Author: Amanda Boyden

ISBN: 1-4000-9682-0

The following review was contributed by:   Lily Azerad-Goldman: CLICK TO VIEW Lily Azerad-Goldman's Reviews

With her debut novel Pretty Little Dirty, Amanda Boyden explores the twilight
zone between childhood and the hazardous sides of adult world.   It is the story
of a fatal attraction between two good and beautiful students who drag each
other into the mud. Pretty Little Dirty is a glimpse or an eyeful into the
nymphomaniac lives of two troubled teenagers, Lisa and Celeste, as told by Lisa
Mitchell Smith.   Each chapter is preceded by a parallel, very eloquent
foreword,  clinically bitter rendition of their descent into the hell of lust
and drugs. Coarse language and very sexually suggestive scenes might jolt some
people or more dangerously show them that this is the way to be.

Since morality has changed markedly in the last two generations,
Amanda Boyden does not mince her words and sometimes uses a
vocabulary that might shock more conservative readers.

In the parallel story, Boyden’s tone is softened, where unforgettable characters
are created. Lisa Mitchell Smith comes from a dysfunctional family. Her mother
is insane, her father and brother indifferent. She finds a haven into the
“normal” home of her best friend Celeste Diamond.   From dare to dare, they drag
each other into the path of fast sex and drugs, just for the fun of it! What
starts out as an innocent friendship at the age of eleven will have a different
ending when they reach adulthood.   The poignant part about this book is that
there is no expression of love from most of the characters, except the lethal
attraction between Lisa and Celeste. In the pursuit of lust and drugs, their
hearts get lost. The only character, who shows any love, is sadly Celeste’s
father, Mr. Diamond.

Their two first lovers, who are art teachers at a nearby luxurious college,
introduce them to drugs; however, they show them a little bit of humanity,
mainly because they are much older than Lisa and Celeste. Ess and Hank feed the
narcissism of Lisa and Celeste by creating a wonderful sculpture that will keep
the friends together for eternity.   Why do Lisa and Celeste descend into drug
and sex hell? Why can’t they find a man they truly love? You don’t get answers,
or even suggestions, but you must admire  Pretty Little Dirty  for even bringing
up the issues. Recommended with reservations for the teenage crowd and their
keepers.