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Amoris has lived somewhat unconventionally in a quiet little town, with her massage-therapist mom who creates and collects essential oils and her weed-smoking artist dad who is all too often traveling selling his work. She works at the café her late grandmother started years before and retreats into her vintage record collection when she needs solace. Life isn’t perfect, but she’s mostly content.
Then her longtime friend and childhood crush, Jamison, moves in next door for the school year. Their moms have been longtime friends as well, and Amoris had always treasured their visits when they were younger. Now, however, they’re seniors in high school, and the last time Jamison was in Alder Creek, she caught a glimpse of him kissing her best friend, and she’s still confused and upset.
The two have to find their way to a comfortable friendship again, and maybe something more — Amoris certainly longs for that — but of course it doesn’t seem quite as simple as it could be. Adding to that, Jamison is Black, and he’s a rarity in their school. Amoris is taken aback when he mentions things he sees and experiences that are racist, insensitive, and hurtful: She never thought that would happen in Alder Creek, and not at their school. Seeing her town and people around her in a new light shakes her.
Only the Pretty Lies is a story about two teens who are best friends and more, with all the usual difficulties teens face in that situation. It’s also very clearly a story about racism, both outright and more insidious. Author Rebekah Crane wrote at the end about a real incident she heard about involving a racist mural at a high school and that she framed this book around that, and that is clear. I appreciated her desire as a white author and concerned citizen to write something that would speak to her (fellow white, really) readers about how to be anti-racist and see things differently. However, it just seemed as if she gathered up all the “right things to say” as a white person and slotted them into this book. It didn’t feel organic. The book has several story arcs, involving Amoris and her parents, her brother, her motherless best friend; her friendship and desire for more with Jamison; her path toward awareness of racial slights and being active not just in righting a big wrong but in helping those she’s known a long time be more sensitive. I just didn’t feel they cohered naturally, and as much as I support her desire to be a voice in these important topics, I didn’t think the novel worked well. I adored Crane’s The Upside of Falling Down, but I’ve been disappointed with the other two books of hers I’ve read.
Rated: High. There are 30 instances of strong profanity, about 50 instances of moderate profanity, 50 uses of mild language, and about a dozen uses of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content is moderate; the main character mentions having had sex with her previous boyfriend and has sex with the love interest in this story. Scenes mostly go from kissing to the point of removing clothes but not much detail past that. The character’s best friend has sex frequently and talks about it, but there aren’t a lot of details. There are a number of references to teen partying and drinking and some drug use. The main character’s father smokes marijuana frequently, and it becomes a point of contention.
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