Pretty Dead

When I heard that Francesca Lia Block wrote a vampire novel (and later, a werewolf one), I was pretty skeptical. I'm also not particularly interested in reading about paranormal creatures so I didn't think I'd be into this book as much as I was. Block's take on vampire mythology, while not entirely unconventional, does have its own twists. But the book is not even really about vampires or romance. Those elements are secondary to the real story: a story about a girl who experiences pain and suffering, witnesses beauty and destruction, and slowly comes alive again. She realizes that while immortality has helped her amass a collection of all the beautiful material items a girl could ever want, it's never as good as just being with the one show more person you love, even briefly, as a human. show less

First and foremost, this is NOT another vampire novel. This is a love story, through a century of fashion, music, architecture, friendships and losses. This is a story of grieving, after the suicide of a young girl – the story of the vampire girl and the human boy who have survived her. This is a story of fear – fear of the unknown, of death, and of the people we cannot ever leave. Francesca Lia Block is as elegant and beautiful as ever in writing her take on the current vampire trend. And, you know what? It is ethereal and disorienting and nothing like anything else in the genre. Pick it up. Read it. Fall in love.

I don't want to sound like a prude 22-year-old, but I am shocked this book is a young adult novel. It has a lot of sex in it and it has the F word in it quit a bit. I have to say that if I had a 14-year-old (Which is the age it says for readers, 14 & up) I don't think I would let her read this until she was at least 17 or older.
Saying that I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and a very fast read. The book was all over, one second you would be in the present time and the next second you would be back in the day, before Charlotte became a vampire. I really like books like this.
I know this is a messed up review. I start off dissing the book and then say that I love it. Not sure if that is what the author was going for or show more what. But I really did enjoy this book and do recommend it for adults or older teens. show less

Charlotte Emerson seems to have it all. She has designer clothes, a gigantic mansion in LA, and more money than she could use in a lifetime. The only thing she doesn’t have is the thing she wants the most: to be human. She became a vampire a hundred years ago, just after her twin brother died, and she has regretted the decision ever since because of her empty, lonely existence. Recently, her only friend Emily killed herself, leaving Charlotte alone with her riches that provide little comfort. Emily’s boyfriend, Jared, starts to come around to find out about his girlfriend’s mysterious friend and Charlotte falls in love with him. As her love grows deeper, she discovers that her vampire perfection is slowly fading. She develops show more blemishes, sweats, and blushes, things she hasn’t been able to do since she became a vampire. However, their relationship isn’t enough for Jared. He wants more than anything to become a vampire. What is happening to Charlotte and can she convince Jared that with immortality comes unending suffering?

I’ve been a fan of Francesca Lia Block’s for a long time and I’m pleased that she still writes awesome teen fiction. Her lyrical, poetic prose has always drawn me into her stories and made them memorable. I’ve reread some of my old favorites and I still enjoy them as an adult. I was a little surprised when I heard that she wrote a book about vampires. It seemed a little out of her normal range, but I don’t think it’s fair to fault an author for branching out. The novel turned out to be just as good as her others. The language she uses really lends itself to the vampire Charlotte, who has lived in hollow decadence for a century.

Charlotte was my favorite character. I liked that as the story went on, there were flashbacks into her past to show how she was when she was human and when she first became a vampire. These interludes into the past just added to the story and gave Charlotte depth. Her transition of states of mind through each stage of her life was believable. As a human teenager, her happiness and idyllic life gave way to grief and suffering, leading her to want to escape by becoming a vampire. Although her existence seems enviable because of her eternal youth and wealth, it’s really an inferior existence to being human. Vampires are just glorified parasites and every painful memory still plagues her through her long life. She grows tired of feeding off of people and wants to life a peaceful life.

