Synopses & Reviews
Inner beauty wants out. When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle’s mother dies, she’s summoned from her Missouri trailer park to meet Tom Kelly, the world’s top designer. He makes her an impossible offer: He’ll create three dresses to transform Becky from a nothing special girl into the most beautiful woman who ever lived. Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, or that he’s producing a hidden camera show called World’s Most Gullible Poor People. But she accepts, and she’s remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself – an awkward mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see pure five-alarm hotness. Soon Rebecca is on the cover of Vogue, the new Hollywood darling, and dating celebrities. Then Becky meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, and everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But to love her back, Gregory would have to look past the blinding Rebecca to see the real girl inside. And Becky knows there’s not enough magic in the world. A screamingly defiant, hugely naughty, and impossibly fun free fall past the cat walks, the red carpets, and even the halls of Buckingham Palace, Gorgeous does the impossible: It makes you see yourself clearly for the first time.
Review
"Paul Rudnick is a champion of truth and love and great wicked humor, whom we ignore at our peril." - David Sedaris
Review
"I loved Paul Rudnick's GORGEOUS, which I found impossible to put down. When I wasn't laughing out loud (which was often), I was wiping away a tiny tear. Becky Randle will soon become the queen of your heart." - Meg Cabot
Review
Starred Review: Publisher's Weekly"Suppose fairy tales came true. Suppose an ordinary teenage girl from a Missouri trailer park was suddenly on the cover of Vogue, dating a Hollywood hunk, and possibly in line to be the next queen of England? That’s what happens to 18-year-old Becky Randle in playwright/screenwriter Rudnick’s YA debut, an inspired mashup of familiar stories—commoner becomes princess, ugly duckling turns beautiful—made new. Instead of three wishes, Becky, rechristened Rebecca, receives three dresses from reclusive super-designer Tom Kelly, who knew Becky’s late mother. The ensembles transform Becky into nothing less than the most beautiful woman in the world—“Once I caught sight of my reflection I was riveted, hopelessly enraptured, as if I was watching the most impossibly glamorous car accident, or the birth of the baby Jesus, if Jesus had been the world’s first supermodel”—with a couple catches. With writing that’s hilarious, profane, and profound (often within a single sentence), Rudnick casts a knowing eye on our obsession with fame, brand names, and royalty to create a feel-good story about getting what you want without letting beauty blind you to what’s real."
Review
“Acute, wickedly funny observations on appearance and identity punctuate this sprawling, caustic fairy tale that cheerfully skewers the fashion and film worlds and their celebrity-culture spawn.
Something magical will soon befall checkout clerk Becky Randle, 18, her mother tells her, making Becky promise she’ll say yes to it. After her mother’s death, the mysterious yet ubiquitous designer Tom Kelly flies Becky to New York, proposing to create three dresses for her guaranteed to make her the most beautiful woman on the planet. With, at best, average looks, Becky’s understandably skeptical, but Kelly delivers, and Rebecca is born. Though Rebecca’s gorgeous, confident and smart, Becky stubbornly hangs onto her identity (she sees her glamorous alter ego in mirrors only when others are present). Supermodel Rebecca lands a movie role alongside the star Becky’s crushed on since middle school (veteran screenwriter Rudnick’s film scenes are hilarious). Soon, smitten with Rebecca, the heir to the English throne captures Becky’s heart—but which of her is he in love with? While Becky’s voice and cultural referents are far too sophisticated and mature for a teenager raised in a Missouri trailer park, her fears and hopes are universal.
A Cinderella story with a difference, Becky’s journey to reconcile her inner household drudge and outer princess starts where most fairy tales end.”
