Miranda Miller's mission in life is to make sure her nine-year-old daughter, Bailey, continues to be one of the most successful child pageant contestants in the southern United States. But lately, Bailey has been secretly binge eating to gain weight so Miranda will let her retire; and the reality show Miranda been trying to set up for Bailey (and herself) just went to their biggest rival. But Miranda's got an ace up her sleeve. She's seven months pregnant with her fourth child, a girl, thank God, and Miranda is going to make damn sure that this one will be a pageant champion, too. Unbeknownst to her, Miranda's husband Ray, a nurse with a hobby of popping random pills, has knocked up the less than brilliant seventeen-year-old orphan granddaughter of one of his hospice patients. With a wife, a mistress, two jobs, three kids (and two more on the way), a mountain of debt, and no real friends, Ray is desperately hoping his life puts itself back in order. Meanwhile, the Millers' two boys are being "homeschooled" by Miranda's mother, a well-intentioned widow who spends most of her time playing solitaire and planning a murder with Jesus. Yes, that Jesus.
They're just your typical dysfunctional American family.
Do you love reality tv shows like Dance Moms, Toddlers & Tiaras and pretty much any other reality show on TLC? Do you tend to laugh at inappropriate times or at inappropriate things? Do you like irreverent humor? Can you find humor in stereotypes and general political incorrectness? If you answered "Yes!" to any of the above questions, I highly recommend Pretty Ugly.
Like a train wreck, this book is so wrong but I just couldn't look away. It's filled with horrible people doing and saying even more horrible things, and I loved every minute of it. In fact, throughout the book, I found myself gasping and covering my mouth in horror while trying very hard not to laugh. This book is filled with moments that will cause you to burst out laughing while at the same time feeling guilty that you find it so humorous. No topic is off limits here: pageants, eating disorders, pregnancy, Jesus, race, drug abuse, adultery, reality television. You name it, it gets skewered.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this and recommend to anyone who enjoys this type of humor. The author has written for shows like Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and Galavant. That should give you an idea of the type of irreverent humor and satire that Kirker Butler is known for. If you don't like those shows, you probably won't like this book. However, if you love that kind of tongue-in-cheek humor like I do, I think you'll find that Pretty Ugly is the best type of guilty pleasure.
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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17 March, 2015:
Finished reading
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17 March, 2015:
Reviewed