to say about Lisa Burstein's amazing writing skill. I'm expecting great things from her in the future! 

Pretty Amy: A great realistic young-adult book, one that should not be missed!

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flying through the pages of Pretty Amy was like a trip back to the halls of my high school--the cliques, the heartbreaks, the searching, the uncertainty. Amy is searching--but she doesn't even really know what she's searching for (or perhaps even that she's searching).  She's found a group of friends who make her someone, but is that someone who she really WANTS to be? Is it really who she is?

Unfortunately, I am only myself. I am only Amy Fleishman. I am one of the legions of middle-class girls who search malls for jeans that make them look thinner, who search drugstores for makeup to wear as a second skin, who are as sexy and exotic as blueberry muffins.

-p7, eARC

Amy will, I think, steal your heart from page one of this book because her slightly broken, pessimistic personality turns her into a real person--not just another character on the page.  Many readers will find themselves identifying with Amy's struggles to find her place in the world amidst the many pressures and pitfalls of being a teenager (even though most of us PROBABLY weren't arrested on our prom night, if we went at all).  Her snarky wit, which manifests itself in hilarious one-liners, will have you laughing out loud and taking notes so you can steal her humor later. Now, I'll admit that there were times I wanted to reach in and shake the poor girl because she's seriously a hot mess and she just needs to step it up a bit! BUT, I think sometimes these sorts of characters are the ones that really insert themselves into our memories and the ones that we can relate to because haven't we all made stubborn mistakes and decisions?

She shouldn't have been surprise I was messed up. Anyone forced to wear a pink tutu and a Miss America ribbon that read Novocain Princess while holding a rolling-pin-size syringe and touting her father's dental practice on basic cable was bound to end up with some problems. Not unexpectedly, drug related.

-p38, eARC

Ms. Burstein's writing truly brings together this story in a perfect portrayal of the turbulent adolescent years. I felt like she really captured the emotions of being a teenager--the ups and downs, disappointments and revelations. I'm young enough that I remember quite vividly my own moments of utter betrayal at the hands of "friends" and the moments of pure bliss that showed up at random, unexpected times.  This story brings you back to your own experiences, no matter how different they were from Amy's.  We all had moments where our parents were the bad guys and we were too cool for school, where we struggled to find a place to fit in and once we did weren't sure that it was really the right place.

Even I knew that the way things really were was the exact opposite of what my parents had told me. Hard work and a college degree no longer meant anything other than moving right back in with the parents who had lied to you about it in the first place.

-p49, eARC

Pretty Amy is a realistic portrayal of the world that your average teenager lives in.  Sure, there were moments that required a bit of suspension of belief, but the overall tone and story rang true for me. Amy's story isn't clear-cut--her path is messy and filled with moments of uncertainty and betrayal. If you're looking for a fun contemporary YA read with a snarky protagonist, you can't go wrong with Pretty Amy.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Stars

Before I read Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein I thought Amy and her best friends were going to be arrested because of a silly prank. I was really excited to find out what exact crazy prank was pulled. I created scenarios, in my mind, of some prank ideas. Would Amy, Lila and Cassie splatter food on the outside of Lila’s boyfriend Brian’s house? Or maybe they would steal the boys' cars.

Instead, Pretty Amy was a story of the effects of not only being arrested but recovering from ruining your life by sliding into the influence peer pressure to take drugs. Even more, Pretty Amy is a story of a girl completely devastated by her life and, is now, is striving to be happy. Amy thought she would be happy being the friend of the cool girls. But she is not.

I enjoyed reading through Amy’s story of self-discovery. I disliked feeling Amy’s depressed outlook of life for the most part of the novel but was amazed by how easily I was captured by Amy’s mood. I liked Amy as a character because she is a complex character with real feelings and problems. I enjoyed meeting the funny characters that Amy met too. From convenience store Conner who is happily married to the ditzy but well-meaning lawyer Dick Simon to Amy’s controlling mother, the characters all brought excitement to the story. I rejoiced in how individualistic each character turned out to be!

I feel that Pretty Amy is a very profound story that I admired and enjoyed. It’s the type of book that is best to read when you want a through-provoking contemporary novel. I probably would have liked Pretty Amy more if the plot was more fast-paced and exciting. There were some scenes that caused me to be eager to continue reading but there was times in the story where the plot appeared repetitive. I lost interest half-way through the novel, but, after a break, I was able to enjoy reading the book again.

Overall, Pretty Amy is a unique novel that I will remember in the years to come for its unique and inspirational take on a real teenager girl's feelings. This book has inspired me to be proud of my past mistakes and look forward to the future.

[Rabiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally Posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.in/20...

