Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Pretty
Justin Sayre · 2017
84/100
👍 Worth It
Sophie's story earns its Kirkus star — the treatment of parental alcoholism is honest without being exploitative, and the layered exploration of race, class, and identity gives middle-grade readers real substance to sit with. The slow start is a genuine friction point, but the back half more than makes up for it, and the faith-community scenes add warmth rather than weight. A strong, purposeful read for the right age.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety80
substance85
craft82
originality78
accuracy88
hype80
age-fit82
human-eye86
Penny’s verdict84
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