Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block

Review of Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block

Published: September 22, 2009

4 out of 5 smirks

Synopsis: “People pity me, but mostly they feel envy. I have all the luxury and freedom a girl my age could want.

Something is happening to Charlotte Emerson. Like the fires that are ravaging the hills of Los Angeles, it consumes her from the inside out. But whether it is her eternal loneliness, the memory of her brother, the return of her first love, or the brooding, magnetic Jared--she cannot say. What if it's something more...

Something to do with the sudden tear in her perfect nails. The heat she feels when she's with Jared. The blood rushing once again to her cheeks and throughout her veins.

For Charlotte is a vampire, witness to almost a century's worth of death and destruction. But not since she was a human girl has mortality touched her.
In what way will you be transformed?
Until now.”

Wow is all I can say for this book. Pretty Dead is a story line which is new (a good thing) and fresh. I only gave it 4 smirks because I would not re-read this book over and over again, like I would books I give 5 smirks or more to. Everything about Pretty Dead is elegant and beautiful. Francesca Lia Block writes this beautifully flowing story about a vampire who just wants to be human again and everything she has been throughout her once human life, to her vampire life. And ultimately talks about the three people who, Charlotte, has loved within the last 50 years (William, Jared, and Emily). Charlotte’s story is one about betrayal, jealousy, guilt, pain, heart ache, death, and love. Definitely something to pick up and read.

And the cover art is so magnificent, purely luring and gorgeous. It is one of many reasons why I picked up the book to read and I am so glad I did. Even though I would not re-read this book again I would say reading it makes everything seem brighter. I also loved the fact that it was a great story but it wasn’t filled with unnecessary content thus only making the book 195 pages. It was easy to read but it was elegant in its delivery. The local libraries will surely have it, put it on hold and take your time in reading Charlotte’s story.