When I saw Pretty Amy's cover on Goodreads, it immediately caught my interest. That dress is GORGEOUS! I then went on to reading the blurb and then further went on to request for a review copy from Lisa Burstein because this sounded like an original premise for a contemporary YA novel. And it was just that. Pretty Amy explores what every teen would never dream of: being arrested on prom night. That alone makes you curious doesn't it?

While I enjoyed most of the story, I did find many faults with the characters. Some of the absolute worst people are in this book, ones that I would never want to meet in real life.
The only thing I really liked about Amy was her humor. She's got quite the knack to have smart comebacks from time to time. She really lacked self-confidence though. I hated how she constantly had to put other people down most of the time to make herself feel better. This does relate to teens now days I completely understand, but it somewhat annoyed me when she took pleasure in other people's problems and faults. Her whining really did put me on an edge!
Her mother, on the other hand, is a different story altogether. I seriously think, that out of all the YA novel moms out there, she's the worst of the worst. A pain in the butt this lady is. Her dad was one character I liked though. He, Joe and AJ (her parrot) were probably the most likeable ones in the story. But the unlikeable ones? You gotta love to hate 'em!

This story was very character-driven, so if you don't like the characters, it's going to be one bumpy ride. I liked the ups and downs though, it made me really get to understand Amy's character even more. Pretty Amy is definitely one contemporary not to pass up! Lisa Burstein's writing is amazing, and can't wait for more from her. One debut definitely not to miss.

**Thank you to Lisa Burstein for sending me Pretty Amy for review!**

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

****FINAL RATING: 4.10 STARS****

CATCHALL
Pretty Amy was an extremely powerful book. It certainly wasn't the easier thing in the world to read, and I definitely struggled and some points. It was heartbreaking and real. It really managed to ring true even though it was do dramatic and unusual. The premise was exotic, but the issues and topics it covers are decidedly not.

THE HEROINE
AMY
Amy was a really relatable character. More than anything, she wants to stand out and have attention. She has an awesome sense of humor and seems like such a cool girl to get to know! She's really relatable and a lot of people will understand her and feel themselves identify with her. She wants to be a someone, so she falls in with the wrong people. It's not a good decision, but it is an understandable one.

THE BOYS
Because it wasn't really romance
AARON
Aaron was basically a jerk. He pretended like he cared about Amy and seemed so sweet and genuine, but really it was all just a game to him and he is the jerk who stands her up at prom. It was a shame he turned out to be such a jerk because he really seemed pretty awesome at first, but he wasn't.
JOE
Joe is Amy's childhood friend that she loses after she starts hanging out with Cassie and Lila. He is so sweet and nice and awesome and the kind of guy who is absolutely impossible not to love. I definitely really loved him and wish he had been in the book a little more, but that's the way things go.

THE GIRLS
LILA AND CASSIE
They seemed so alike to me that they really don't need separate sections. They're bad girls who do things you shouldn't do at their age (smoking, which you shouldn't do at any age, but also drinking and sex) and they take Amy under their wing. Also, Lisa really shouldn't have need Lila, well, Lila. It's need good form to give a character a name that close to your own. That would be like me naming a character Annabella or even Ardabelle or Isabelle or something. Anyway, these two were troublemakers and the kind of girls you secretly want to be, but not really. You know what I mean?

THE MOTHER
I forget her name, if indeed it was ever mentioned. She reminded me of my mom, they way she handled things and how she twisted everything. It was amusing and she seemed really real. She didn't really handle things well, which made for a great story.

THE PLOT
The plot was pretty damn awesome.

I did find myself confused in a few places, but that was usually smoothed out pretty quickly. I generally could keep up and really understood what was going on.

It was most definitely an original concept. While a little far-fetched, it dealt with real issues that were relevant, prom arrest or not. Getting stood up, falling in with the wrong crowd, wanting to belong...

It was really good, and the plot was definitely something I admire.

THE ROMANCE
There wasn't a ton of this, other than a bit of heartbreak that made me really feel for Amy. It was so hard to read about because that kind of thing really happens to some girls, and it really just sucks.

THE WRITING
Lisa has awesome writing. It's really fun to read, and Amy has a relatable and realistic voice. I found myself strongly connecting to the writing. Lisa has a fantastic sense of humor that really comes through, too. I found myself often laughing and had a really fun time. The writing is fun and it was a joy to read.

THE ENDING
Amy's growth by the end of the novel is stunning and impressive. The ending itself was really good, and not to clean. It wasn't everything wrapped up in a bow, but it was pretty nice. I definitely think it was a good way to end the book, and it was clearly a developed ending with time and effort put into it.

WRAPUP
I'll definitely be reading Dear Cassie, the follow-up to Pretty Amy, and probably future books from Lisa. I was really impressed by Pretty Amy and am thrilled to welcome Lisa into the YA book industry.

FINE.

Read more of my reviews on Sparkles and Lightning!

