Review Detail

I’ve seen this book around for a while and all seem to have about the same description for it - Pretty Crooked is a charming mix of Mean Girls and Robin Hood. After reading it myself, I can’t help but agree.

Willa was a fun and interesting female lead, though not without her own faults. While her idea of taking from the rich and giving to the scholarship kids is a great idea, I think her execution was a little flawed. Befriending and becoming close to those that you are essentially stealing from may be a good idea for reconnaissance, but actually becoming one of them and participating in things that you first judge as wrong is another note all on its own. Instead of adding to her cause, I think it hurt it a little by making her seem more naïve and passive aggressive than what she really is. Fortunately for her, she seems to redeem herself though maybe not as quickly as I would have liked to have seen.

The other characters played their parts well and stayed true to who they were. The Glitterati was the definite stereotypical lovable and popular group, yet with a devious mean streak in them to those that crossed their paths. The romantic interest was swoon-worthy in his own way, though the attraction seemed to add an air of question because of the lack of interaction between the two. I think the most refreshing part of the entire story was the relationship between Willa and her mother. So many times in YA, we see either negligent parents or just a lack of parenting in general. It’s nice to see a strong relationship between a mother and daughter. There was some mystery to Willa’s mother’s behavior throughout the novel as well, but their relationship seemed to stay intact for the most part.

Though it was a pretty laid back story, it never waned and ended up having a very good lesson to it. Between the plot and Ludwig’s quirky writing, Pretty Crooked is a fun read that will keep you entertained throughout the entire book.