Skip to main content

#prettyboymustdie by Kimberly Reid- 1.5 Stars [arc review]

This book hurts my intellect! 
I almost didn't finish reading it, it took a lot of mental pep-talk.
The blurb for this book is great, I was very much looking forward to it, it sounded fun... it disappointed in every possible way. Here is the blurb for you all: 


A CIA prodigy's cover is blown when he accidentally becomes an internet sensation in #Prettyboy Must Die, inspired by the #Alexfromtarget story.



When Peter Smith's classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo--along with the caption, "See the Pretty Boy Run,"--Peter knows he's in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter's pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency.

Because he's not really Peter Smith. He's Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he's on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things.

His cover's blown, his school's under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, 'fifteen minutes of fame.' Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he'll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life. 


So... first of all, the story isn't fun. It was insubstantial, flimsy, and lacked any sort of depth. It is borderline ridiculous because of how unrealistic it is too. Now, both those things would have been okay if the book had succeeded at being funny, whimsical books are not known for being realistic or in depth. It would also have been okay had it succeeded at being a good spy book, those also aren't known for being realistic. But it failed on both counts. It was ridiculous instead of funny and witless/foolish instead of a clever spy book.

That being said it is possible that such a mindless story will strike a cord with middle graders. As a librarian though, I wouldn't want my kiddos to read something so unimaginative.

And now we go to an issue I know many will have with the book too: the book was oozing with condescending, patronizing and sexist remarks. As in, a pretty girl cannot be a spy because...well... she is nice and pretty. And one I had to laugh not to cry in anger, a girl with long nails cannot be a hacker! Seriously? The main character was full of those stupid foregone conclusions and a lot of them were just rude. 
I don't usually have problems with things like that in books, I am more forgiving towards books that lack political correctness than most reviewers out there, and still, even I found this very very wrong. That in my books says a lot. 

The 1.5 star is for the blurb and the idea behind the book. From that blurb a great teen spy book could have been written. It is also for the character Bunker, Jake's friend at school and the only character that did not suck! 

Sorry TorTeen! I wanted to love, I just can't....

Expected Publication: February 13th
Publisher: TorTeen
Find the book: GoodReads - Amazon - Macmillan - Nook: B&N - The Author


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Radiant Sin (Dark olympus) by Katee Robert [arc review]

This is sadly, not going to be a very popular review. I adore Katee Robert. But this one just wasn't for me. It wasn't a terrible book or anything like that, it just left me wanting more and very puzzled. Every one of the books in this series follows a certain trope and/or subplot genre. Neon Gods is very much a Greek Mythology retelling;  Electric Idol  has the plus size influencer and the sweet bad boy, it is a very modern contemporary romance;  Wicked Beauty , and my favorite so far has that hunger games/dystopian vibe. Radiant Sin  is a murder mystery. The 'one house'/'one train' style that has always been so popular. Here lies problem number one for me, because I don't like murder mysteries at all. Even on my teen years when I read a lot of mystery it was never those. Problem two- there were way too many characters in that house, and they all got their time on the page making it one very confusing mess. It was very hard to follow at times. I think this

The Book Hater's Book Club by Gretchen Anthony

The Book Hater's Book Club  at first appears to be about a struggling bookstore and its imminent sale. Elliot, the co-owner of Over the Rainbow Bookstore, started  The Book Hater's Book Club , a newsletter of reading recommendations for the self-proclaimed non-readers of the world, because he believed there was a book out there for everyone. Something I wholeheartedly agree with! For years he and Irma have kept the store going and always had a recommendation in hand. When you finish this book, you will have yet another list of books to read.  However, this book is about more than just books and a struggling bookstore. It is also about grief, the price of secrets, and a little more grief.  You see, Elliot is gone, and his grief-ridden business partner has agreed to sell the store to developers. Problem is, she didn't tell that to anyone until the deal was almost done. Which is making her daughters ask questions. Why is she selling? Is it grief alone? Is there something else

Promises and Pomegranates (Monsters & Muses #1) by Sav R. Miller

I was very excited about this read. The reviews are good, the people recommending it were people whose recommendations I have liked in the past. And in the end, at did like this one. But I will confess from the start that Promises and Pomegranates  did not blow me away. Blurb: Elena To most, Kal Anderson is a villain. Harbinger of death, keeper of souls, frequenter of nightmares. Doctor Death. Hades incarnate. They say he stole me. Usurped my fiancĂ© and filled the cracks in my heart with empty promises. Imprinted his crimson fingerprints on my psyche and tried to set me free. They’re not wrong, per se. Except it was my choice to stay. Kal To most, Elena Ricci is an innocent. Goddess of springtime, lover of poetry, angel of my nightmares. Little one. Persephone personified. They say I ruined her. Shattered her virtue and devoured her soul like a succulent pomegranate. Embedded my evil as deep as I could possibly get and tried to set her free. They’re not wrong, per se. Except it was she