I love YA because most of the stories revolve around the MC finding themselves. Everyone can remember what it was like to be a teen and deal with cliques and the populars and the drama. Pretty Funny for a Girl brings me back to those days, and while I was never an aspiring comedian, I can relate a lot to Haylah's story. I loved that this book featured body diversity and I wish more stories did. I also thought that the infusion of comedy into this story was incredibly unique and made for a fun, light story.

I read an ARC of this book through Netgalley. I would love to hear an audiobook version of this book. I hope that they set up the comedy sets well so that the reader can get a sense of the delivery of the jokes. One of the issues with reading this book in ebook or physical form is that you are unable to hear how the jokes are delivered and it's more difficult to appreciate the jokes.

I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for a YA book about a young, funny, woman trying to find her confidence in a patriarchal world where women are put into a box.

I really enjoyed this! There was so much body positivity and I loved that Pig didn't feel like she needed to change in order to be seen as desirable! Because that isn't true!

I really brilliant book that is a light hearted comedy! I love the writing style and I will definitely be reading more books from this author in the future

Overall a good book but a little too much self-depracating humor for my taste. It just didn't appeal to me overall. I do appreciate that the main character was a larger girl, but just wish she didn't find the need to go along with the insults all of the time. Just my opinion!

Pretty Funny For A Girl is an amazing book full of wit. The book is a great. The storyline is great. The weekend I read this I started on the Friday and by the Sunday I had finished the book. Haylah finds herself listening in to her crushes conversation with his friends but so she finds herself in an awkward situation where she helps him out writing for a competition but in the end she ends up getting her on back on her crush (sorry, a bit of a spoiler) but that will be as much as I say although I definitely think that the ending for Haylah was amazing. It would be great if there was a follow up book where it checks in with Haylah a few years from when the book is set.

Hilarious story! The book was fun to read. The one thing I notice about "body positive" books is that they are not body positive at all. But the writer here has achieved what I want to see in coming of age novels and truly have spoken the minds of teenagers.

Thank you to Peachtree Publishing for sending me an ARC!

This book kind didn't meet my expectations. I would have given it a 2.5 but I'll round it up just because it is good to see girl comedian rep. To me, the book's pacing was very off. It felt like some parts in the book that weren't very important were too in depth. The book just felt like it was dragging on for the whole time. There was not too-too much plot going on. I'm going to be honest, when the boy Daniel, who bullied her, was mentioned, I didn't even remember who he was so I wish that we would have seen him develop as a character and just see him interact with Haylah even more. Most of the characters were mostly static and I felt that Haylah's growth come upon so quickly and I think the book should've been over the span of a longer time because it felt like it only was a week that it was happening. This reminds me of another thing I am confused on in the book. It is never stated how old our main character is and she seems somewhat childish at times in how she approaches things. Sadly, in the end, I was reading this book but just kind of wanted to finish it. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but alas, it was not for me. Hopefully, all of you readers will connect more with the story and characters.

This was fantastic! I love coming of age stories and this one did not disappoint! This is a new author for me and I will be checking more out from them!

This sweet, coming-of-age YA novel set in London focuses on teenage Haylah Swinton, who cares for her young brother while dreaming of a career in comedy. With important messages about body positivity and an honest assessment of the mistaken belief that "girls can't be funny," Rebecca Elliott's story is inspiring, warm, and often laugh-out-loud funny.

Pretty Funny for a Girl is one of the most hilarious books you will read this year, with instantly likeable characters who grow so much as the story progresses, this is an absolutely fantastic book that you will make you cry with laughter.

I LOVED THIS STORY!! It was absolutely hilarious, right from the start to end! I also enjoyed the character development of Haylah, where she went from being a slightly insecure girl to a strong, confident young woman. This shows that challenges help a person grow stronger and become a better version of themselves. I also loved how themes of feminism and self-confidence were all mentioned in the story. Women shall choose to be whoever they want to be, and shall never sell themselves short for the opposite sex. This is definitely a must read!!!

