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About Not Pretty Enough
“New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Lloyd Layton will know I exist. He once said three whole words to me, so this is obviously progress. If I don’t get a proper conversation out of him soon, then I’ll take my top off and streak through the cafeteria, because nobody could fail to notice these boobs.
2. I will not get expelled for streaking through the cafeteria.”
Those are the words that begin her mission.
Chessie is fourteen, not pretty enough, and very much in love. Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and unaware of Chessie’s existence.
Her goal is clear: to get Lloyd to love her as much as she loves him, and she has exactly one year to do it.
As Chessie’s obsession with Lloyd reaches boiling point and she starts to spin a web of lies that spiral out of control, Lloyd turns out to be not quite the prince she thought he was. Can Chessie avoid the gathering storm before things go too far?
Not Pretty Enough is a contemporary young adult comedy suitable for ages thirteen and over.
Book two in the series will be released early 2014.
Amazon buy link
Excerpt
There’s a common misconception that everyone wants big boobs. Let me tell you something: they don’t. If they’re fourteen and have a chest bigger than most of their school, including the teachers, they don’t. I’m a DD cup. People pay thousands of pounds to have their boobs enlarged to be smaller than mine. I can’t remember the last time I passed for a half fare on the bus. Or the last time a bus driver asked my face and not my chest for the fare. Everyone notices boobs when you’re my age. In fact, the only human in the world who doesn’t notice them is the one person I would quite like to notice them.
Lloyd Layton.
I’d quite like him to notice my personality too, but at this point just noticing my mere existence will do. If I have to use my boobs to lure him in, then so be it. The thing is, Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and really, really tall. Taller than everyone else in our year. Taller than the teachers. Occasionally taller than the doorways. He knows what it’s like to be picked on for a physical attribute you can’t control. He’s different too. He knows what it’s like to be an outsider. Okay, when it comes to Lloyd Layton, he’s not really an outsider, because he’s absolutely gorgeous and loads of people like him, and I doubt anyone would dare to pick on him for anything because he could knock them flying with one swoop of his gigantic hands. But still. He’s taller than everyone and I have bigger boobs than everyone. We’re clearly a match made in heaven. It’s just a shame that he can’t see it yet.
But I’m sure he will one day soon.
I’m actually moving closer to that goal because he said one sentence to me back in December.
One sentence. Three small words. Not the three words I would like to hear him say, but I’ll take what I can get.
It was the last lesson of the last day of term before the Christmas holidays. Double technology. Not usually something to get excited about, but we came to the conclusion that the Christmas spirit had gone to Mr Vale’s head because he let us watch a movie in class instead of doing any work.
The Princess Bride.
We were allowed to pull chairs in around the TV and sit and watch a movie for two hours. Guess who pulled his chair in not that far away from mine?
Lloyd Layton.
I don’t know what happened next. I can’t explain it. It was like having an out of body experience. I’ll never understand how I had the courage to do it, but halfway through the film, I leaned over and said, “This is a good movie.” To Lloyd Layton. Better than that, he actually replied. He said, “Yes, it is.”
Three whole words.
It got even better than that again because after it was over and we were putting the chairs up on the desks, he smiled at me. A real smile. And it wasn’t at the person behind me because I was next to a wall. He smiled at me.
Review
Chessie is in love and willing to do just about anything to get Lloyd Layton to notice her; no matter how often her best friend advises against the newest plan.
But with each new scheme, Chessie spirals into one embarrassing situation after another. Lie after lie begin to build, and Chessie finds herself scurrying around to keep up with it all. And when Lloyd finally does pay her attention, Chessie finds herself in a precarious situation. Is Lloyd the guy she's built him up to be?
Not Pretty Enough is like a teenage version of Bridget Jones's Diary. Chessie's shenanigans are equal parts hilarious and painful. Every awkward moment of Chessie's teenage life is put on display. As a reader, I cringed a couple of times--we've all been through those painfully embarrassing teenage moments, ones we wanted to crawl away from and hide. Poor Chessie has more than her fair share.
I wanted to scream and yell for her to feel better about herself and give up on Lloyd. And where was her mother during all of this? But I only had these issues because I cared about her character, and that's always a good thing.
Readers who appreciate a witty and real story about teenage life will enjoy this one.
Rating: 4 stars
About the Author
Jaimie is a 28-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps. She has been writing for years but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people.
Afterlife Academy is her third novel and she hopes you enjoy it. There are plenty more on the way!
Connect with Jaimie: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter.
GoodReads link.
Giveaway
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Please visit other stops on the Not Pretty Enough blog tour page.
Thanks to Oops I Read a Book Again for including me on this blog tour.
Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. No other compensation was received. A positive review was not guaranteed or requested; the views expressed are my own.
