Scary Beautiful - Niki Burnham

I found a copy of one of Niki Burnham's books lying around school last year, Royally Jacked, so I read it, and I really liked her. Afterward I read Spin Control which was also good, although not as good as the first (have you noticed this theme running through my reviews?). Mostly I'd say these romantic comedies are girly books, so guys, you might just want to go to another post now. Sorry.

Scary Beautiful is another romantic comedy about Chloe, the girl described in the title by her ex-boyfriend. Now why would your boyfriend, of all people, say you were SCARY beautiful? I dunno, might have been a clue, do you think? Actually, though, he did seem like a pretty decent guy....right up until he dumped her at the airport that is. So now she's facing a year without a boyfriend, a situation she hasn't been in for a long time, and that's really much more scary. Chloe discovers that it seems like being really beautiful is strike against you, particularly for other girls. All the girls around her, even some of her best friends, become very insecure and, therefore, pretty nasty to her. But there's no reason for it on Chloe's side, she's the same person she's always been, and it's really hard for her to figure it all out.

It's also a little hard for her to figure out how she can be falling for WAY nerdy book-boy, taking physics OF HIS OWN FREE WILL Billy. OK, granted, he is really, really cute behind those glasses, but still. Now being someone who has fallen for a nerd herself (oh, it's true, and he even knows it), they have some things to recommend them. Like they can actually carry on a conversation. They think about other people. And, they can help you figure some stuff out. I'd highly recommend the nerdy ones.

I really liked how this book turned out - and I really should have started reading earlier last night because I had to stay up way too late to finish it. Maybe a nap is in order this afternoon?

This book does have some swearing in it, so before you read it, you need to be sure that your parents would be okay with that. If they're not, choose something else. There are lots of great books out there! This book is available at Multnomah County Library.

EBB