Hilarious Pick: Gorgeous

Gorgeous
by Paul Rudnick
Scholastic Press
2013
320 pages


Scathingly satirical, causticly comic, wickedly witty, in-your-face pun-y, and filled with more laughs per second than any comedy show, Gorgeous slapped me in the face and made me laugh until I cried. From the very first irreverent paragraph,  I was hooked and better yet, pleasantly shocked! Rudnick has that rare, ethereal gift of winsome wit that many fiction writers would kill for. David Sedaris (the funniest writer I've ever read) says, "Paul Rudnick is a champion of truth and love and great wicked humor, whom we ignore at our peril."

Becky Randle grew up in a trailer in East Trawley, Missouri, the daughter of a morbidly obese mother who dreams of Hollywood, glamour, movies and the good life. Just before her mother dies, she makes Becky promise that if something magical shows up, Becky should play along. She swears there will be magic and that Becky should use it. When getting some of her mother's old clothes ready for charity, Becky happens upon a phone number with an area code in New York. Becky calls the number and a woman sends her a plane ticket and some cash to come to New York. Becky is confused; why would someone, a complete stranger, send her money and a ticket to New York?  She enlists the help of best friend Rocher--whose mother named her after the box of fancy chocolates, famous for their gold wrappers. Rocher convinces Becky to take the ticket already  and get on that plane. If this isn't magic, what is?

Becky is whisked away by chauffeur to meet mysterious Tom Kelly, a designer so revered that he has become a recluse even from the world of high fashion. He tells Becky he will make her three dresses: one red, one black and one white. The dresses will magically make her the World's Most Beautiful Woman. The magic only lasts one year. Within that year, Becky must meet and marry Mr. Right or the magic wears off.

Wearing Tom's couture designs, Becky is immediately transformed to Rebecca Randle.  Her legs morph into supermodel legs, her skin becomes flawless, she is drop dead gorgeous.The kind of gorgeous that is simply other-worldly.  Everyone clamors to meet the new "It" girl. Soon, she's on the cover of Vogue and tapped to film a movie with hot Hollywood teen hunk Jate Mallow. The press is soon calling them Jatecca and papparazzi snap their every move.

Rebecca revels in the attention but finds it a bit vapid...that is, until she meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne. Suddenly, Becky knows what she must do. She must marry the prince and use her beauty and his power to help change the world!

What happens when a normal girl from nowhere rubs elbows with the A-list and British royalty? A hilarious romp that will have readers laughing out loud and quite possibly rolling around on the floor, gasping for breathe.

Libba Bray, no slouch to fierce and sardonic wit herself, wrote," Rudnick's considerable talents as a satirist as he uproariously eviscerates our celebrity-mad, class-concious, appearance-obsessed, reality-TV-vapid culture with puckish delight." (New York Times Book Review).

Highly, highly recommended grade 9-up. Profanity runs amok but it's so funny!

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)