Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick | Rating: ★★★★★

“I know!” said the prince happily. “You’re a national disgrace!”
“And do you know what else is interesting,” I replied. “In America, Prince is a dog’s name.”

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review and my first thought was that the cover was really, really cute. And I found that thought to be rather silly of me to think when taking in consideration the title as well as the plot.

Which, speaking of the plot, I was really pissed off that people didn’t get the plot. Because I thought that the idea behind the story, the impossible nature and the borderline incredibly strange parts, was rather obvious.

While I do believe that not everything is bound to be someone’s cup of tea, I was disappointed that not everyone fully understood that it was meant to be exactly how it came across. I think if they’d seen what I saw in the novel, they wouldn’t have taken it so seriously and loved it for the enjoyable, slightly strange and charming novel it was.

For me the only way to describe it was: funny, impossible, warm and full of heart. Entertaining; thoroughly cute. Sometimes bordering on ridiculous but only in the most endearing of ways. Yes, in spite of any flaws, Gorgeous is genuinely a fun and light read that will having you laughing and wondering what else is possible in your world. By the end of the novel, some of you will be left feeling great and humorous.


I think what I liked most about the novel was the outlandish plots and the use of vulgar, realistic language amongst 18 year old kids. Paul presents to us hilarious dialogue, narration and overall some of the funniest banter I’ve seen in novels targeted at this age range. He nearly had me in tears of laughter on several occasions and I probably looked like a bit of a fool on my train early.

(I couldn’t help myself — I had to send a handful of snippets to my friends and we were all in agreement: Gorgeous is pure comedy gold!)

What could have taken a turn for terrible, Paul takes the familiar romantic comedy feel and plots (magical makeover!) and manages to make them fresh and full of life. He shows us a world of comedic relief and glamor that is truly not to be missed.

Of course, even in all the hilarity the heart of the novel shines through. There’s tragedy and self discovery. A young girl loses her mother (has never met her father) and leaves home for a trip into an unfamiliar path of beauty and riches and dreams coming true. Mystery lingers in the identity of Tom, the fairy grandfather to our narrator Becky. And we see her relationship with her quirky best friend come to laugh in a hilarious way that may have you comparing it to the way you and your best friend speak when no one else is around.

During a good chunk of the novel, Becky spent time as the most beautiful girl in the world. Rebecca. And as the out of this world stunner Rebecca, she’ll live a life she’d never dreamed of and rub shoulders with some of the worlds richest and most famous. Her only catch is that this luck — this whole new world of possibilities — will only last for so long. A year to be exact: unless she finds love.

If she can fall in love with someone, fully and deeply in love, she will be able to remain as beautiful as she is as Rebecca.

And of course, she’ll fall in love. But will she keep the guy? What happens if all of this fades: will he still love her for what’s inside? Or was this all some sort of joke the universe decided to play on her after her mothers death?

There’s much more to this novel than meets the eye and by the ending of our story, we’ll find ourselves incredibly sad to say goodbye to these beautiful, strange characters. But before we sign out of the story, we’ll see pieces of the puzzle fitting back in: we’ll discover major pieces to Becky’s family and how this sort of magic came into her life.

Gorgeous will have you laughing and crying — perhaps all at once! Paul Rudnick brings us a beautiful, sweet and hilarious gem of a novel that is perfect for your summer reading list. If you are a fan of the collection of funny short stories on beauty “Such A Pretty Face” or any satire of that variety, Gorgeous is definitely the novel you should pick up for your next to read list! You won’t regret it