[Amy Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 out of 5 stars

First I want to give this some cover love!! I adore the cover. Yes, it's a girl in a pretty dress...but she's in a jail cell. I love it!! Second, it's titled Pretty Amy which automatically makes it cool since that's my name. ;) Okay now onto the review. I really loved this book. I am slowly but surely becoming a contemporary lover. This book is absolutely raw and realistic. I think everyone can relate to Amy in some way. This was a fantastic book that follows Amy through a hard time and her struggle to find herself. It is laugh out loud funny at times, but very tense and hard at others.


Amy is a very insecure person. She feels like she doesn't fit in. She finally feels some sense of normalcy with Lila and Cassie, but doesn't really realize that she still doesn't fit, she is just there. We watch her struggle through the story. She is too scared to really say what she wants or needs. She would much rather hide and be invisible. She was so frustrating to me at times, but I totally understood where she was coming from. Lila and Cassie were her only friends in her eyes. The only people she could talk to. Amy is not a strong person, she is falling apart and doesn't know what to do. The more people try to help, the more she wants to push them away. The characters are all great too. I could totally imagine them all. How they talked and how they interacted with each other.

I was not like Amy when I was in school. I would always say how I felt, I was on the cheerleading squad, I was friends with everyone, I participated in all sorts of school stuff. I wasn't a "Lila" though. I didn't think I was better than everyone and I never ever put anyone down or bullied others like Cassie would. Just because I wasn't like Amy, doesn't mean I didn't have some of her inside of me. I was scared sometimes and didn't always feel like I fit in even though I seemed like I should. I was always a bit insecure. I was short, had frizzy hair, and no figure at all. My parents never really seemed to care what I had to say. I used to go out and party with friends and cause trouble. I was not arrested, but I had a situation where things were not great and I had to rediscover myself and figure out what I really wanted. That was the Amy in me.


Lila and Cassie are her friends. Lila of course is the super pretty one, who knows it and uses it. Cassie is the tough chick who everyone knows not to mess with. Amy is the normal, average one. She feels excepted, different, cool even. They get into trouble and rebel and it makes her feel good that she isn't doing what everyone else wants her to. Her mother is too perfect, her dad is never there enough, and her childhood friend Joe thinks that Lila and Cassie are bad news. They are all she feels like she has. It's hard when all you want is to be accepted and noticed. I really felt bad for Amy. I wanted to hug her and tell her she was better than all of that.


This book was fantastic. It was so real! I totally did a lot of those things when I was in school. Smoking under the bleachers, going out drinking, hanging out with some of the wrong people, and of course making some bad decisions. I just loved how I could totally connect with Amy even not having all that much in common with her. The writing was great at portraying how teenagers really act and talk. It captures how they behave and think. This story really reminded me of high school a lot, and even though I was not a lot like Amy, I know a lot of people who were. I think that every teenage girl should read this book. (Well, maybe 14+ age girls since there is profanity in it.) This book kept me turning pages, laughing, sympathizing, and getting frustrated and angry along with the characters. And it really does have a great message to it. (Besides don't get arrested lol) If you like realistic books that aren't sugar-coated, this is for you!

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty Amy was not at all the book I expected it to be. I was expecting a fluffy prom book, something like Ditched. Hijinks, misadventures and pretty dresses. That was all kinds of wrong. The book is like that for approximately five seconds, and then it's very clear that this book is deeper and darker. Pretty Amy is not a fun, feel-good book, not a prom book, even though Amy does have a prom dress like the one on the cover.

Actually, Pretty Amy is mostly about trying to find your identity in the unforgiving high school years. When we meet her, Amy is desperate, and, worst of all, she thinks her life is about as good as it's ever been. She has two best friends, Lila and Cassie, though she worries that they like each other better than they like her. But hey, at least she has them, right? And they have dates for prom. Only then they get stood up, and Lila steals a HUGE bag of pot from her boyfriend, and they get arrested. It's a mess.

Although I usually avoid reviews, I know that some people have been turned off by Amy; they just could not relate to her or understand why she would make such incredibly stupid decisions. Although I must admit that I did some serious Amy-judging, I also have a better understanding of her motivations. I know what it's like to be utterly friendless, and I know what you will put up with in an attempt to be liked, to not be alone. While I would like to think I'm too damn stubborn to have ever have done some of the stupid shit Amy does, like the smoking of all sorts, maybe I would have if I had had the possibility of friendship.

Amy's self-confidence is pretty much non-existence, which is, again, something else I can totally empathize with. It's pretty clear that most of this comes from her mother's treatment of her, and her dad's neglect. Her dad does seem to care, but he seems pretty hands-off, so much so that it doesn't make much of a difference. Amy's mom is one of those women who is so completely focused on appearances; she wants everything to be perfect, and criticizes Amy constantly for not reaching her standards. Her mother just does not listen to her; in fact, when someone asks Amy a question, her mom almost always answers, not trusting Amy to even speak for herself properly. Sadly, this kind of mother is entirely believable.