- Kirkus reviews
Review
"[G]leefully wacky and irreverent . . . readers are treated to Rudnick's considerable talents as a satirist as he uproariously eviscerates our celebrity-mad, class-conscious, appearance-obsessed, reality-TV-vapid culture with puckish delight . . . a wicked good time, with moments both outlandish and touching. And as a summer beach read? Well, it's perfect." - Libba Bray, New York Times Book Review
Review
"Paul Rudnick's young adult debut, "Gorgeous", is not a fairy tale. "Because in real life, fairy tales always end badly." What it is is a satire sharp as a stiletto heel that takes on celebrity culture, the fashion industry, consumerism, and princess stories. Oh, and it's wickedly hilarious." - Boston Globe
Review
"When I wasn't laughing out loud (which was often), I was wiping away a tiny tear." - Meg Cabot, bestselling author of The Princess Diaries series
"Paul Rudnick is a champion of truth and love and great wicked humor, whom we ignore at our peril." - David Sedaris, bestselling author of Me Talk Pretty One Day
"[G]leefully wacky and irreverent . . . readers are treated to Rudnick's considerable talents as a satirist as he uproariously eviscerates our celebrity-mad, class-conscious, appearance-obsessed, reality-TV-vapid culture with puckish delight . . . a wicked good time, with moments both outlandish and touching. And as a summer beach read? Well, it's perfect." - Libba Bray, New York Times Book Review
"Paul Rudnick's generous, open heart, scathing wit, encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and droll humor are all in force in his latest creation, GORGEOUS, which is aptly named. I absolutely adored this book and snort-laughed through the entire thing. You will too." – Melissa de la Cruz, bestselling author of the Blue Bloods series
"Rudnick's first Y.A. novel is full of magic, snark, style, heart, and hilarity." - The Atlantic Wire
Huffington Post's Five Things We're Into This Week
"Paul Rudnick's young adult debut, Gorgeous, is not a fairy tale. 'Because in real life, fairy tales always end badly.' What it is is a satire sharp as a stiletto heel that takes on celebrity culture, the fashion industry, consumerism, and princess stories. Oh, and it's wickedly hilarious." - Boston Globe
"With writing that's hilarious, profane, and profound (often within a single sentence), Rudnick casts a knowing eye on our obsession with fame, brand names, and royalty to create a feel-good story about getting what you want without letting beauty blind you to what's real." - Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Acute, wickedly funny observations on appearance and identity punctuate this sprawling, caustic fairy tale that cheerfully skewers the fashion and film worlds and their celebrity-culture spawn. . . . A Cinderella story with a difference, Becky's journey to reconcile her inner household drudge and outer princess starts where most fairy tales end.” - Kirkus Reviews
“Totally irreverent and wonderfully refreshing.” - RT Book Reviews
Synopsis
When Becky Randle's mother dies, Becky is whisked from her trailer park home to New York. There she meets Tom Kelly, the world's top designer, who presents Becky with an impossible offer: He'll design three dresses to transform the very average Becky into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.
Soon Becky is remade as Rebecca - pure five-alarm hotness to the outside world and an awkward mess of cankles and split ends when she's alone. With Rebecca's remarkable beauty as her passport, soon Becky's life resembles a fairy tale. She stars in a movie, VOGUE calls, and she starts to date Prince Gregory, heir to the English throne. That's when everything crumbles. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But the idea of a prince looking past Rebecca's blinding beauty to see the real girl inside? There's not enough magic in the world.
Defiant, naughty, and impossibly fun, GORGEOUS answers a question that bewilders us all: Just who the hell IS that in the mirror?
Synopsis
Screamingly funny and defiant - a must-read book for the summer!
This is a book for anyone who's ever faced herself in the mirror, wondered if a new lipstick could change her life, and either read VOGUE or thrown it across the room.
When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle's mother dies, she's summoned from Missouri to meet Tom Kelly, the top designer in the world. He makes her an impossible offer: He'll create three dresses to transform Becky from an ordinary girl into the world's most beautiful woman.
Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, but she accepts and is remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself--a mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see five-alarm hotness.
Soon Rebecca is the darling of the fashion world, but when she meets meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. And the idea of a prince looking past Rebecca to fall in love with the ordinary girl inside? There's not enough magic in the world.
Synopsis
A book that will make you see yourself clearly for the first time.
When Becky Randle's mother dies, she's whisked from her trailer park home to New York. There she meets Tom Kelly, the world's top designer, who presents Becky with an impossible offer: He'll design three dresses to transform the very average Becky into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.
Soon Becky is remade as Rebecca - pure five-alarm hotness to the outside world and an awkward mess of cankles and split ends when she's alone. With Rebecca's remarkable beauty as her passport, soon Becky's life resembles a fairy tale. She stars in a movie, VOGUE calls, and she starts to date Prince Gregory, heir to the English throne. That's when everything crumbles. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But the idea of a prince looking past Rebecca's blinding beauty to see the real girl inside? There's not enough magic in the world.
Defiant, naughty, and impossibly fun, GORGEOUS answers a question that bewilders us all: Just who the hell IS that in the mirror?
About the Author
Paul Rudnick is a frequent contributer to the NEW YORKER and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, as well as an Obie Award-winning playwright, and the screenwriter for ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES and IN & OUT. This is his first young adult novel.