Pretty Disappointing. As I read Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block, a thought got stuck in my head. Why would you go back and relive high school if you were immortal? If you already had a nice home, a fancy car, and nice clothes, why would go back to that awkwardness? Yes, I know they did it in another YA book about vampires, but at least in that book, the characters tried to fit in, in their own special ways.The main character Charlotte seems to stick out like a sore thumb. She has it all – a beautiful beachfront home, lovely original artwork, money, a fancy car, and beautiful designer clothes. So much emphasis is on materialistic things. It literally felt like every sentence began with “I was wearing a dress by _________(fill in the blank with your favorite designer). Once or twice, I wouldn’t mind, but the incessant talk of designer clothes became tiresome. Then there is the rather disjointed feeling of the book. Part of the book is written as kind of a journal of Charlotte’s early life as a vampire and a procurer of “food” for her maker. This could have been really fascinating, after all Charlotte lived through some very interesting time periods. Instead it felt like a primer on fashion through the ages. The book is relatively short and a quick read. It just left me a little unsatisfied because I had heard such great things about this author.
