I like some of the points this book makes. It points out inequalities in the entertainment industry particularly when it comes to humor. And the central focus isn't even on that inequality but rather on self-confidence. Accepting yourself as you are and having the confidence to go after your dreams. I also like that there's no addressing of Haylah's weight. I mean, she brings it up a lot. It's a fact of her life. But she isn't trying to lose weight. While I might have liked to see the acknowledgement that her relationship with food isn't entirely healthy, her tendency to eat her feelings and comfort her brother with treats, she's pretty comfortable with herself. It's not an especially complex book and might have benefited from a little more depth of character. Still a fun read.

I just didn't connect with the main character in the way I was hoping I would. PArts of her characterization seemed to contradict each other, and the voice didn't really seem natural to me. I remember in one of the first few chapters she referred to her own boobs as "chesticles" which just doesn't seem like something any teen girl I've ever interacted with would do unironically. That's just one example of the sort of moments that really pulled me out of the story. I didn't end up finishing it so I can't give a super accurate rating, but I wasn't enjoying myself while reading.

This book is about Haylah Swinton, a teenage girl who dreams of being a stand up comedian. She goes by the nickname Pig as she is overweight and decided to embrace the name instead of allowing people to bully her.

This book felt powerful with the messages it sent without making them the only thing the book was about. Haylah is overweight but her goal throughout the book isn’t to get skinny and fit in, she is happy with herself and doesn’t feel the pressure to change herself.

The writing of this book was fantastic. It’s very rare a book has me laughing out loud but this one managed to do that. Haylah felt naturally funny which made for a really entertaining book.

The plot was fantastic, Haylah really went on a journey of embracing her true self and gaining self confidence for herself and her talent.

The characters are brilliant in this book. They are all well developed, realistic characters. Haylah and her friends reminded me of me and my friends at school. There is a diverse cast of characters through the book but they aren’t just there for the sake of diversity they are fully developed well rounded characters.

I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants a good laugh!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, I feel it really captured the feel of a first love. I loved Haylah, I thought she was well written and brilliantly funny. Her feminist approach to loving herself regardless of her struggles with her own body image was just perfect. Love yourselves ladies, you are beautiful.

I really related to Haylah because I also turn to self deprecating humor and make fun of myself before anyone else can. I really saw myself in her. This book really explores the “you are your own worst critic”’ saying. You could really feel her internalized pain and how hard she was fighting with the image she has of herself more so than what others thought about her.

I really loved the story arc in this, it was raw, realistic, and just a good read. I recommend this to anyone who has a teen daughter or is a teen themselves!

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Haylah Swinton is an English teen who's not like the other girls. She's a curvy girl and she knows it - she adopted the nickname "Pig" so the bullies would have nothing to hold against her - and she loves comedy. From Tina Fey to Caitlin Moran and beyond, she's watched them all and would love nothing more than to have her name among theirs one day. For now, though, she's helping her single mom raise her four-year-old brother, Noah, hanging out with her besties, Chloe and Kas, until Leo Jackson enters the picture. He's good-looking, has a killer smile, and does a stand-up routine during a school assembly that leaves Haylah gobsmacked! Finally having someone to talk comedy with, she secretly sneaks jokes she's written into Leo's locker, and is thrilled when he incorporates them into his routine at his dad's club. The two start spending time together when Leo asks for her help writing material for him to perform at an upcoming youth comedy contest in London, and Haylah's crush goes stratospheric, but her friends wonder if he really likes her for who she is, or for what she can do for him: write the jokes that will put him in the spotlight?

Pretty Funny for a Girl is all about feminism, the funny, and the heartbreak of a first crush. Haylah is a brilliantly written character who owns who she is, even while struggling with body image, friendships, and family. She knows she's curvy, and by calling herself "fat" and taking on cruel nicknames like "Pig" before anyone else can level them at her, she's internalizing a lot of pain that she'll need to deal with - but she'll be darned if anyone else gets to her more than she gets to herself. A body-positive teen who wishes everyone else would get over it, she doesn't want to change who she is at heart, and knows she has a lot to offer, whether it's on the comedy stage or in a relationship (friend or romantic).

If you loved Dumplin', you'll love Pretty Funny for a Girl. Put this in your YA collections and check out Book Riot's list of body positive YA novels for more ideas. Publisher Peachtree has a free, downloadable discussion guide and excerpt available.

Enjoyed this quite a lot. Relatable a whole lot. Interesting and made me want to read it.

Some hikes were super funny. Really liked the main lead. Sometimes did want to shake her but that was because I fell for how sweet and vulnerable she was.

Sophomore Haylah Swinton wants to be a comedian. She eats, sleeps, dreams, and breathes comedy. She uses comedy to cheer up her friends when they’re down. She uses it to deflect bullies. She uses it when she’s taking care of her 4-year-old brother when her mom is working the overnight shift as a nurse. It’s her singular obsession.

