I received this book thru LibraryThing for a review in return. This book wasn't exactly as I was thinking from reading the synopsis. It was much more inner dialogue and rambling than I prefer. It was almost like the budding romance was a side note to the bigger portion which was centered around her unflattering nose, insecurities about this nose, amputations and the disease of anorexia. In all I would rate this book as ok. ( )

I'll be honest, when I was reading this book, it was fine. Then I read two more books after it, and completely forgot everything about it. I couldn't remember the title or the characters or the story... I was telling my dad about some of the stuff I'd been reading recently and as I was scrolling through my Kindle titles I stopped at Pretty Girls because I didn't remember anything about it. So clearly, it didn't leave a lasting impression on me :-P
That being said, when I opened the book and went back to the front page, then I remembered reading it and I quickly recounted the whole story to him which in my hurried manner seemed very silly.
As someone studying Journalism it was interesting to read about a radio personality (with a face for radio) but I found the book focused a bit too much on superficiality (like nose jobs) for my taste and I would rather have learned more about the job or the circumstances and challenges Nora had with her leg. I was pretty happy with the ending though. ( )

"Nora had a face for radio, as the expression goes, so when rumors surfaced that a hot, single man was in the station that day, she didn't have high hopes. (...) The back of his head disappeared, down the hall and around the corner. The next song queued up in Selector was an older one, Polyester Bride by Liz Phair, and Nora hummed along happily, for possibly the thousandth time." Nora lost one foot in a motorcycle accident. She jumped into a radio host job right out of college. Nora is cute, for others hot and sexy, and she knows that. Together with her girlfriends she is looking for mr. Handsome and Right, while still living with her parents. A plastic surgery nose job would make her face really perfect and a chance to get another job, whether as ad model. After a couple of one night stands two men get more attention. In the end Aaron is the lucky of the two, teenage years, including the accident can finally be left behind, a new job enjoyed and a life at a safe distance from her parents begin. She found her love and is happily after all. "Back in the Camarro, she started the engine and turned up the radio. The station was playing Liz Phair. Nora rolled down the window and sang along, as loud as she could." This well-rounded novella reads easily on a summer day: Pretty girls don't cry. ( )

“Pretty Girls Don’t Cry” is an enjoyable character study. Winn is highly descriptive, yet economical in his prose. The patient, subtle story-telling demonstrates great trust in the reader. Character development is shown through action, not told through narration, allowing one to determine whether the decisions are good or bad, kind or cruel, without narrator intervention. Pacing is quick – sometimes a little too quick. Some subplots could be more fully developed to provide more heft to the story and support to the narrative arcs. Overall, a very pleasing and humorous read. ( )

Pretty Girls Don’t Cry is the first book I’ve read by Tony J. Winn. I received the book from a reading website. When I received the book, it came as an email directly from Tony. This is a direct quote from the email, “I appreciate your time. If the book is not grabbing your interest, you're under no expectation or obligation to read or review.” I will say that kind of put me off a little bit. I was actually afraid to read the book, thinking that I wasn’t going to like it and find it hard to read. Tony NEEDS to have more confidence in the work she puts out.

Pretty Girls Don’t Cry is not like any book I have read before.
It’s a story about twenty-seven year old with self-image problems.

Nora Scott is the beautiful voice of an afternoon radio show in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon. She’s an only child, who still lives at home with her parents. Up until this point in her life, Nora has done pretty much everything her parents have wanted her to do. She went to college and earned a degree in Marketing. However, she ended up working for her uncle’s radio station.

Nora wears a prosthetic foot, because she lost hers when she was fourteen. Because of this, in my opinion, she has trouble maintaining relationships with men for more than one night.

The book focuses on Nora and her struggles to spread her wings and actually realize she isn’t an “ugly duckling” after all.

I didn’t find the book hard to read at all. In fact once I started reading it, I hated having life interrupting moments. It’s not usually the type of book that I read. I’m more of a contemporary romance reader, with steamy scenes. The scenes in this book are very subtle. But of course, romance isn’t what this book is truly about. It’s about becoming what or who you really want to be. And learning to love yourself and being happy with who you are.

I’m glad that I read the book. ( )