 | She's too pretty to burn Author: Heard, Wendy | |
| Price: $9.83 | ||
Summary:
When seventeen-year-old Veronica's photograph of her introverted girlfriend goes viral, they are sent into a spiral of fame and lethal danger as they navigate the turbulent waters of their relationship, secrets, acclaim, and the underground San Diego art scene.
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 02/01/2021 Gr 9 Up—In this thriller, Mick, a blonde junior on the high school swim team and on the outs with her mother, begrudgingly attends a party with a friend and meets Veronica, a Chicana photographer with an edge. The two girls quickly hit it off, with Veronica taking a photograph of Mick immediately after their first kiss that becomes a sensation on Instagram, allowing her to break into the art world. Veronica introduces Mick to her best friend Nico, a 20-year-old brunette who creates subversive art in their San Diego region, and the two teens become willing participants in his illegal art installations. However, soon they are in over their heads as several murders and a raging fire occur and they become pawns in a larger scheme. Heard capably explores the tipping point in which a group can move from righteous anger to destruction when they let the adrenaline of the moment overtake reason. At what level do you go from political activist to eco-terrorist? Heard also captures the extreme highs and lows of teen romance. The imbalance in Veronica and Mick's relationship could push teens to explore where they would draw the line on romantic boundaries and consent. VERDICT This psychological thriller is sure to be popular with teens. A sapphic romance with elements of art, danger, and obsession, it is recommended for YA library collections.—Nancy McKay, Byron P.L., IL - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 05/01/2021 Neither Veronica nor Micaela (Mick) wanted to spend their night at a party. Perhaps that’s how they found each other in the crowd, kindred spirits despite being completely different: Veronica, a Latina photographer with vintage flair and plenty of confidence; Mick, an anxious blonde swimmer with model looks, but who’s cameraphobic. When Mick reluctantly agrees to let Veronica post a candid photo of her to Instagram, the haunting portrait of Mick goes viral, to Mick’s horror and to Veronica’s delight. While this exerts its own pressure on the girls’ burgeoning relationship, other strains come from Mick’s unstable homelife and an entanglement with Veronica’s best friend, Nico, whose “disruptive installation art” (think Banksy meets social protest) is growing increasingly dangerous. Chapters are narrated by Veronica or Mick—with Nico snagging a handful—and Heard plays the characters’ limited knowledge and unreliability off one another exceptionally well in order to ramp up the story’s tension and stakes. A compelling art thriller in the vein of Adele Griffin's The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone (2014), this can also fit broader discussions of when dedication becomes extremism. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.
