Review: Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block

Title: Pretty Dead

By: Francesca Lia Block
Reading Level: Young Adult
Bookwhisperer Rating:
Product Description:
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. Until now.


My Review: Pretty Dead was received as a review book from Harperteen. I was anxious to get a start on this book, and soon found that it was well worth the wait. The storyline of Pretty Dead was very similar to that of Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire, portraying a young girl that was turned in  a vampire to satisfy her masters companion desires. Life of luxury is easy to endure, unless terror and destruction follows in your wake. Over time Charlotte tires of pain and destruction and decides it is time to start new and alone.  She soon  settles into a life with mortals, and begins attending  attending school with others that appear to be her age. When she meets Emily life begins to have a whole new outlook, and Charlotte finds unexpected companionship of her own. She learns to live vicariously through her best friend, but envy can be a dangerous thing in the hands of a monster. (Even a monster with a good heart is ultimately still a monster. ) As the reader we follow through this somber story of grief, love, and loss looking for a happy ending that Block successfully provides.

All in all in the first couple chapters separate characters in separate times narrate the story leaving the reader a little confused, but ultimately curiosity propelled me forward in the story to unravel the complex storylines. Charlotte’s character is very loveable; her compassion for those she loves captures the readers attention.  William on the other hand was easily disliked, and with little knowledge of the character was effectively made into the villain.  I was startled by the Emily twist in the end of the story; this thickened  the plot and was an excellent shift in the story.  This was my first glance at any writing from Francesca Lia Block, and I am impressed by my experience. This author is very talented as an author, and at no point was her writing predictable. She surely has the wow factor that I love in books, and I look forward to reading more for her in the future.

As you see above there are two covers for this book. My book was the cover with the red candy. To see more about this author, try this LINK