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Pretty Dead [Hardcover]

Francesca Lia Block
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 22, 2009

People pity me, but mostly they feel envy. I have all the luxury and freedom a girl my age could want.

Something is happening to Charlotte Emerson. Like the fires that are ravaging the hills of Los Angeles, it consumes her from the inside out. But whether it is her eternal loneliness, the memory of her brother, the return of her first love, or the brooding, magnetic Jared—she cannot say. What if it's something more . . .

Something to do with the sudden tear in her perfect nails. The heat she feels when she's with Jared. The blood rushing once again to her cheeks and throughout her veins.

For Charlotte is a vampire, witness to almost a century's worth of death and destruction. But not since she was a human girl has mortality touched her.

In what way will you be transformed?

Until now.


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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Charlotte Emerson is tall and beautiful, and lives by herself in a gorgeous mansion. She's also a vampire. Before she turned, she was a bright young woman with an idyllic life. Then her beloved twin died, and his death so devastated her that she had to find a way to dull the pain. Thus, she became a vampire, a decision that has haunted her for nearly 100 years. Now she is faced with another tragic loss: that of her best friend, Emily, to an apparent suicide. Lost and lonelier than before, she seeks comfort and solace in Emily's boyfriend, Jared. At first, he is bitter and angry with her, but she opens up to him, telling him about her past, and they eventually fall in love. But there is one secret that she keeps from him: she suspects that she may, somehow, be turning into a human again. When Charlotte's maker, William, returns to taunt her, Charlotte is forced to face a horrific mistake from her past that may cost her everything. In Pretty Dead, Block takes what has up to now been the norm among vampire novels for teens and attempts to turn it on its head. This is a startlingly original work that drives a stake deep into the heart of typical vampire stories, revealing the deep loneliness and utter lack of romance in eternal life.—Necia Blundy, Marlborough Public Library, MA END

Review

“A true original…[Block] has created something psychologically complex, erotically charged, and unusually poignant.” (Booklist (starred review) )

“I love the lush, melancholy world of this novel, and its heroine, with her century of secrets.” (Claudia Gray, New York Times bestselling author of EVERNIGHT )

“A startlingly original work that drives a stake deep into the heart of typical vampire stories.” (School Library Journal )

“Sizzles and satisfies.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Will be gobbled like candy by teen readers.” (The Horn Book )

“With her characteristic flair and seductive prose, Block makes this tangled story of betrayal and love a standout. Sensuous and heartbreaking, sure to both satisfy and challenge fans of the supernatural romance.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books )

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTeen; 1 edition (September 22, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061547859
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061547850
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Francesca Lia Block, recipient of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award. has been publishing novels, short stories, essays, memoirs and poetry since 1989. Her work has been translated into many languages. Ms. Block lives in Los Angeles where she teaches writing workshops that are also available online.

Customer Reviews

I don't want to sound like a prude 23-year-old, but I am shocked this book is a young adult novel. Trisha's Book Blog "Trisha"  |  1 reviewer made a similar statement
You hear from them, but I felt you never really get to know them. Erica  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty pallid October 20, 2009
Format:Hardcover
It feels like someone went up to Francesca Lia Block and told her, "Vampires are hot right now. You should write a book about vampires!"

And there doesn't seem to be much inspiration beyond that for Block's latest novella, a tale of vampiric angst and luxurious misery called "Pretty Dead." While her prose is as luscious and vivid as ever, the story itself is a paper-thin hodgepodge of vampire cliches -- you've got the wangsty wealthy vampire, the sinister and hedonistic ex-lover, and some rather boring humans who dream of being immortal.

Charlotte is a vampire, living a life of glamour and beauty in modern L.A., and locked in the flawless body of an eternal teenager. But when her friend Emily dies (apparently of suicide), Charlotte finds herself changing -- she breaks a nail, develops a zit, and finds herself perspiring. At the same time, she finds herself drawn to Emily's grief-stricken boyfriend Jared, who has figured out what Emily really is (she uses lots of sunscreen! She must be a vampire!) and wants her to turn him.

And at the school she currently attends, she encounters a face from her past: William, her former lover and maker, who seems to be followed by widespread disaster wherever he goes. Charlotte looks back on her long life with William -- how he seduced her away during her mourning for her twin brother, and how they traveled through countless decades of change, fashion, and immortal numbness that has slowly left her hollow. But William has one last shock for his former lover and protege...

Francesca Lia Block has a way with words, and "Pretty Dead" is no exception. She washes the entire book in jewel-toned words ("a rim of darkness like the blood-red trimming a pale rose") and an atmosphere of sorrowful hollowness, and darts like a bird between mossy forest glades, ballrooms, luxury-encrusted mansions, the fiery streets of war-torn Paris, and the glitzy nightlife of Los Angeles. She also seems to have acquired a dress fetish -- there's loving descriptions of all Charlotte's designer clothes throughout the last century.

Unfortunately, the plot is as flimsy and pale as a spiderweb. It's basically a standard "wangsty vampire mopes about being immortal while falling in love with a human" story with some rather predictable plot twists; moreover, the entire melodramatic ending feels cheap and contrived. Block inserts some interesting ideas into the story (such as immortality destroying one's ability to feel), but those ideas just sit there -- they never seem to be expanded into something deeper.