Amy is a real girl. She's not especially beautiful or smart or talented or friendly. As a result, she doesn't have anything that really sets her apart, at least in her own view: "It's easy for you to tell me that I'm wasting my life. You think I don't know that? You think I don't know there's nothing that makes me special? That the only thing I may ever do that makes news is, as far as my parents are concerned, the worst thing I've ever done?" (150). Let's be honest. We all want to be special, and we all want to be loved. As an adult or a kid that has your shit together, it's easy to say that her logic is stupid (it is), but, when you feel completely boring and unlovable, pretty much anything feels worthwhile to make that feeling stop. There were two things I wanted to say to Amy throughout the whole book: 1) It gets better 2) "Look at your life, look at your choices."

Pretty Amy is definitely a book that's going to make a lot of readers uncomfortable. It's not a pretty story. There's violence, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and generally teenage angst. However, I do think this is an important book, because it definitely captures the pain of being an awkward, lonely teenager.

[Margarita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty Amy was not what I expected - and that is such a good thing!
I expected the story to be lighter and fun, and again, I am so happy that I was wrong.
Amy's story is not dark, it may be slightly depressing and sad - but it has it's funny moments too.
I am amazed on how Lisa Burstein's writing was able to draw me in and remind me what it was like to be a senior in high school again - every time I was forced to put the book down I had to remind myself that I am no longer that teen and that I am married with children, a billion years away from being an 'Amy' again, lol! But every time I started reading again, I felt for Amy and knew exactly what she was going through... well, sans the arrest...

Amy is the quiet one of the group who goes along with whatever her 2 rebellious friends, Lila and Cassie, say and do. And in the process of being cool with them, she loses her longtime childhood friend.

Then on Prom night, the trio get ditched by their so-called dates and long story short, they end up being arrested for possession of pot. And of course, the teen drama begins and it's the end of the world as we know it! Amy is forbidden to see any of her friends, her cell phone is taken away, she has to get a job to pay for the attorney her parents hired, she has to see a shrink and she's pretty much on house arrest. She has also been expelled from school, which meant that she was not allowed to finish the last week of school - and even though she will graduate, because she was no longer permitted on school grounds, she was also not allowed to go to her graduation ceremony.

Now, we meet Amy's parents.
Her mom is overbearing, very picky and seems to care more about what people think than her only daughter. The Dad is very laid back and seems to be your typical kind of Dad that hasn't accepted the fact that his little girl is growing up and tries to downplay everything that is going on by making bad pancake breakfasts and letting his wife make the decisions.

At first, I really had a hard time with Amy's parents, I felt like they weren't really there for Amy and that they were being too harsh and making things worse for her. But then I remembered what being a teen was like, the things that I went through, the things I saw my parents went through and now that I am a parent too - I get it!
Amy's parents, just like a lot of parents, think that things for teens should be so easy.
They forget and don't understand how hard life could be for a teen, especially a teen that has lost her way and doesn't know who she is or who she wants to be. How difficult it is to find your own voice and just speak up. Amy has never had anyone to rely on or to talk to. No one who ever showed a genuine interest and listened to her... or did she???

The ending is really good. I won't say anymore due to spoilers!
All girls should read Pretty Amy!
No matter the age, just like Amy, you will find that you are never alone!

[Anjana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading Pretty Amy expecting a light story about high school drama on prom night. Instead, I got something much deeper.

Pretty Amy is the story Amy, a high school senior who's friends with the wrong kind girls just to feel accepted. The book begins on Prom Night when Amy and her two 'best friends' Lila and Cassie get stood up by their dates and an act of revenge ends up getting them arrested. Talk about a prom night from hell.

Whatever I was expecting, it was not this. Pretty Amy was way better than that. We all know what high school's like. Sure, things could be much worse but being invisible is every teenage girl's worst nightmare and it seems like the end of the world at the time.
Amy used to be an average girl with good grades and a so-so group of friends . All she has wanted was to belong, be something, feel like she was special even if she really wasn't and despite all the drinking, partying, drugs and the crazy trouble, Cassie and Lila gave her that, until Prom Night.

Lisa Burstein has written a fantastic novel exploring the troubles and insecurities of high school, peer-pressure and the consequences of your actions. The writing - sarcastic and full of wit - seriously made this book unputdownable.

I could understand and even relate to a lot of Amy's feelings, thoughts and choices and although I was screaming "Wake up!" the whole time as her world was falling apart, I probably would've reacted the same way at her age. Amy's resentment toward her mother, shrink, Joe and everyone else who tried to help her, I felt, was extreme and yet realistic and believable.