This is what I would call a typical teen novel. There is angst, bad decisions, a cute boy, parental issues.
What I liked: feminist ideas, strong single mom, quirky and diverse characters handling big issues (weight, race, SES)
What I didn't like: narrator's bravado (a little unlikeable at times), some overly fast plot points that felt very manufactured, word choice that sometimes felt inauthentic.

Overall, humor and girl power sum up the book.

*copy via Netgalley*

http://humbleopinionblog.com/2020/07/09/arc-pretty-funny-for-a-girl/

IMHO, this is a sweet, light read that brought a smile to my face. Perfect for breezy summer day, this is a lovely addition to the YA genre.

All Haylah really thinks about is “funny.” She’s constantly thinking about how she could use the words people say, the words she reads, every little event in her life is mined for “funny”. Because to Haylah, the most meaningful thing in the world is making someone else laugh.

When the gorgeous Leo Jackson performs a stand up routine at an assembly, Haylah is instantly smitten. When she suddenly gets the chance to help him write his sets, she is overjoyed – even though she isn’t getting any credit.

Haylah has figured out how to find the “funny” in every part of her life: taking care of her energetic brother, her mom’s new boyfriend, rude remarks about her plus sized figure. But what she hasn’t found is the confidence to do thing she most wants to – get up on a stage and make people laugh.

A little bit romantic, a little bit cliche, a little bit sad and a whole lot of funny, Pretty Funny for a Girl is a lovely book.

****SPOILERS FROM HERE ON****

CHARACTER:

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
One thing that I appreciated is that none of the characters are entirely in the right. Every single character did something annoying or wasn’t in the right at least once. I went from disliking Haylah’s friends and not getting why she hung out with them, to understanding their value over the span of 20 pages.

Pretty Funny for a Girl stands out among similar stories because of the way Elliott handles conflict among her characters. They all get called out for the shitty things they do/say to each other, it’s not swept under the rug. In a genre where I’ve read many a book in which the assholes are praised, this was really refreshing!

Haylah is a wonderful narrator. She’s hot tempered, caring, quick witted and, of course, very funny. She got mean very quickly when she was angry, but she could own up to her mistakes (something refreshing in the YA genre).

The other character I particularly enjoyed was Haylah’s little brother – he was an absolute DELIGHT! Having him in a scene just made it instantly better.

PLOT:

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
I have no negative things to say about the plot structure, but there also wasn’t anything particularly extraordinary about it. The story didn’t lag, was told clearly and concisely, and didn’t have an unrealistically happy ending. However, it was an eensy bit predictable. Not in a bad way, just in a comfortable, classic YA way.

DIALOGUE

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Similar the to plot, the dialogue was functional and nicely written. There are some fun banter scenes that would have raised the star rating, but were taken down by lines that no one could have just come up with off the top of their head.

THEME:

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Throughout the entire book, Haylah is dealing with confidence issues. She has a lot of negative feelings about her own body, being a plus sized teenager. To try and prevent further bullying, she tries to get ahead of the taunts by telling everyone to call her “Pig”. (Her last name is Swinton, and she is anticipating the connection to the word “swine.”) In taking this name, Haylah is trying to turn something that could be used against her into part of her identity. However, it never really sits right with her, and in the end she reclaims her name while starting the process of realizing that she’s gorgeous exactly how she is.

Haylah have any confidence in herself as a performer. She knows she wants to be a stand up comedian, but she has never actually “stood up” in front of a crowd. She keeps referring to performing as something she’ll do in the future, never even once considering she already has the talent it requires. Little by little, she breaks through that barrier – sharing her jokes with Leo to stand up at the pub.

Both of the journeys are simplified to fit within the confines of a YA novel. In real life, there are many more steps to dealing with self hate, but this works well for the story. The theme is clear, uncomplicated, and threads neatly through the story.

