Pretty in Punxsutawney (Spoiler-Free)

A big thank you to TLC Book Tours for sending me a free copy of Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton to read and review! This book was a blast and I found myself laughing, and sometimes even cringing, at all that the characters went through. It was a pretty wild ride for sure. Keep reading for my spoiler-free thoughts!

Genre

YA Fiction, Contemporary, Romance

Intended Audience

All those who enjoy a comedic and endearing YA read

Overview (From Amazon)

“A Groundhog Day meets Pretty in Pink mashup from author Laurie Boyle Crompton, Pretty in Punxsutawney tells the tale of a girl willing to look beneath the surface to see people for who they really are.

Andie is the type of girl who always comes up with the perfect thing to say… after it’s too late to say it. She’s addicted to romance movies—okay, all movies—but has yet to experience her first kiss. After a move to Punxsutawney, PA, for her senior year, she gets caught in an endless loop of her first day at her new school, reliving those 24 hours again and again.

Convinced the curse will be broken when she meets her true love, Andie embarks on a mission: infiltrating the various cliques to find the one boy who can break the spell. What she discovers along the way is that people who seem completely different can often share the very same hopes, dreams, and hang-ups. And that even a day that has been lived over and over can be filled with unexpected connections and plenty of happy endings.”

Setting

Punxsutawney, PA

Characters

As the synopsis above states, Pretty in Punxsutawney follows main character Andie, but we also get to know quite a few side characters.

What I Liked

First of all, this book was hilarious and a lot of fun. You have to suspend your disbelief, because it IS about a 24-hour time loop. And if you’re looking for physics- or science-based answers as to why this is happening, I’m just gonna let you know you won’t get them. Ergo, suspension of disbelief. Anyway, that’s beside the point. Andie is funny and so are a lot of the situations she finds herself in. I also really liked her character development and the ways in which she changed as the story unfolded.

I especially liked that we got to know so many of the side characters. That was, of course, part of the point, but I thought it was very well done. Their introductions never felt overwhelming and everything flowed smoothly.

Parts of the plot were kind of obvious in the same way rom-coms are kind of obvious. Oftentimes, the reader/audience knows what will happen or who the character will end up with (or not end up with) and we’re just along for the ride until they come to their senses. It’s not a bad thing. Sometimes it’s about the journey and not the destination.

What I Liked a Little Less

It gets a little outlandish at some point (which threw me for a bit), but then, given the premise, why the heck not?

Again, suspend disbelief.

Score

Pretty in Punxsutawney was hilarious, endearing, and heart-warming. I really felt like I went on a journey with Andie. I felt her excitement, her desperation, her hope, her frustration, all of it. Pretty in Punx gets 4/5 stars ❤️ And now I should probably watch Groundhog Day (I know the premise, but have never watched the movie). And maybe Pretty in Pink again, since it’s been years.