Freak 'N' Gorgeous

July 15, 2018
On the same day that skinny Konrad Wolnik wakes up with a brand-new football-player body, popular beauty Camilla Hadi finds she now has a deformed face and body. Konrad and Camilla live in a world where Inexplicable Developments like theirs are common, but never before have two happened at the same time, in the same city, and taken such astronomically different forms. At school, Konrad and Camilla quickly learn that looks only hold the power you give them. As Konrad steps into his new role as the popular kid, Camilla sees only one explanation for her sudden transformation and sets off to get revenge on Konrad by making him the most despised kid at their school. But things take a twist when the two start spending time together and quickly realize they have more in common than meets the eye. As the homecoming dance draws closer, both Konrad and Camilla begin to learn exactly what they wished for on the night of their transformations. Unfortunately, the writing is a bit dry and the plot slow-moving, and the critique of a culture that focuses on appearances is rather weak and doesn't fully deal with the inherent sexism that underpins societal norms. Camilla is white American and Turkish, Konrad is Polish-American, and there is diversity in secondary characters. An attempt at a modern-day "Beauty and the Beast" that doesn't live up to its promise. (Fiction. 14-18)

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