Pretty in Punxsutawney - Book Review

“After watching Pretty in Pink one night, Andie finds herself experiencing an endless loop of her first day at her new school, unable to stop reliving those twenty-four hours again and again.”

The first time I read the blurb, I skimmed past that. I didn’t take it literally. All it meant to me was that the fear, uncertainty and loneliness of the first day of school continued to the second, third, and fourth. But no. The first day of school was literally repeated. The exact same events.

After the shock of realising this, I needed a few chapters to recover. After those few chapters, I was able to enjoy the book, and, on my next re-read of Pretty in Punxsutawney, I’m guessing I will appreciate this unusual plot twist.

The uniqueness of repeating the first day at a new school over and over gave the protagonist, Andie, the ability to appreciate and understand the different cliques and groups at school, and realise that, underneath, they aren’t so different.

So, this book got me thinking. If I could repeat a day that had gone terribly wrong, I would be so much smarter, healthier, and, well, less embarrassed.

What I loved about Pretty in Punxsutawney was the emphasis on the sub-groups within a school – within any place, really. In the novel, Andie got to know the nerds, the goths, the jocks, and any other kind of people at a school, one same day at a time.

While the persona they put on and the clothes they wear place them on different sides of the universe, deep down inside, they’re the same people. They have hearts that want to be loved and to give love. When Andie realised this, she worked towards breaking down the barriers between the different cliques.

Unfortunately, we can’t actually go back and repeat all of those terrible days and awkward interactions.  But we can be smarter, healthier, and less embarrassed if we choose to look past those barriers.

So while I was confused for the first…let’s say the first eighth of the novel, I did come to appreciate the quirkiness and insights of Pretty in Punxsutawney.