While her two best friends are getting into makeup and clothes and boys, Haylah is making notes about things she thinks is funny. But when they get stuck in a school assembly and see some schoolmates showing off their various talents, it was senior Leo that catches her eye, and her ear, with his stand-up set.

Haylah doesn’t think Leo would ever notice her. She’s a little overweight and adopted the nickname “Pig” to deflect getting teased about her weight. Plus she’s two years younger, and she’s not a girlie girl. But she overhears Leo say that he needs some new material for his next set, Haylah writes down a joke and slips it into his locker, unsigned. When she sees him find the note, read it, and laugh, she knows she’s on to something.

Suddenly, Haylah’s life is getting more complicated. She has her crush on Leo, and she’s trying to write jokes for him. She’s trying to keep up her friendships, even though she feels like she’s growing apart from from her two besties. And then her mom brings home a “friend” from work, a bearded man who doesn’t wear socks, and Haylah is worried (and a little nauseated). Socklessness aside, Hayleh worries about her mom. She’d been devastated when her dad had left her and Haylah and Noah, and Haylah wants to make sure her mom doesn’t get hurt like that again.

And then, Haylah has one bad night. Someone puts her name up for an open mic night, and she’s called onstage to do a comedy set with no preparation. It starts out okay but ends with humiliation. In the aftermath, she pushes away her friends, her mom, and her mom’s new boyfriend. The only person she things is still on her side is Leo, but her friends said he’s just using her.

Will Haylah figure out a way to make things right, for her friends, for her family, and for herself? Will she finally find her comedic voice and the self-confidence she needs to take back that microphone?

Pretty Funny for a Girl is a fun, smart, and funny look at being a teenaged comic wannabe. Author Rebecca Elliott takes all that angst and confusion of being a teenager and packs it into the fantastic character of Haylah. She’s strong and strong-minded, certainly not perfect, but funny and interesting and willing to go after what she wants. She’s a great role model for kids to look up to and a lot of fun to read about.

I really enjoyed reading this one. I liked the characters and rooted for Haylah to find her way. The jokes were funny, the dialogue was realistic, and it was just lots of fun. I did find the weight-shaming a little off-putting. I realize that it is a thing that happens (I’ve been a big girl most of my life, so I really get it), but there was just so much that it got painful to read. But other than that, I was very impressed with this young adult novel, and I would recommend it to young women who are looking to find their voice and their confidence.

Egalleys for Pretty Funny for a Girl were provided by Peachtree Publishing Company and Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC, through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This book had some major funnies, feel good moments and awkward teenage moments that makes it pretty related to most people. The MC is a kick ass future comedian who is a feminist, a loving sister and daughter and not perfect. You can’t help but root for her even in her less than shining moments.

It's super exciting that there's a book about stand-up comedy, and it's written from the perspective of a girl! That instantly drew me to this book. As a lover of stand up comedy, this book definitely took humor to heart as well as thought about the craft of writing humor. Haylah is a relatable and believable character and would fit in with comic who often feel like they're outside the normal circle. Haylah has a really unique voice that sets her apart from other young teens--especially voices of young adult fiction characters. Overall, this book has a really interesting hook, relatable characters, and stand up bread crumbs for readers to eat up.

This is just a wonderful, feel good, humorous YA novel that I loved.

The main highlight of the story is the theme. The author writes the story in such a charming manner where you smile throughout the tale. The concept is unique and fun and emphasizes on self-empowerment. It does not matter how you look as long as you love yourself and are confident.

I loved Haylah as the lead and thought she was hilarious. She is not perfect in any manner, and she is over emotional and impulsive at times. But she tries her best to fit in and be part of the crowd. Although she struggles with self-esteem issues, I loved how she matures in the story. Some of the conversations made me laugh so much, like when she tries to explain Noah about babies, and how she tells Leo that she wants to be a communist. Moreover, I love that she doesn’t let her weight affect her, and takes a remark like ‘pig’ and turns it to her advantage. All the supporting characters are also wonderful. Noah is adorable as the younger brother, and I loved Haylah’s friends Kas and Chloe. Ruben is also a sweetheart.

I also enjoyed the side story of where her mother dates Ruben. It is never easy sharing a loved one when you are young and possessive. I think the author beautifully talked about this in a realistic manner. The author has a wonderful talent for writing comedy and drama and merge it seamlessly. I hope the author writes many more such novels, because this was just perfect!