PROSE:

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
There’s nothing extraordinary about the writing style. Elliott tells the story neatly without any extra pomp or frills. The only critique I have is that some of the internal monologuing is a little bit preachy. As a teenager, I can’t speak for all of us, but I do not think that cohesively when I’m upset or emotional. Yes, I always think I’m in the right (I’m a teenager, I’m the center of the universe), but I don’t write a essay in my brain. That comes later, once I’ve calmed down.

REPRESENTATION:

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
For diversity, this book has a plus sized protagonist and the love interest is black. This is more diversity than I’ve seen before in this kind of YA book, but I’d rather see more in books coming out in 2020.

REPRISE:

⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
I don’t see any reason that this book wouldn’t be nice to read again, but I also don’t have any particular drive to revisit it.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

Any mention of Harry Potter just makes me cringe right now. However, that dream is still really funny.
Noah is an absolute delight!
Okay, Haylah is ridiculously confident when it comes to the classroom. Multiple times throughout the book she takes a situation that would be slightly embarrassing to some people, and makes the entire class laugh and she looks incredibly cool. This kind of contradicted the thematic arc of the book, and irked me a little bit.
“At least it’s a punchline I wrote.” is a fantastic line.
The way Haylah falls in love with Leo is hilarious, adorable, and SUPER RELATABLE!
Stand up routines don’t really work very well to read. Elliott did an admirable job trying to make it work, but there are still some moments where it doesn’t quite click.
The “Leo-Rocket” line made me snort!
I’m happy that the “leaving secret notes in his locker” didn’t last very long. Anonymity just doesn’t have the same impact.
No socks is……unfortunate.
I’m so glad that Leo wasn’t either the perfect man or a jerk. He’s really nice to Noah when they meet, but then admits to his shitty behavior. I think Elliott handled that conflict really well.
Communist. Heeheehee!
I would KILL my friends if I they surprised me with a performance that I had repeatedly said I wasn’t ready for. Sure, Haylah was mad, but nowhere near as mad as I would be.
Haylah is really so mean to Ruben. Damn.
I was not a fan of Haylah’s friends until the fight. Once they were gone, their absence showed – but in the beginning they annoyed me.
This book ends with the perfect amount of cheesiness. All the relationships get mended, Haylah performs, but she doesn’t win the competition. I loved the ending, except for one thing…
I’m quite sick of the bullies to lovers trope. Enemies to lovers, sign me up, but when one party is just mean to be mean, because “they like you”, augh, I have no patience. Mostly I think it’s because, as a high schooler, I can attest that the people who are mean are just mean, jealous, and bitter and don’t deserve an ounce of your time. However, Haylah does acknowledge this a bit, by not saying yes right away. This redeemed it a little, but ugh, I’m not a fan of this kind of thing.

I thought this book was very cute and very funny. It is a quick read and the characters are enjoyable and relatable. The issues Haylah faces are common ones that girls could face in today's world and the story-line promotes finding ones self-worth.

Thanks to Netgalley and Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC for providing a digital ARC of Pretty Funny For a Girl in exchange for an honest review.

This book was definitely a quick read, and somewhat forgettable. Although, Haylah's inner dialogues and interaction with loved ones were immensely funny; I could not relate to any other characters, which made it hard to care much about the different scenarios. Her family dynamic was the closest one I found interesting, specially any conversation with his too funny for his age little brother.

I enjoyed how uplifting her thoughts about herself were, as she embraced who she was, no matter who or what. It was totally visibly how she has always dealt with her emotions through comedy, but I did not like the reason behind her involvement in one of the stand-up comedy competition. By the end, she has become more confident in her own skin, specifically at deciding that comedy was her calling but maybe the reasons were not the right ones.

Overall, I liked the concept but it was a book that I most likely going to forget.

