Thursday, June 20, 2024

Flawless Girls by Anna-Marie McLemore - ADVISABLE

Flawless Girls
by Anna-Marie McLemore
, 288 pages. Feiwel (Macmillan), 2024. $21

Language: PG (6 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (mention of possible underage drinking); Violence: PG-13 (bloody stabbing)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL


17yo Isla and her 19yo older sister Renata are sent to the well known Alarie House finishing school by their grandmother, who insists that the school’s reputation will set them up for life. Isla leaves after a day but Renata stays and when she returns home, Isla notices how different she is acting and it frightens her. Renata runs away, so Isla decides she’s going back to Alarie House to find her. When Isla arrives at the finishing school, everyone raves about Renata to her but she’s nowhere to be found. What Isla does find is haunting.

I enjoyed the analogy between jewels and people where flaws make us better and more beautiful. The author handled gender situations with tact and compassion and from personal experience. I liked Isla’s determination and intelligence.

The ethnicity is mixed with Latina main characters.

LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian, Delta, Utah



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