T List #24

Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick

It was bound to happen sometime.....my opinion was different than that of my librarian friend on this book. What she disliked about it is what I liked about it. Well, aside from the extremely foul language. On that we can agree. I am not down with the f-bomb or c-u-next-Tuesday. Not ladylike at all.

Anyway.....this is a Cinderella story of sorts. Maybe more like Princess Diaries, or even Shrek.

Becky Randle is from a small town in Missouri. She has lived with her mother all of her life, and, for the most part, is nondescript. There's not really anything special about Becky herself. Becky's mother is over 400 lbs, and dies, leaving Becky alone. She's never told Becky who her father is, or anything about her past.

One day, not long after her mother dies, Becky hears her mother's ring tone. It's not actually her phone though. Instead, she finds a ring box, and inside, is a phone number. Out of curiosity, she calls the number, and is whisked away to New York City. She meets the world famous fashion designer, Tom Kelly, who knew her mother. He makes a deal with her: he will make her the most beautiful woman in the world, and all she has to do is wear three dresses.

Becky transforms into Rebecca, the most beautiful woman in the world. She ends up on the cover of Vogue, stars in a movie and is romantically linked with the actor she has adored forever (who turns out to be gay), then meets the crown prince of England. About the same time, Tom tells Becky that in one year's time, she must fall in love and get married, in order to remain Rebecca. She falls in love with the prince, and on their wedding day, Tom asks Rebecca if she loves the prince. She says yes, but, surprise! she turns back into Becky.

I'll leave it to you, dear reader, to find out what happens.

Sure, this book was so over the top unlikely to happen, but that is what I enjoyed about the book.