Book Review: “Pretty Girl County” by Lakita Wilson

“Pretty Girl County” by Lakita Wilson (2025)

Genre: YA, Fiction, Contemporary

Page Length: 320 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

Girls like Reya Samuels always come from Prince George’s County. Reya is rich and she’s not afraid to show it—she wears designer clothes, drives a custom pink Audi, and lives in a neighborhood tucked behind a fancy cast iron gate. She works hard, but she can get anything she wants with a snap.

Sommer Watkins is from Seat Pleasant, where the cast iron gates are significantly smaller—and attached to the windows, where most folks are still trying to make ends meet. Every day for Sommer is a hustle, working at her dad’s bookstore, and using her art skills to scrounge up enough scholarship money for her dream school, Spelman.

Reya and Sommer used to be BFFs—back when Reya lived in Seat Pleasant, too. Now the girls are from different stratospheres—but when Reya desperately needs help to prove to FIT admissions officers that she has what it takes to make it in fashion, the only person who can help is Sommer. Reya promises to help Sommer in return—she’ll pay her for her services, helping Sommer afford the school her parents can’t.

As the girls work together, slowly they begin to trust each other again. But when new relationships push them both, and Sommer’s dad’s bookstore is suddenly in danger of closing, old wounds bubble up. Can the girls find a way to repair their friendship and stay true to themselves along the way?

Review:

Pretty Girl County is one my anticipated reads for 2025 and it did not disappoint. What lies between the pages of this novel is a beautiful story about friendship, coming-of-age, and self discovery. The novel follows two former best friends, Reya and Sommer, who have grown apart after Reya’s move to a different neighborhood. The two reluctantly end up pairing up again for a project that will affect futures after high school and hopefully heal the rift from the past.

I appreciated this novel being told through two dual point-of-views through the main characters. It give readers a deeper glimpse of why their friendship fell apart as well as their inner struggles. This novel has a great message that reflect the message, “the grass isn’t greener on the other side”. Reya struggles to uphold a posh image with the new upgraded life her mom has given her through her reality TV show life. She feels grossly out out place but removes herself from her old neighborhood at the same time. Sommer and her family struggle to make ends meet. She wants to go away for college but can’t seem to leave her family and the the bookstore behind as it’s an integral part of her life.

This novel reminds us that it’s okay not to be okay, and though we don’t have the answers to everything we just do the best we can:

“Things don’t have to be the best to be okay. And we still have the right to exsist and create beauty, even when things don’t always appear perfect around us.”

This is a recommended read for any YA reader as it touches on some pivitoal topics that come with being at the end of the road in high school as well as the difficulty of rekindling friendships. Both characters nagivate school, finding love, and life while still managing to have those hard conversations understanding different socioeconomic backgrounds. I think Wilson does a fantastic job of covering the heavier topics within the novel and makes it an overall lighter read. A good reading experience with real characters and lots of heart!

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received the novel from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.