Pretty Funny for a Girl

Fourteen-year-old Haylah, who is fat and white, tells readers early on not to expect a story where “I have an epiphany and become a slim, sexy, health freak who’s into yoga and mung beans.” Instead, Elliott (the Owl Diaries series) gives sharp, funny Haylah multiple slower realizations—about friendship, her single mother and the man she’s been dating, and, most importantly, about pursuing her dream of doing stand-up. Haylah’s a comedy nerd: she watches it obsessively and keeps a notebook of material, so when it turns out that handsome, popular Leo, who is Black, also does stand-up, she can’t resist slipping him some of her jokes. And when he likes them, how could she not develop a massive crush on him? The working-class British milieu feels freshly wrought, and Elliott’s characters are well balanced: Leo’s a bit of a user but not a heel, Haylah’s conventionally pretty friends have their own insecurities, and her relationship with her four-year-old brother is lovingly depicted. Her comedy routine, though at times self-deprecating, also flips some stereotypes, and by book’s end Haylah has begun taking charge of her present and her future. Ages 12–16. [em](Oct.) [/em]