Although my high school experience was nothing like that, through the entire novel when I was in Amy's head, I could actually understand where she was coming from, her anger and also the vulnerable side that she tried so hard not to show. With Pretty Amy, Burstein got it all right - the way she let the emotions, events and dialogues play out among the characters.

"If bitching were karate, my mother would be a black belt."

Pretty Amy isn't just about the serious stuff one goes through in high school, the author also got all the embarrassing, awkward moments perfect while writing the book! The added humor just made it all the better. Amy's mother trying to help, haha, my mother is so like that!

Highly engaging, gritty and sometimes dark, I really enjoyed reading Pretty Amy, I hope you do too!

[Nely Cab · Rating 5 out of 5]

While most teenagers go to prom their senior year, Amy Fleishman goes to... jail?

In this witty story about a teenage girl trying to fit in and find her place in life, Amy's easy life is about to turn upside down. Her mother goes ballistic and her lawyer wants her to testify against her best friends, the only two girls that ever accepted her as she was. Hard headed Amy vows her loyalty to her friends and refuses, conscious that she may be spending the next year in jail. What's a girl to do when she's forced to find a job and forbidden to have any contact with her only friends? Become more rebellious, of course.

Lisa Burstein renders a humorous tale filled with a lot of parent nagging and teenage tantrums. And though the story is comical, it ends with a great moral. Burstein's writing style is easy to absorb and keeps true to the age of the main character's narration. After the giggles and the moral has been learned, you'll find that there's a "Pretty Amy" in you, too.


-Nely Cab, Author of Creatura

[Melissa West · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, the wonder of PRETTY AMY is in Lisa’s ability to dive layers deep into the teenage experience. As readers we like to talk about “relating” to a main character. I don’t think it’s essential that we relate to the main character, so much that we sympathize with her. And that’s an important distinction with PRETTY AMY. I wasn’t an “Amy” in high school, but that didn’t matter. I still felt for her, rooted for her, wanted so badly for her to grow through the novel into the strong girl that I knew she could be. I found myself laughing and crying with Amy from the beginning until the end. I was completely captivated by this story in a way I haven’t been for a contemporary novel in a very long time.

Hilarious, gut-wrenching, and raw, PRETTY AMY is a wonderful debut novel! Read it, you won’t be disappointed.

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at this before it comes out. I loved every minute of PRETTY AMY. Amy's so relatable and likeable and has this awesome snarky personality that made laugh. Out loud. That's right, I totally LOLd. I highlighted a ton of great lines. The pace was great. It was real and raw yet funny. This is contemporary YA at it's best, and I highly recommend everyone read it the second it comes out in May.

[Lisa Collicutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excited for Pretty Amy release - Can't wait to read!

[Nereyda (Nick & Nereyda's Infinite Booklist) · Rating 4 out of 5]

***ARC provided by Entangled Publishing for review***
When I first read the synopsis for Pretty Amy, I was expecting a funny story about a girl who was arrested on prom night. Imagine my complete surprise to find out that this book was actually deep, intense and emotional.

Pretty Amy tells the story of Amy Fleishman who has never stood out. Amy never had many friends and she was never part of the popular crowd. In fact, nobody ever seemed to notice Amy. Until freshman year when she befriends bad girls Lila and Cassie. Happy that someone notices her, Amy starts changing and doing things like smoking and doing drugs and losing a bit of herself everyday, which causes her to lose her only true friend, Joe. When Amy, Lila and Cassie are stood up by their dates for prom, they decide to break into one of their houses. There they find a large bag of pot. Lila and Cassie decide to smoke it and Amy agrees, just like she agrees to everything else they tell her. From there one bad decision leads to another until they are finally pulled over and arrested for possession and intent to sell. But that is only the beginning of her bad luck.

Amy's phone is taken away from her, she is forced to get a job at a gas station to pay for her own legal fees, she has to see a therapist, do volunteer work and she is forbidden by her parents to have any contact with Lila and Cassie. Despite the fact that Amy is desperate for love and attention, she doesn't cooperate with her parents, lawyer or shrink. Although, when you realize how cold hearted her mom is and how distant Amy's relationship is with her parents, it's not hard to understand why. Amy starts on a downward spiral as she struggles to prove her innocence, and earn the love and respect of her parents and the people she cares about. But is Amy willing to open up and do what it takes in order to achieve that?

