cover image Pretty on the Outside

Pretty on the Outside

Kate Kingsley, Simon Pulse, $9.99 paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-4169-9399-5

Kingsley's first novel in the Young, Loaded, and Fabulous series (originally published in the U.K.) introduces 16-year-old best friends Alice and Natalya, who are rich, spoiled, and rulers of the prestigious British boarding school St. Cecilia's, spending weekends in Paris and nights at members-only clubs. When Alice's friend-turned-love-interest Tristan's summer fling, Dylan, moves to town from New York City, it ignites Alice's jealousy and leaves Dylan friendless. Self-centered and noncommittal Tristan fuels the girls' mutual hatred; meanwhile, the only one to befriend Dylan is conniving Mimah, who was discarded by Alice and Tally the previous year and is seeking revenge. The plot is an immodest listing of petty events, grievances, and cocktails consumed. But while the girls' privileged lives are largely one-dimensional and, as such, receive little meaningful examination (the author's brief mentioning of their distant and shallow families seems to invite sympathy, but does not earn it), Kingsley captures the intensity of the teens' emotions, and many readers will drink up the posh melodrama. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)