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Summary
Summary
Every person lives with his or her ideal concept of beauty. As a teenager, this ideal can be challenging: Am I pretty enough? What does it mean to be pretty? Is beauty fair? Ranging from funny to desperate, each of the stories in this collection portrays a turning point moment when individual dreams of beauty collide with reality. In Lauren Myracle's story, a Homecoming Queen deals with a truly enormous and possibly enchanted chin hair. In Ellen Wittlinger's contribution, a young model questions the career her mother has foisted on her. In Mary Ann Rodman's piece, a white American feels baffled by her beautiful Thai's classmates desire to be pale. Perceptive and unexpected, these stories challenge readers to question their own thoughts about beauty.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-This collection of short stories challenges the myths and expectations surrounding the stronghold of physical beauty and leads readers to consider the genuine essences of loveliness and personal power. A balanced cast of new names in young adult literature and those readily recognized, such as Ron Koertge, Lauren Myracle, Chris Lynch, Ellen Wittlinger, Jacqueline Woodson, Norma Fox Mazer, and Tim Wynne-Jones, explore these themes in a diverse gathering of quirky, serious, humorous, enticing, and, most importantly, thought-provoking tales from many perspectives. A girl seeks both uniqueness and acceptance by dying her hair blue and piercing her nose; a boy bravely approaches the girl of his dreams despite being embarrassed by his excessively hairy adolescent body; a tiny young man fantasizes about rescuing a gorgeous girl from her suicide; a Homecoming queen sprouts an unstoppable chin hair and fears disgrace; and a paralyzed boy is taken aback by his stunning nurse. The stories are all carefully crafted with messages more inherent than blatant, encouraging some enjoyable second readings to appreciate a few of them fully. As with Donald R. Gallo's Destination Unexpected (Candlewick, 2003), this collection will encourage readers to consider and explore new dimensions in human experiences and relationships.-Diane P. Tuccillo, Harmony Library, Fort Collins, CO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Lending careful consideration to issues of self-identity, Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories About Beauty, ed. by Ann Angel, contains 13 stories that concentrate on societal perceptions of beauty: a blessing and a curse to the many characters found throughout these pages. From a model who would rather be behind the camera than in front of it to a boy nicknamed Ape because of his hairy body, these stories are sure to garner laughs and knowing sighs from teen readers. (Abrams/Amulet, $18.95 240p ages 13-18 ISBN 9780-8109-1607-4; May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Middle School, High School) Twelve writers -- many well-known, some new -- address the theme of beauty in this solid story collection for teens. In one way or another, each of the main characters considers how others see them -- in romance, at school, at home, or through different cultural lenses -- but each of their responses vary. Some of the stories are solidly grounded in the everyday, reporting from the front lines of high school social life: an average-looking girl surviving the given name Beauty (Norma Fox Mazer); a boy with a lot of body hair surviving the stigmatizing nickname Ape (J. James Keels). Two tales cross into the surreal to examine beauty as a curse. In ten wistful vignettes, Ron Koertge portrays a girl trapped in her own stunning beauty, completely isolated from everyone else; Lauren Myracle does a hilarious take on a beauty queen afflicted with a living, waving chin hair on Homecoming night. Several writers focus on the beauty in the world around us and our ability to see it. Tim Wynne-Jones writes a particularly affecting story of an undersized boy, Tiny, who tries to save a suicidal beauty with his ability to make her laugh. The stories encompass a range of mood and style, but all address issues of self-discovery and looking beneath the surface -- quintessential adolescent themes. Copryight 2007 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Combining contributions from established veterans and newcomers, this appealing anthology, with its baker's dozen of stories about beauty--a topic often on the minds of youth--offers a broad perspective. While some of the tales have thematic and plot similarities (there's a couple, for instance, in which girls use their looks to separate from their mothers), it boasts depth and range. Tim Wynne Jones's literary narrative about a physically small yet brilliant teen's heart-wrenching encounter with a suicidal beauty is a standout. Chris Lynch presents another gem that features a confident blend of humor and pathos as a boy flirts with the unseen nurse who cares for him after he breaks his back. There's a striking juxtaposition between Lauren Myracle's hilarious tall tale about a homecoming queen's chin hair that grows to Rapunzel-like proportions, and Louise Hawes's raw, tender chronicle about a 12-year-old who views a forbidden freak show in the 1950s. Authors' biographies and discussion questions are appended. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
"Wild, funny, and thought-provoking, this anthology's stories, contributed by well-known authors for teens, challenge readers to reconsider their notions of beauty. Several stories are fantasies. In Lauren Myracle's hilarious Bad Hair Day, a homecoming queen sprouts a stubborn, vine-like chin whisker just before her crowning ceremony. Many realistic characters echo Jamie Pittel's narrator, who pierces her nose, dyes her hair blue, and wonders about the difference between who you really are and who you're supposed to be, like, according to your family. Ellen Wittlinger's beautiful narrator chooses to become a photographer's assistant rather than the model her mother wants to her to be. Several stories, including Mary Ann Rodman's Farang, set in Thailand, confront racism and cultural ideals of beauty. Each story shows a universal ache for self-acceptance. Jacqueline Woodson's pre-teen narrator talks about a longing to be-long. Not to my friends or my block, but to me. When teens talk about beauty, they talk about their lives; this strong anthology, which includes a reader's guide, is a great place to begin the wide-reaching discussion."--"Engberg, Gillian" Copyright 2007 Booklist