Perhaps the biggest problem is Charlotte's transformation from a vampire back to a human... we never really find out how or why. It's a nice aversion of the usual vampire/human romance trope, but it needs to make some sense.

And Charlotte is pretty much your standard "good" vampire -- she spends the entire book wangsting about how horrible it is to be an immortal "pretty monster," but she doesn't really do anything to improve her life. She's also the most passive vampire I've ever read about. And though we see how William became a vampire, it's never explained how he turned into a raving hedonistic sociopath. And Jared is basically a pretty body with no personality -- we never hear why he wants to be a vampire, or why he's so enamored of Charlotte.

"Pretty Dead" is a web of pretty words stretched over a fleshless skeleton -- Francesca Lia Block had some promising ideas, but the underbaked characters and limp plot just end up being another "woe! I'm such a sad vampire!" clichefest.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite the Francesca we know and love... October 26, 2009
Format:Hardcover
Charlotte has lost many people over the years and, oh how many years it has been. When she is finally on her own she has to find someone to fill up her emptiness, but who is there? She has everything anyone could want, except a lover, except mortality.

This book was short and sweet, maybe a little too short. Unlike Block's earlier works this book seem to be lacking that poetic edge, that twists your stomach in knots and makes you cry out as if you were one of her tragic characters. This book was simply a small glimpse into the life of Charlotte Emerson. It was a good story for what it was. You got to see how she dealt with a very small section of her very long life. A sneak peak into what could have been a much longer novel. The characters were mostly undeveloped, though it seemed to be on purpose. You didn't really feel for any of them because you never got a chance to connect to them. I was quite excited when I found out that the lovely Francesca was doing a vampire novel but after reading it, I was left feeling disappointed. This is not a novel, it is a snippet; An epic poem without the hero. If you want to tick this one off your list then go ahead and read it but don't add it to your pile.

First Line:
"Teenage girls are powerful creatures."

Favorite Line:
"my darling in the red dress"
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite book from my favorite author January 22, 2012
Format:Hardcover
Francesca Lia Block is my favorite author. She has been since I picked up by first book written by her (Violet & Claire) back in middle school. I haven't seen much of her work mentioned around the book blogging community, but when I do, it always puts a smile on my face.

Her writing has always been magical and this doesn't change one bit in Pretty Dead. The story starts off by telling the reader about this girl, Charlotte, who isn't really a girl after all. Not a living one, at least. She speaks about the people that surround her and how she can sense their jealousy. They've always thought she was perfect on the outside and they admired all of the treasures she had, when the truth was that she would trade it all just to be mortal again.

When she loses the closest friend she's had in about a century, a part of her seems a little off. Over time, she notices that she broke a nail, she's perspiring, and she has a menstrual cycle for the first time since she was changed. Charlotte grows closer to a boy named Jared, who is actually the first person to realize who- or what- she is.

The story keeps your interest and pulls you along for the ride through a look at Charlotte's life, before, during, and after her years as a vampire. You begin to realize how easy it was for her to fall for this charming devil named William Stone Eliot, especially after she felt that she had nothing more to live for.

Definitely recommended if you're interested in vampire romance or the beautiful and graceful writing styles of FLB.

Review from The Hollow Cupboards- [...]
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Seduction.
This book is amazing. The condition that it was in, immaculate. I am very, very pleased with it. Money well spent. Read more
Published 11 months ago by HarlotSlaughter
4.0 out of 5 stars Ethereal & Disorienting & Original
First and foremost, this is NOT another vampire novel. This is a love story, through a century of fashion, music, architecture, friendships and losses. Read more
Published 17 months ago by E. Kristin Anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful "read in one sitting" book
This book was a deliciously sad gothic tale of loss, love, power and friendship, all seen through the eyes of Charlotte Emerson, a vampire. Read more
Published on April 8, 2011 by Mystrez
5.0 out of 5 stars Francesca Lia Block's Vampire Tale
It's hard to summarize Pretty Dead too much because not only is it short (208 pages) but much of what's in the summaries published on a lot of book sites, doesn't happen until the... Read more
Published on March 19, 2011 by Book Sp(l)ot Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written vampire novel
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. Read more
Published on January 8, 2011 by titania86
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read.
When you first pick up Pretty Dead, and read the description on the back of the book, it sounds totally enticing. When you start reading it, it is so much more. Read more
Published on September 12, 2010 by Erica
3.0 out of 5 stars EH...
I enjoyed this book, it was a quick and easy read. However.. after I finished reading it I had no feelings about it. Read more
Published on May 20, 2010 by S. J. Waldemarsen
4.0 out of 5 stars FLB Novella
If you like FLB's books, then you'll like this book. Yes, it is short, but so are many of her other books. Read more
Published on April 18, 2010 by J. Aragon
4.0 out of 5 stars For All Eternity, Charlotte Will Be Beautiful And Alone
Charlotte Emerson is a vampire that is trapped for eternity in the body of a beautiful teenager. Everyone she loved when she was human died a long time ago. Read more
Published on February 5, 2010 by J. B. Hoyos
3.0 out of 5 stars feels unfinished
ms. block is my favorite author in the world, and i've always loved vampire novels, so i was excited that this one would be coming out. Read more
Published on January 14, 2010 by Savannah Brooks
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