As I said, I was expecting a funny, charming and light story and was instead treated with a intense and emotional roller coaster. Amy's internal struggle is at times heartbreaking and you can't help but root for her to get her act together and get her happy ending. Her relationship with her parents, especially her mother is so depressing that I wanted to run home and give a huge hug to my mom and thank her for being the exact opposite. Although this book was pretty gut-wrenching most of the time, it still managed to have some have it's funny and witty moments. Although Lila and Cassie were very hard to like, Cassie's personality managed to intrigue me and I'm glad that she will get to tell her own story in Dear Cassie. Perhaps one of my favorite characters was Amy's parrot AJ. The only thing I found a bit lacking in this story was the romance aspect. Nonetheless, Pretty Amy was an intense read that will tug at your heart-strings.

4 out of 5 sparkly stars!

Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Pretty Amy:
-I am a walking, talking True Life episode. Your high school guidance counselor's wet dream, and the only girls I know to get arrested on prom night.

-It was like some kind of warped Folger's commercial: me sniffing the air and thinking that there really is nothing better the morning after getting arrested than drinking a steaming-hot cup of java with my mom.

-It made it all the more real to me. I couldn't deny it anymore. The sun was up and I was still arrested. Nothing had changed-which meant everything had changed.

-I'd gotten used to our routine. Cassie was brash. Lila was beautiful. I was quiet and plain. Like human versions of the porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

-There was probably a lot I was guilty of. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time: check. Being a horrible disappointment as a daughter: check. At least I didn’t have to admit to any of it out loud.

-“It wasn't what you were doing with it, or even that it wasn't yours, but the amount you had when they picked you up.”
I found myself wishing that we had been pulled over later, after we’d had a chance to smoke more.

-We were nothing like these people. These people were real criminals. Our only crime was being stupid.

-I wasn't scary without Cassie. I wasn't cool without Lila.
I was just me.
***
Check out my interview with Lisa Burstein!
http://booksandsparkles.blogspot.com/...

Read more of my reviews and author interviews at:
Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed
http://BooksandSparkles.Blogspot.com

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a more detailed review, take a look at my blog.

Before I go ahead, let me just state, that I LOVED this book. And the main reason for that is the character Amy. I have to admit that I was, and sometimes still am, an Amy myself: Not sure where I belong and who to trust, not knowing what is right and what is wrong in my life. There are just two main differences between Amy and me: I am not sixteen, but twenty-one and I learned to embrace my own weirdness. There are days when I'm struggling, but basically I accepted myself for who I am. And I never tried to find my way in life the way Amy tries to: Years ago she abandoned her only real friend and neighbour Joe to hang out with Cassie and Lila. Because Cassie and Lila are cool. They smoke - and not only cigarettes -, they drink and they are rebellious. In fact, they are everything that not very self-confident Amy wants to be. And everything that is not good for her.

Pretty Amy is a fast, but wonderful read. It totally made me remember high school and life back then. And as I already mentioned, I can really relate to Amy and the way she is. Above all, I love the way she loves her parrot AJ. He is the only being Amy really trusts and he is just adorable sitting in his cage, babbling all the words Amy thought him. "Pretty Amy" belong to these words.
But even more than the character, I love the way Lisa Burstein manages to describe the development Amy makes and the things she needs to endure so that she learns to grow up. And the way she needs to grow up is definitely the hard way. Because after being in jail for one night, Amy's life changes forever. She needs to experience things she never thought of before, including to meet three very different, but interesting new people: Dick, Daniel and Connor - one is a lawyer, one is a therapist and one works at a Gas'n'Go. It is needless to say, that Amy isn't particular interested in meeting new people, especially not if they all want to help her to get back to 'normal'. She doesn't even want to be normal anyway, right?! Still she needs to discover, that there is no way she is going to live her life without anyone at her side. People will always be there, whether she wants them to be or not.

I don't want to give away too much of the story development, but I think it is pretty clear that I loved Pretty Amy a lot. It's definitely a more than successful debut for Lisa Burstein. In fact, I think every girl from around 14 up should read a book like that - not as a deterrent to see what can go wrong in life, but more to learn a very simple, but so necessary thing: You are not alone. No matter how lost you feel, others feel lost and sad and helpless, too. Maybe it's not the girl or the boy next door (but maybe it even is), but there is definitely someone who feels like you do and who cares for you, no matter if you can see that right now or not. And luckily, Lisa Burstein manages to imply that message in her book without referring to unrealistic characters or pathetic scenes. She writes about life like it really is. And that's one of the best things you can say about a book ever.

[Lisseth (Read-a-holicZ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

hey everyone I have the lovely opportunity of reading an ARC of this lovely book & being part of the blog tour for pretty Amy. more information to come. In the meantime, check out our blog: http://read-a-holicz.blogspot.com

BUT...here it is!

This book was good in a “life directing” sort of way. It’s like you’re watching this girl’s life slowly decay. I personally thought Amy was a little naïve and childish. She could have just made the deal with the lawyer! And the whole “I don’t want to be like everyone else” thing she had with her old friends (Before Cassie and Lila) didn’t seem serious because she was trying so hard to be like Lila and Cassie technically she was just another sheep.
But I could honestly relate to Amy which is why I loved this book. Throughout the whole book all she wanted was one true friend that she could “cross the mountain of maturity with”. A friend she could count on. This is what we all want really.

