REVIEW: You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne

Genre: YA | Dystopian | Feminist Fiction | LGBTQ+ 

Release Date: Expected 28th September 2023

Publisher: Usbourne Publishing

In Belle and Joni's world there are two options for girls:

One, follow the rules of the Doctrine like Belle: apply your Mask, work hard to be crowned at the Ceremony, be a Pretty.

Or two, fight the rules like Joni: leave your face bare, work hard to escape to the Education, be an Objectionable.

But maybe there is a third option...

If Belle and Joni work together, can they destroy the rules and set themselves free?

"They don't have t make things illegal, If society punishes you enough, then laws aren't needed, and they can continue this delusion of choice."

It’s no secret that I consider Holly Bourne to be one of the most important feminist writers of today, so there is a nervous apprehension every time I get my hands on a new book of hers because I’m scared this will finally be the time she releases something I don’t like. And with the speculative, dystopian story not being something she’d done before I didn’t know what to expect. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that because once again she’s created something spectacular.

Bourne creates a timely, searing dystopian hellscape, with an intensely suffocating atmosphere and vivid world building. The scene was unsettlingly familiar, an uncomfortable cautionary tale about a world that isn’t too far off from ours. It delves into the complexity of both legalised oppression and societal oppression, how they’re both as strong as the other in places - at one point, she writes “they don’t have to make things illegal, if Society punishes you enough, then laws aren’t needed, and they can continue this delusion of choice.’ I had been trying to find the words to describe this but this explains my feelings so well I didn’t need to.

The story moves forward at a steady pace, starting with a jump and never letting go — but it’s quiet, subtle with a lot of nuance and thought rather than loud, explosive drama. We see two young girls and how the small moments of their lives look under the Doctrine. It respectfully and carefully looks at the intersection where sexism meets racism, classism, queerness, ableism and the painful silent standards forced on women of all walks of life. It creates a world where sexual violence, misogyny and victim blaming is even more common, where girls are told to be only pretty and soft but then never to fight back when men ‘can’t help it’. The entire thing was truly cutting, how universal the experiences of our characters were to so many and it gave me a deep sense of connecting but also catharsis and validation.

Our characters felt like friends (although not to each other) — they’re immediately familiar and invoke a sense of kinship. Two girls on different sides of a divide, two different kinds of victims, different kinds of fighters — it was almost painful to watch the way Belle had been conditioned into following the doctrine at times, even when they began to question it. And it makes you wonder if Belle had been given choices and independence- real choices - like Joni had, would she be different? Was it ever her fault she believed a hateful, oppressive regime if she knew nothing else? As their lives start to merge, we watch them change and grow on the pages in such an amazing way and their storytelling kept me glued to the book until the very last page.

A cathartic, call-to-arms for women and girls that is full of both divine feminine rage and deep love and sisterhood. A must-have that every ‘objectionable’ women needs on their bookshelves this year.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.