A group of three young friends in New York City are given a potion that transforms them temporarily into beautiful women. The transformation is painful and messy. They notice a change in how people treat them immediately. As they navigate their new bodies and the world around them, they experiment with their personalities as well.

Since the potion wears off in about a week, they must decide if they will continue to become beautiful again or go back to being regular. As each of them tries new things, they are unable to stop taking the potion so they can continue on new ventures. In time, they grow more concerned with the changes in their lives and how the potion has affected their real selves. In the end, they decide to dispose of the potion.

I realized halfway through the novel that the writer usually writes young adult. This made a lot of sense to me as the book seems written for a younger audience. The characters were shallowly developed and a bit boring and stereotypical. I had a hard time relating to the characters and their lives. While the pace was good and the plot was interesting, the substance was lacking.

This is a super fun summer read. The concept is interesting, the dialogue is snappy and realistic, and the plot moves along at a brisk pace. The pop culture references are frequent and on point… for now. This novel is going to date, fast.

On the diversity front, one of our three central characters is bisexual and another is Indian (there’s an excellent moment when Evie makes a point that the Pretty subscribes to Western beauty standards when it lightens Krista’s naturally dark skin).

I found Evie the most sympathetic of the three main characters – she also felt like the MAIN-main character. Trying to balance self-love with the knowledge that she’s not conventionally beautiful, and feminist principles with need to earn a paycheck, I could relate to her throughout.

Krista and Willow were less relatable, but their stories were distinct and interesting, and while I’m critical of some of their decisions, all of their choices felt true to character.

Before I launch into my criticisms (and SPOILERS) below, let me say that very few of these mattered while I was reading, and 95% of this book was deliciously enjoyable.

But. On the bad side, loose ends. So many loose ends.



We never get a definitive answer on what the Pretty actually is. I think trying to get too science-y would ruin it, but there were too many hints dropped in the text to ignore it completely. Combined with the odd looks that Evie kept picking up on from Jan and Marcello, I genuinely thought the big reveal was going to be that all supermodels take this stuff, are created by the Pretty – potentially with some nasty side-effects. Which was hinted at too, with Evie thinking her chin was pointier, and Krista wondering about her eyes. But nope, no big conspiracy, no long term impacts, all done.

Except… what about Penny?! Maybe she’ll be experiencing side effects, given that she’s still drinking the Pretty because she’s trapped in some sort of sexual slavery to an Arab billionaire. That ending needed to include Penny sitting on the sofa with our three main women, eating pizza and learning to love her regular face. And no longer luring other women into unhappy lives like her own, because that throwaway line about “grooming her for Naseem” was super creepy.

The conclusion of all three of the main character’s stories felt rushed and a bit too neat. Evie’s worked best for me: she had her heart broken, but got a brand new job (that didn’t require sacrificing her feminism) and a new love interest who liked her “regular” face.

Krista’s whole storyline was a disaster (to be honest, Krista herself is a disaster, but flawed characters are usually my jam). What movie goes from casting to shooting in a couple of days? Why did Tristan forgive her so quickly (or, y’know, AT ALL) for using his spiritual idol as a dildo? Why isn’t more said about her reaction to Tristan after she finds out his deep dark secret? Krista, you’re a bitch.

Willow… Willow’s story was strange to me. From her first POV chapter, where it’s unclear whether she has breasts that are “freakishly huge, hideously oversized, like two bulbous watermelons strapped to her chest” or, a page later “nonexistant breasts that weren’t even a handful, that were more male than female”, she confused me. Maybe it’s meant to be body dysmorphia? Is she mentally ill? (Probably.) Has she been hospitalised before? And most confusingly for me, after all the trickery she’s pulled, why did Mark take her back?



Overall, four stars because despite all my complaints, this is a genuinely funny and well-paced novel, perfect for reading by the pool with a glass of wine and a cheese plate. Don’t forget to suspend your disbelief. ( )

This book wants to be a feminist statement, but it is actually the opposite. Hated it. ( )

Krista Kumar, Evie Selby, and Willow Hendriksen are best friends, young women living in New York City. Krista's an aspiring actress after dropping out of law school, Willow a photographer who has just had her first gallery show, and Evie is a writer. Evie anonymously writes the blog, Something Snarky. Her paying job, though, is as a lowly copy editor for a women's magazine called Salty.

Krista is not getting a lot of jobs, not even trivial ones. Willow's gallery show was a failure. Salty publishes mostly the superficial, sexualized, "buy this to be beautiful enough to matter" stories that Evie, an intelligent, aware, passionate feminist, most hates.

And they are all depressingly aware that they don't meet the societal beauty standards pushed in, among all the media outlets, Salty.

One day, Krista meets someone she took a class with, her gives her a little bottle of something called, simply, "Pretty." One drop each will make them beautiful. The effect will only last a week.

Krista unhesitatingly uses it--and discovers that the transformation process is really painful. On the other hand, the results are impressive.

Willow thinks it over for a day, and despite knowing how painful it will be, also uses it.

Evie angrily tells each of them they are succumbing to society's false and destructively sexist standards, and that they don't need Pretty to be worthwhile.

The next day, though, her boss announces that Salty is starting a video series called Extra Salt, that will do exiting and interesting stories for contemporary women. Evie wants the roll of host, and knows that she has no shot at it. She winds up taking the Pretty, and making up a name and a cover story.

Krista gets a role in a movie with an actor she has had a long-distance crush on.

Willow finds out her boyfriend is willing to cheat on her. She also takes heartbreaking, moving pictures of her "Pretty" self.

Evie gets the hosting role, and collides with the reality of trying to bring genuinely interesting and intelligent stories to a video broadcast that's all about the advertising dollars.

They all spend the next several weeks having adventures both romantic and professional. In the process, they learn a lot about themselves, each other, and the world.

The question is, will this make any of them happier or better off? And how long will the supply of Pretty last them?

It's sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and overall interesting. Not great literature, but I really enjoyed it. In a seemingly silly story, there's a lot of serious thought and character development going on here.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book and am reviewing it voluntarily. ( )

Evie, Willow, and Krista are three twenty-somethings living in New York City. All three can be described as "regular" physically: average height and not strikingly beautiful. Krista runs into Penny, a girl from an improv class, who is totally transformed. Penny is taller, skinnier, and more beautful than Krista remembers. Penny shares her secret with Krista; a magical potion called Pretty. Take a drop and you are transformed into a model-like goddess. Willow is the first of the friends to take Pretty, followed by Krista, and then Evie. All three girls experience how differently they are treated now that they are "pretty" in society's eyes. Evie scores a hot date with a famous author, Krista lands an acting gig, and Willow discovers the truth about her boyfriend. The Pretty seems like a magical cure for their regular lives, but is being more beautiful all it's cracked up to be? The characters are funny, flawed, and unique in their own ways. Any fan of the TV show Girls will find this book entertaining. "The Regulars" gives a great social commentary on the standards women are held to physically, and what it means to truly be yourself for who you are, not what you look like.

Taylor W. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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