“Pretty Funny for a Girl” is a light, entertaining read. The story follows Haylah, an aspiring comedian and high school student who falls hopelessly in love with Leo. The problem with this is that Haylah, whose nickname is "Pig", considers herself to be fat and thinks she doesn't stand a chance with a popular senior like Leo. They bond over writing his comedy set for an upcoming competition and she begins to hope that they might have a romantic relationship. But nothing is ever that simple.

I found Haylah a hilarious character both through her comedy acts and her inner thoughts. She made for a strong central character and her messy life was both realistic and relatable. Her humour was clever and although I didn’t actually laugh out loud while reading, I did thoroughly enjoy myself throughout the novel. Romance isn't really my thing so the high school crushes, daydreaming and pining had me a bit bored. There was a lot of doubt and uncertainty on Haylah’s behalf and having her tell the story from the first-person perspective made it quite slow. Reading about every detail behind her emotions and actions was insightful but made the novel predictable. At times, Haylah’s obsession with her body and calling herself “fat” got a bit excessive. Although this was a part of her character, it got a bit repetitive and made me a little frustrated and annoyed. Despite this, the characters each had unique personalities and added charm to the story. Also, I really appreciate the positive messages in “Pretty Funny for a Girl”. There were many important issues touched upon including gender stereotypes and racism. Seeing Haylah overcome her fears and sort out her priorities in life was inspiring and thought provoking. I found the ending satisfying because Haylah finds the right guy for her, but more importantly, she finds confidence and sees the value in herself.

I understand what the author was going for here, and I don't think the book totally misses the mark, but it has some issues that were a bit glaring for me. I found some of the fat phobic humour a bit much, and the self deprication began to feel forced. I did like Haylah a lot and thought she was a well drawn and lovely character, but I just wish she'd been more fully realized. She has so much potential outside of being fat, I would've loved to see more of the rest of her! I wouldn't steer people away from this book but it probably wouldn't be on my recommendation list.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A super quick read which was much appreciated, and I laughed a couple times.

I really wanted to like this one, but I definitely had some issues with it.
- Fat phobias. Our main character is kind of pegged as the " funny fat" one. Its a trope I really don't like, at all. Our main character commented on this a bunch of times and it was just annoying.
- I know its kind of particular, but I really can't stand character names that are so distracting. a name like "haylah" you have to spell it out everytime you read it. I kept reading as hayley, and then I would get annoyed and distracted.
- the romance felt very forced and inorganic.

Thank you for the ARC.

(Thank you Peachtree Publishing for the eArc)

A quick, okay read.

Haylah is a funny, overweight teenager who has a dream: to be a stand-up comedian and do what she likes the most—to get other people to laugh. When a cute guy at school turns out to be a comedian, too, Haylah can’t keep her distance and decides to ghostwrite for him.
Overall, this was an okay read. The characters are well fleshed-out, and there are positive messages to get from this book. Even though I liked the main character, I didn’t connect with the story itself as much as I would have wanted, which explains my rating.

Thank you to NetGalley, #BookJunkies, @BecElliott, Peachtree Publishing Company and Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC for the advance reader copy of Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott, in exchange for an honest review. I loved irrepressible, funny Haylah who yearns to be a stand up comic. In this time of Covid, Haylah, nicknamed Pig, made me laugh with her sardonic wit, laugh out loud jokes and humorous monologues. But Haylah does not recognize all the good things about herself. Since she is plus size, she is very insecure about her looks and confidence, but she constantly and valiantly battles her inferiority complex making her one awesome protagonist I rooted for on every single page. Her love for her brother, Noah, and her Mom is so nice to see in a YA book. She has two best friends who have her back, but her inferiority complex has her so wrong about their motivations and sincerity. When Haylah deems her mother’s new friend (love interest?) Rueben a no go because he doesn’t wear socks and has a big beard, she jumps in and pushes him out. Haylah learns so much when she begins to slip her own jokes into awesome, popular Leo’s locker and becomes a friend, muse, and maybe something more? Readers will love this book as they see themselves in so many of the characters in this must read, laugh out loud book! Highly recommended.