Review: Pretty Crooked

Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Synopsis (From Goodreads):   Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected. 

 The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan. 

 But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

Elisa Ludwig has created a hilarious modern day Robin Hood in her debut novel, Pretty Crooked. Willa never wanted to move, but when her artist mother sells her art for a lot of money, a move is exactly what they do. Now Will finds herself at an exclusive prep school and instantly welcomed into the Glitterati, the popular group. Not wanting to complain about her new friends, she tries to ignore that these girls could be behind a mean gossip blog, the Buzz who aims to make fun of the scholarship students. In order to put everyone on an even playing field (that is give the scholarship girls some money and new clothes), Willa comes up with the plan to become a modern day Robin Hood, which isn't as easy as she thought as she sets out to learn how to break-in and pick pockets. Will she be able to get away with this plan while still evading the cops who are getting closer to busting her?

On the surface, this would seem like the average mean-girls-get-what-they-deserve type book, but there are so many layers to this book, including strange parental behaviour and another mystery surrounding hottie Aidan (which I won't say anything about as it will spoil some of the mystery). Willa is a sincere character who just wants everyone at Valley Prep to be treated the same, and that may include stealing and giving new clothes and money to the poor scholarship girls who are constantly being bullied because they don't have money. Who wouldn't want that?

Elisa Ludwig does a fantastic job of immersing the reader into the glamorous world of Valley Prep, which helped to get the reader to know all about the characters before Willa's big plan begins.

Pretty Crooked definitely was a great build-up for the next book, but I felt there were too many subplots and mysteries happening in the background that didn't get cleared up by the end of the story, and this is one thing that let the story down. The novel is a fun, light read, and a must for anyone who loves the Robin Hood (stealing from the rich to give to the poor) storyline.

Source: ebook
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