When a list of the 50 "prettiest" girls in the middle school makes the rounds, no one is happy. Not Eve, who is shocked to find herself on the top, not Sophie, who despite her efforts to be prettiest is number two, and not Nessa, Eve's friend, who doesn't make the list but is more concerned about how it affects Eve. The administration makes counseling available, informs parents, and makes every effort to put a stop to the situation, but it's not enough. Eve, who feels uncomfortable about her new body, is suddenly faced with the attention of Brody, whom the girls suspect made the list, and is also the object of Sophie's wrath. Sophie, who has a difficult and economically disadvantaged home life, suspects Brody because she did not return his affections. Nessa, who is very talented and is involved in the school play, wants to help both girls, and they try to find the culprit and plan the revenge, calling their group the Shieldmaidens. The adults in the book represent a wide variety of opinions-- Eve's father thinks she should be pleased, even as her brother Abe understands that objectification is wrong; other parents at the school meeting think their sons should be made aware of the situation so it can be fixed; the school principal has followed protocol but realizes more should be done, even if she doesn't know what that is. In the end, the girls find the creator of the list after almost punishing the wrong person, and the school has a new awareness of how people should treat each other.

Strengths: This is absolutely on trend with its themes of treatment of people, body positivity, and the ideal of feminine beauty and worth. I liked that Eve's Jewish culture was brought into the story, but that the story was not all about that. It was also good to see Sophie and Eve work together instead of just fighting with each other, and Sophie's back story was interesting. There was just enough of the school play (The Music Man, which my school just did!), and the reactions of a wide variety of students were brought in as well.
Weaknesses: I was glad when the girls did not go through with their revenge. Answering mistreatment with mistreatment is not the answer. Also, even though Brody didn't make the list, I would have liked to see him get some needed time with a school counselor on how to treat people kindly.
What I really think: I preferred Dee's Maybe He Just Likes You because there was more of an effort to educate the boys in the school about how people should be treated. Middle school students act in the ways they are taught to act, and they often don't quite understand why what they are doing is wrong and need to learn what they should be doing instead, but I will probably buy this.

If you are a librarian or teacher struggling to find books for middle grade girls to read, this is the one. I plan on buying copies after it is released and reading it with my girls' book club. The Prettiest tells the story of a list released on a middle school campus, ranking the top fifty "prettiest" girls. Eve, who is listed as number one, suddenly finds herself with unwanted attention and wants to return to her normal, quiet life. Number two Sophie is enraged by the loss of status as she now has to share the spotlight with Eve. Nessa, who isn't on the list at all, wants to help her best friend Eve find the creator of the list and get justice for not only her friend, but all of the girls in eighth grade. The three girls band together to find out who created the list and bring him or her down. But, things aren't always as they seem and the girls might end up finding something more than justice and revenge. I think there is definite need for this book on middle grade campuses. It is a story of the harsh reality of growing up and not always knowing how to handle it. The adults in this novel play somewhat of a background role, but I found this somewhat refreshing in its reality. Oftentimes, we tend to see middle school aged children as just that: children. In reality, they are becoming teenagers and young adults. We tend to overlook their problems as minimal and trivial, when these situations could actually be a turning point in their lives. I admire the strength Young created in the characters of Nessa, Eve, and Sophie and the view that, if given the chance, many young people will step up and do the right thing. Moreover, I would like to compliment Young on her writing style. So many of our middle grade readers lose interest in reading because the content of novels for their age group becomes so dense and the vocabulary is overwhelming. The text in The Prettiest is a good balance of easy-to-read and complex themes. I recommend this book to anyone who is in middle school or who works with middle school students!

Three unlikely friends unite to combat both bullying and the cultural of vicious sexism that runs rampant in their modern day middle school. I was particularly impressed by the author's ability to fully flesh out all of the characters, including those that other books would leave as two-dimensional villains. The world described, however, is jarring, particularly given the near omnipresent parental indifference and immaturity. It's strange to see a world where, apparently, most middle school students are more mature and appropriate than their parents.