Book Review: We Thought You'd Be Prettier

We Thought You'd Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive
by: Laurie Notaro

First of all, this is a funny book. Second, it is not in any way a Christian book. Laurie Notaro writes about her personal experiences from waiting in line at a discount store, living in a cat-infested neighborhood, to stories of her hilarious mother. It was a fun read and easy too. Each "chapter" is a story on it's own so if you're reading before bed or have children running around your house while you're reading it's pretty handy.

My favorite quote is taken from a chapter where Ms. Notaro is waiting in an airport for her plane to board when it becomes infested with Japanese teenage basketball players:

Oh, [no], I moaned to myself, this is a nightmare! This is a complete nightmare! None of their coaches was doing anything to rein these basketball maniacs in because they had apparently been worn-down to human nubs by these teenage monsters. I saw their chaperons, and what remained of them were just shells, ravaged to the bone. Some of them were actually sleeping during all of this from exhaustion. Either that or they had probably just died.

My husband and I (and a host of other adults on youth trips) have experienced the exhaustion that results from a trip with teenagers. It just made me chuckle and think about our youth group's trip to Mexico - one that I had participated in a lot of the planning and organizing - and I was definitely a shell, ravaged to the bone by the return flight home. Funny stuff.

Again, this is not a Christian book. Ms. Notaro is very funny but also has a potty-mouth so be aware of that if you decide to purchase or check this book out from the library.