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you a nice contemporary read with lots of humor.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
DNFed @29% -- 1.5/5 stars
Unfortunately, I failed to connect with Haylah, our main character, in this one and that ultimately made it hard for me to enjoy the story. I struggled with get into the book because of my dislike for Haylah. I found her immature, rude, and judgement. I also thought she was quite annoying. One thing that I found to be really annoying about Haylah was how she tells readers that she forgets she’s fat and doesn’t think about it often, but then she makes a comment in her mind about being fat on almost every page! The impression I got from the character was a kind of “woe-is-me” everything sucks complaining sort of tone which I can’t stand.
I think the author’s writing style would work better for younger readers. This is a YA book, but it definitely felt aimed towards the younger side of YA. The humour was pretty juvenile, and I didn’t really find it funny personally.
Again, this one didn’t work for me, but I think it could be good for younger readers (13-15ish).

This was a cute and fun YA book!
I liked the writers style of writing and how the book really flowed together.
I also liked the message behind the story that the author was conveying..
I definitely think this is geared more towards the younger YA side though.

Very middle of the road. I struggled with the main character- her personality and fat shaming made me dislike her where it seemed like she was meant to be more awkward and loveable.

The premise was interesting with the stand up comedy focus but I was hoping for it to be a bit more Mrs. Maisel than it was.

3 stars- nothing to write home about- would probably not recommend.

Funny, whimsical and awkward, it encompasses everything a modern teenage goes through. Body image, love, friendship.
I loved this book! It surpassed all my expectations. In the beginning, i was no sure it would be my cup of tea (a socially awkward person myself, i do not normally enjoy all the possible situations that my future may bestow me).
Also, i feel like it goes along with some of the main contingencies a female comedian in the sexist stand-up sphere.
This book helped me see, now an adult, how dramatic and kind of funny some of the stipulations and troubles me and my friends would have with boys and our own families. In those times, everything is black or white, either you love someone or you hate them. He or she is perfect, the one to sweep you of your feet or the devil who is trying to destroy your world. Later on, you realise he or she are just another teenager as a normal person like you.
It was a nice change from the stereotypical Boy-meets-Girl love story.

Not for me. I disliked Haylah almost immediately. And that Isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the main character if it’s meant to be written that way. But she was supposed to be relatable and for me she wasn’t. I feel like I was supposed to forgive her flaws because she is insecure, but the message seemed to be acceptance, which was contradictory. And she didn’t seem to grow or learn. Further I didn’t like the fat centric jokes and self deprication. It was constant, despite the fact that Haylah states she doesn’t even think of herself as fat unless reminded of her weight. Also the “feminism” rubbed me the wrong way. Feminists can absolutely wear make up and dresses. Ugh. I ended up feeling frustrated most of the read.

This was pretty average and mediocre. I enjoyed the idea of a girl who loves stand-up comedy because I’m the same way. However, I didn’t like how much she focused on weight—and not just with herself, but with everyone in her life.

The story was pretty predictable but the dialogue was fun and witty. In all this was just a meh story.

Haylah was a self described "comedy nerd". She watched every clip she could find, listened to any podcast available, and read all the books on the shelves in an effort to hone her craft. Yet, she kept her stand up comic aspirations a secret until an opportunity to help cool and popular, Leo, write his set for a competition arose and that had her contemplating if she had what it took to step up to the mic herself.

I am going to start with my takeaway from this book, which was learning to believe in and love yourself. Haylah often talked about being fat. Sometimes she was ok with it and sometimes she wasn't. I thought this was rather realistic. From what I gathered, she was a 14 year old girl. I can understand her struggle with not fitting or even trying to subscribe to the beauty standard. Overall though, she seemed happy with herself, because for her, she would rather be funny than thin. I can imagine her, older and wiser, totally accepting her body, but I believed she was in a good place at fourteen.

It's great seeing all these YA books about female comedians. It's a well known fact that the industry can be less than hospitable to women, but how fabulous to see these funny young women pursuing their dreams. Indeed, Haylah was funny, but it was dedication to the craft that I admired. The way she would go through her day, recording amusing bits for later, or all the research she did. She definitely showed that it was hard work, AND that she was more than willing to put in the time and effort to edge closer to making her dream a reality.

This book wasn't just about becoming a comic. It was about family, friends, crushes, making mistakes, and making amends. I loved Haylah's family. She was being raised by her mother, who worked nights, and therefore, Haylah had to help out a lot with her little brother, Noah. He could be a handful, but they really shared a sweet and beautiful bond. Noah was such an injection of cute into this story too.

There were some subplots in this book, where I saw Haylah make some mistakes, but also grow. Whether it be her mother jumping back into the romance game, her friends drifting away from her, or her first real crush, mistakes were made. Part of me really felt for Haylah, but another part of me wanted to give her good shake and tell her to snap out of it. However, I never gave up on her, and I am glad to say, she did not disappoint me.

It was a delight to meet Haylah and watch her finally take the stage. I know there are going to be times where you will find yourself frustrated with Haylah, but all the steps, forwards and backwards, were part of her journey to being able to be her most authentic self. And yes, she was pretty funny for a girl.

