Brie, Charlie, Walker, and Daisy are four London teens trapped in a love rectangle. All are involved in a local summer theater production of "The Taming of the Shrew," but little do they know that their lives will become equally as dramatic as a Shakespearean play.

Brie can't live without designer labels, lip gloss, and her best friend Charlie. She's often hungry because she's always on a diet. Brie's mother constantly tells her daughter that she'd better work at her appearance or else nobody will be attracted to her. "The minute Mum heard me open the fridge she'd be peering over my shoulder to make sure that I was going to get an apple because if I put even the smallest crumb of chocolate in my mouth, she reckons I'd bloat up twenty-five pounds and never get a boyfriend." As a result, Brie obsesses and stresses about every detail of her life. The thing she wishes for the most, though, is for Charlie to be straight, and not gay. If he were straight, he could be her boyfriend. Charlie already has seen her at her worst. He always stood by her side. He loved her, flaws and all.

But unfortunately for Brie, Charlie isn't straight. He's gay. And he's in love with Walker, the womanizer. Charlie is a self-described "indie/emo hybrid." Unlike Brie's designer labels, Charlie likes his Converse All Star low-tops and his homemade T-shirt with the word "Gayer" written on it. Though he was comfortable being gay --- when he came out to his Mum she said, "That's okay, babes. I kind of already knew" --- Charlie was not into "scene queens." He just wanted to date a normal guy. And the guy who Charlie had set is eyes on was Walker.

Walker doesn't have a good track record with girls. His reputation follows him around town with his given nickname "Shagger." Walker claims, "I can resist anything but girls who can resist me." And the girl who resists Walker the most is Daisy, a strong-willed lesbian.

Daisy has a lot of hate. She's hated Walker for years. Because she's known him and his reputation since elementary school, she's not thrilled to see him in the summer theater. Daisy also hates Brie, who is the opposite of Daisy's looks and beliefs.

Sarra Manning's PRETTY THINGS is told in four alternating voices. Each voice reveals a deeper layer to the characters, and the reader soon sees that things are not always how they appear. North London-based Manning --- who has written for many teen magazines including J17 and ELLEgirl UK --- showcases yet again her stellar ability to write for the teen scene. She has created four distinct characters and put them into a whirlwind story filled with some of the doubts and questions that many teens face today.

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