I didn’t like Lila in this book. She was stuck up and full of it, but loneliness lead Amy to her. I liked Cassie she was feisty, but the author made her seem like a manly woman for most of the book.

Another way I could really relate with Amy is how much she relied on AJ, her bird. I rely on Pio (my chicken) too in the same way she does for comfort and as a source to turn to when you don’t want anyone judging you. But of course I can’t make Pio compliment me like AJ can. I loved the whole symbolism with AJ. Wanting to fly and to be free, not that Amy’s parents made it easy for her. That’s something else that (maybe) we can all relate to. How clueless our parents are. The author really emphasizes it in this book.
I really hated it when Amy’s parents went to her graduation (which she could not attend) without her! Aaron, in the book seemed sleazy from the beginning, but I don’t like how the author never explains why the boys ditched them on prom night and how Aaron knew who Amy was. Maybe she thought we could fill in the gaps but I couldn’t. My best guess is Facebook.

Anyway I think the ending was a little rushed, but the part with Amy and Joe finally getting together I adored. I just wish they could have been together as friends, but you could tell they wouldn’t by the way Amy got all jealous when she thought Joe was going out with Leslie. The last thing I really liked about this book even though it got a little repetitive was the similes. I could honestly flip to any page and find a simile. (“Struggling and bleeding like a lamb”) Some of the sentences were a bit confusing but overall I really liked it.

-Karina over @read-a-holicz.blogspot.com

[Hannah Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit that Pretty Amy was completely different from anything that I thought it would be. In fact, it is completely different from any book that I have ever read. The raw and gritty nature of this book is definitely not for youngsters however; I do believe that it is an important book for teenagers to read and for their parents to read also.

I spent the majority of the book wanting to punch the main character, Amy, in the face. Reading the book as both an outsider and as someone who never experienced the situations that Amy does in the book made me see her as only a blind little girl. After all, how could she not see that her friends were trouble or that there were so many positive people in her life campaigning and cheering for her?

Then I remembered that she is a teenager, and at that age parents are the enemy and any one your parents like immediately become “uncool” by association. You see things the way they work in the social ladder at school. Amy couldn’t climb that ladder and was stuck in a rut trying to be something that she wasn’t, and so she fell into a vicious cycle and instead became something entirely different and even farther from who she really is.

It took me until the very end of the book to realize the true value in Pretty Amy. Its not that it was a horrible book, it was actually very well written and had a lot of great points. It was Amy herself that made me want shake my head and groan in frustration while I was reading. It was also Amy though, who had to go through the trials she did and only her who could grow from them.

Lisa Burstein did a wonderful job of accurately portraying the feelings of a teenager and more specifically a teenage girl. The pressure to become something that your not is always there, whether or not like Amy you turned to drugs or smoking to join a group of outcasts, or like me you pretended you hated reading because cool kids didn’t read. I love how Amy rises above her circumstances to overcome the bad hands that life has dealt her. One thing I didn’t like about this book was how I associated more with her parent’s frustrations than Amy struggles….I am too young for that lol. Over all really great book, never ended up punching Amy, and hope to read more by Lisa Burstein in the future. Four stars to this great read!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so happy when the publisher sent me an eARC of Pretty Amy. I started it right away and finished it in one setting. It was a fast and interesting read and it wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I loved every minute of it!

Amy is a normal teenage who feels like she is all alone. Her parents don't understand her and pretty much ignore her, and her two best friends, Lila and Cassie are the "bad girls". They smoke, drink and have sex. When Amy started hanging out with them, she lost her best friend, the All-American boy next door, Joe. On the night of the prom, which was supposed to be the best night of her life, their dates stood them up and they weren't able to get into prom because they didn't have tickets. Instead, the three of them decided to drive around while smoking and drinking. This leads to her prom night arrest.

Man, I really loved Amy. I felt her pain, and it brought back so many high school memories of being awkward and never feeling like you belong. Her voice was just so realistic. I felt like I could have been friends with her in high school.

Only two boys are mentioned in Pretty Amy. There is Aaron, the bad-boy who stood her up at prom. He came off like he really cared about Amy and gave her the attention she so desperately wanted, but I knew he was bad news from the very beginning and didn't like him one bit. Then there is her childhood friend Joe. He was very sweet, but I would have liked more scenes with him and Amy together.

Amy's mom was my favorite! She was such a realistic portrayal of mothers. She even reminded me of some of my friends moms. The way she twists everything that Amy is going through and makes it about her...I loved it! It cracked me up because there are so many mothers like that!