Have you ever hated a main character so much that you wanted to throw your book out of the window? Because that's the way I felt about this book. In fact the only reason I didn't is because I read this on my iPad and I still need it for futher reading. But oh my god, this main character is probably the worst one I've ever read about and the book just doesn't recognize it. I don't have an issue with unlikeable characters as long as they're meant to be that way. Haylah was supposed to be relatable and empowering but she wasn't. She constantly brought up her weight, which would have been alright if she hadn't gone on a huge monologue in the first chapter about how she barely even remembers she's fat until she's made fun off and then she does (which NEVER happens in this book by the way) and explode at anyone even mentioning her weight. She seems super unhappy with her weight but the plot makes us believe that she's actually super confident. Shit doesn't match up. Another thing the plot tried to tell us about her, that WASN'T the case at all is that Haylah is a super badass feminist that doesn't need a man. However, she shames every girl she comes across for being a typical girl and being interested in things that she isn't and from the second she first "meets" Leo (she sees him perform, she doesn't actually meet him) all of her inner dialogue that isn't about her being fat was about Leo. However, she doesn't like make-up and dresses, so she's a real feminist right? No, fuck her and her mom for teaching her that wearing make-up and dresses is anti-feminist and girls who do wear both make her whole life about being atractive to boys and only care about boys, boys, boys. Completely ignoring the fact that lesbians also wear make-up and dresses and the fact that most women wear make-up because they like it and because it's art form, not for some stupid DUDE. Especially because the mom starts wearing make-up once she starts dating someone and when her daughter questions her she gets mad at her because the mom is allowed to feel beautiful and attractive for once. YOU THOUGHT HER MAKE-UP IS BAD SO DON'T GET MAD WHEN SHE IS CONFUSED WHEN YOU WEAR IT. Whenever this book tried to do feminist rants it also kept talking about life is just so much easier for boys because they're confident and don't care about their looks and don't have to because girls will like them no matter how they look, which completely ignores all the insecurities MANY guys deal with on the daily. It also rubbed me the wrong way because at a certain point one of Haylah's friends has a crush on a guy and she doesn't get it because according to her he was ugly. Really? Saying guys don't have to worry about looks after you spend the whole book hating on a guy because of his looks? Yeah, that doesn't sit right with me. I also absolutely HATED how much Haylah hated her mom's love interest. She didn't have a valid reason for it. I mean, they try to play it off in the narrative as her being scared of the guy hurting her mom like her dad did BUT whenever Haylah mentioned him she only talked about how he had a beard and didn't wear socks and how that was gross and must mean he's a serial killer (she legit said that he had a "serial killer beard" like what the fuck does that mean?). She gets angry at her mom because she "doesn't know this guy", completely ignoring the fact that her mom has known him for over a year and he's actually a super nice guy and Haylah is actually the one not putting in effort to get to know him. Seriously, when it comes to this situation her 4 year old brother was more mature. I've already ranted enough so I'm not going to say much more but we haven't even touched upon how badly Haylah treated her friends, completely based on this alternate reality she made up in her brain. Honestly, it was like when people get made at someone for what they did in their dreams. We also haven't touched on the fact that Leo manipulated Haylah and was just overall terrible and the book still ends with them being friends and the eventual love interest we get for our main character is a guy who has lowkey bullied her the entire time they've known each other, but it's alright because he secretly always liked her and just didn't know how to express it. Lastly, this book's worst offense was not being funny in the slightest. I know stand-up is all about the delivery but they kept saying Leo's set was only good because of Haylah's writing so according to the book delivery means nothing so I'm going to review this like it's nothing (even thogh that's complete bullshit) and absolutely NONE of her jokes or inner monologue made me laugh at all. Some of her jokes even just felt a bitter, rather than a joke. Again, actual delivery makes a HUGE difference but the book ignored that fact so I did the same.

It was okay. I didn't like the pacing, the fat shame "jokes" became boring way too fast. There wasn't a real plot or if it was I just couldn't find it.
It was okay.

Pretty Funny for a Girl is a humorous take on the awkwardness of adolescence. Plus-sized Haylah is a sarcastic, witty, comedian-to-be, who teams up with her crush, Leo, to ghostwrite his comedy set, but somewhere along the way, everything that can go wrong in a teen girl's life does. Filled with humor, likeable characters, and realistic dialogue, it is an entertaining story.

I am rating it a 3.5 because I didn't enjoy the repeated fat-shaming in a "body positive" book, especially since it came from the main character about herself and was mirrored by some of the other characters. I also felt like at times the emotions of the book could have been brought out more to contrast her genuine, complex emotional feelings with the lightness of the comedy; because of that lack of contrast it fell a bit flat for me. I recommend this book for people who enjoy reading typical young adult high school drama combined with a sarcastic banter.

Advanced readers copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.