This is a good book for students to read if they are having a hard time making friends. In this story Beauty is having a hard time making friends because she is shy and cares a lot about what people think about her. That is until she meets a girl named Alane. Alane has a disease called Progeria. Progeria is a disease that makes individuals grow four times as fast as they are suppose too. Through Alane Beauty finds out what it's like to have a true friend and that it doesn't matter what someone looks like. It matters what their personalities are like. Very good story about learning to find out who you are and the importance of friends. I checked out this book along with another she wrote, The Chosen One, because she is a local author. I was disappointed because this could have been a great story, maybe along the lines of Star Girl, but the author did not develop her characters and their relationships very well. To have just barely met this new friend and then they go out for a drive when she is underage? Preposterous. The trust went from 0 to 100 mph which does not happen, even in friendships with 6th graders. Then, when supposedly a friendship had been established, the main character vacillates so easily from a few notes thrown at her in class? Too doubtful. I think more information about progeria would have been useful and interesting. I love youth fiction, but not when the author treats her readers as if they are stupid, oversimplifying and speeding up the story when it's not necessary.
What do You think about Pretty Like Us (2008)?
This is one of the books Ali read. She said she liked it.
—Cynthia
It's a good fast read book with lots of detail!
—Amy
