LitPick Review
Age at time of review - 39
Reviewer's Location -
Ehrenburg,
Az,
United States
View K. LaMon's profile
Faith Tiknor, her younger sister Erin, and their father Joe move from the small town of Brownsville to the larger and more affluent town of Delwick during Faith's sophomore year. Faith has to not only start over, friendless, in a new town but also at a new school. Faith puts her best foot forward, and she is optimistic about her prospects. Unfortunately, though, some bigoted, hateful, and entitled people in her new neighborhood, exhibit actions and motives that are beyond reproach. The Ugly Girl Party follows Faith's ups and downs as she attempts to make friends, confront her tormentors, shield her younger sister, and survive her father's new romance.
Opinion:
Overall, I enjoyed The Ugly Girl Party by Ann Herrick. The characters are likable and easy to relate to. Faith, Erin, and Riley are my favorite characters. Erin's singular focus and love of horses is endearing, and Riley's shy and studious nature makes him stick out from the other boys in the narrative. Faith's ability to handle the stress of not only moving but also becoming a victim of bullying at her new school, and then to keep most of it from her young sister, shows her inner strength.
I feel Hunter Hutchinson and Taylor Duran are two of the most horrible people in this book. Their words and actions cement them as cruel and privileged bullies. I wish there were more consequences for the perpetrators at the school dance. The ending of the book leaves some burning questions unanswered for me, like mainly, why did Hunter only get detention, while initially, Faith was suspended? I understand that even the retaliatory actions of those being bullied should have consequences, but the degree of difference between the two punishments, considering the reasons, seems unfair to me.
That is the only drawback I found while reading The Ugly Girl Party. I enjoyed the easy flow of the writing and dialogue. Since the narrative is written from Faith's point of view, it captures teenage emotion and angst very well. While not an emotional roller coaster to the extreme, Faith's situation is one with which I can easily empathize. I enjoyed reading this one and recommend The Ugly Girl Party to all YA readers. It is a great read that can easily be finished in an afternoon.
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Explain your content rating:
I gave this rating because of the rare racial slur in the dialogue.
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Read more reviews by this Litpick Book Reviewer: K. LaMon