The writing was fantastic. Every single character felt realistic and I think Lisa Burstein created a very realistic story about being a teenager and trying to get through it the best way you know how. There was also some very funny one liners.

I seriously loved everything about Pretty Amy and I can not wait to have a pretty finished copy on my bookshelf on May 15th.

[Michelle Kampmeier · Rating 4 out of 5]

See full review here!

I received this book at RT in a contest. Here's my honest review:

This book needs to sink in a bit more. I have some weird feelings about it, but overall I liked it. Let's see where this review takes me (since I write based on feelings, this could get messy).

So, I guess my major problem with this is that all Amy did was smoke pot. She wasn't some crazed druggie doing meth in the streets or anything. Yes, she did it at school, yes, she smoked quite a bit, and yes, they got caught with a lot of it in the car. But she's down on herself and her life for smoking POT. Her parents are freaked out because of POT. She's seventeen. I've never done it, but don't most people try it in high school? Gah, I don't know.

I do get that she's made poor choices regarding her relationships. She chose the "bad girls" and ditched good people like Joe. Her mom was a little overbearing and a bit psychotic. I might have needed a change too with a mom like her. Anddd this isn't about me. So.. Amy was a teenager in a tough spot, got caught, and had to pay for her indiscretion. You can only hope it teaches her a lesson.

But this isn't just about paying for wrong actions. Amy is forced to learn a lot about herself through some tough love and her outright stubbornness. She finds friends in unexpected places and lessons in stuff she knew from the start. We all have to make our own mistakes to grow, don't we?

Mostly I enjoyed this book. Some parts were predictable, but the way Amy got there wasn't exactly what I thought would happen. She just made me feel sad, though. The whole book is kind of a downer. But like I said, reading this book was easy in the sense that I always wanted to keep going. I was never bored, it wasn't slow or too weird, and I didn't spend too long on this book. Good stuff here. :o)

[Winna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty Amy first caught my attention because of the premise, then the cover. It's so pretty, a girl sitting in jail in her prom dress, staring off into something we can't see in the distance.

The story is about Amy, and how she tries to navigate her life, find out who her real friends are, and the meaning of being herself.

I wish the book picks up a faster pace, so instead of being with Amy doing her community services and getting nothing much in return, I wish we can see her develop during those activities. But here I find that Amy still keeps being her stubborn, irresponsible self, going through each hellish activity like a zombie. She learns almost nothing from the animal shelter, the job at the convenience store, and she ends up being in more trouble than she already is.

Other than the pace and plot development, I find the characters unlikeable. All of them. From Amy (whose voice is so authentic, kudos to the writer, and I can see what she's thinking and the reasoning behind them, but still unlikeable), the mean boyfriend, the selfish best friends, the hippie shrink, the parents, even the best friend and the lawyer and the manager at the store Amy works in. All of them are flawed and troubled in their own way, but I wish I could feel like I could like them for something, anything. I wish Amy could talk to her shrink, I wish he's being friendlier and less than 'I don't give a damn about you as I'm being paid to do this anyway'. There are barely any touching moments between Amy and the rest of the people around her. Even her moment with Joe feels strange, abrupt. I can only picture her being a single fighter, alone in her anger, hurt and confusion, and there's nothing the people around her are actually doing. They're too busy being paid to do their jobs, being angry at her, or being disappointed and such.

I wish I could love this book more, I really do. But I don't, and I'm moving on :)

[Hot Stuff Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

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I received an e-ARC of this stand alone novel tanks to Netgalley, Entangled Publishing and the author.

Before I read this novel I was sure to spend a good time and I was also a little afraid to be disappointed. It happens often when you're eagerly waiting for a novel. But, Pretty Amy is far much more than what I thought.

In my opinion, the author catches the spirit of all teenagers. Amy is a so believable character that, sometimes, I forgot it's just a book. There's a little of myself in Amy and I'm sure you'll feel the same when you'll read this novel.

Her voice is strong, full of questions about herself, about her future, about her parents and friendships and about how others perceive her. She's lost, she's naive and feels lonely even surrounded by people who care about her, but maybe not how she wants them to. Ho never felt this way at one point?

In my opinion, this novel is a real piece of life. We were all Amy at one point, even if our life and the consequences were different. That's why this book is so good. You picture yourself quite often.

The writing style of the author is simple, true and conveys perfectly Amy's story. From the first sentence to the last one, I was hooked, remembering what it was like for me when I was a teenager trying to fit in the crowd, in my family.

This novel is never boring. It's smart because it makes you think, which is even better for a YA book. If only I could read more books like this one!

Moreover, the chapters are not built following the same structure which is very important for the rhythm of the novel and also to keep the readers on the edge.

So, this novel is a must read for me. It's funny, it's also grave and it sounds true to the core. You can't be disappointed!