I’m glad that Francesca Lia Block gave vampires her own unique twist. Although vampires are done to death now, Block manages to make an eternal being relatable to teens because of loneliness. I think everyone has been lonely at one time or another and everyone wants to experience love. Also, many think that material wealth can make them happy, but it’s really the relationships and our loved ones that make our lives rich. I would recommend this to fans of vampire novels and Block’s previous works. show less

The cover drew me in, even though I feel as if vampires have been overdone lately and far too often I find myself reading the same story with a different title. But this novel is eloquently written and not your run-of-the-mill teen vampire love story. Throughout the entire novel Charlotte's grief and depression can be felt. I find myself filled with sympathy for her loss. Otherwise the book falls emotionally flat.
It is not often that you get to hear of a vampires past. Sure, they've lived 100 years, but what was the Holocaust like? In Pretty Dead Charlotte shares the horrors of the past with you. It sounds incredible to live for eternity, but this novel reminds you that humanity and love are more important. I do wish that there was more show more on the fact that Charlotte was a vampire. You could exchange the word vampire for immortal and you'd practically have the same story. Overall this one falls short for me. show less

This was a strange vampire book that I have read and the first book that I've read from Francesca Lia Block.

My Synopsis:
Vampire girl, Charlotte Emerson, has dealt with death her past, present, and future. She is surrounded by a busy world, but somehow she feels isolated in her palacial-like home. She finds herself that as much one desires for eternal life and beauty, it is something to her sh longs to not want to have anymore. Charlotte's true friend that she had, Emily, has died mysteriously; Emily's long wish to be just like Charlotte drop-dead beautiful and to live forever. When Emily dies, Charlotte starts morphing into a human and she gets zits, periods, and pimples. She also finds herself fancied by Emily's boyfriend, Jared, show more company. Also her creator and long-term boyfriend William comes strangely back into her life bringing Emily back from the dead. What will Charlotte do live forever or die human?

Characters:
Charlotte Emerson: Charlotte actually was tolerable, in my opinion. She writes gothic poetry, enjoys clothes, and she generally doesn't want to be stricken with death all the time. She is described as being drop-dead gorgeous with pale skin and painted red lips (hence, the cover) and nails. She really longs for her true soul mate and she really wants to have her baby. I would also describe her attitude as very maternal in terms her behavior towards characters in her book.
Jared Pierce: Jared is very clingy and emotional. His look is very bad-ass and he is described as brooding and magnetic, but he is very torn emotionally inside from his girlfriend's death to being the 'black sheep' of his family. I didn't really like the male characters of the book, and I wished Jared would just honestly, grow some balls.
William (Billy) Stone Eliot: Now, William has too much balls and is very cocky. I do not like how he treated Charlotte, his forcefulness, and his pushiness. He caused ruckus and chaos wherever he went, and killed people who were close to him and Charlotte. Did not enjoy his tricks whatsoever.
Emily Rosedale: Emily was very vulnerable and a great character. She was very tomboyish and completed Charlotte's character. However, I did not think of her as the cute tomboy at the end and what *spoiler* William made her at the end.

Overall, this book was so-so. I think Block's writing style is very creative, illusive, and her fully-detailed imagery created pictures in my mind. I think that the nudity and the f-word curses could have been put away, but otherwise she done a beautiful job in taking us through the ages with Charlotte from 1925-to present day. I also, didn't really care for the fashion and all the grand splendor, but it added to the story- made it more fluffy than it would have been. There is some history, paranormal, and contemporary thrown in all together which I had enjoyed. I think her characters made me the most disappointed and the boy characters made this book fall from 5 to 3 stars. Honestly, if there were was a better romance (not just undeveloped sex) and a better male lead(s)... show less

Hmmm...this was an interesting concept, but I didn't like how it was executed.

So, the idea that a vampire might be able to go back and become human again. Interesting, I thought. Charlotte seems to be going through that transition as she gets her bearings living alone and being closer to humans than she has in a long time.

But the writing. It's flowery and arts-y. Like a long winded poem, only more detached and confusing. The chapters are more like diary entries, only lacking emotion but just windy breezy weird ideas all thrown together with sudden sporadic dialogue.

I don't understand why Jared liked her.
Charlotte talked about her breasts more than anyone else in the whole book.
William is never fully developed and is, instead, this show more convenient typical "bad guy" - I think he might even have a manic laugh.
Emily. Did we ever understand her? She was never flushed out except as just someone else that was jealous of Charlotte's things. Funny, they were both so jealous of each other.

meh. I gave an extra star for the cover - I do love it. show less