Pretty Ugly

The novel explores the theme of identity and individuality through Jamee’s struggle to be viewed as her own person and not as a less serious, less smart version of her sister, Darcy. Jamee begins the book as a new student at the same high school her sister attends, which invites comparisons, all of them initially negative. Whereas Darcy stands out for her intelligence and academic achievement, Jamee struggles in school and is more interested in athletics, specifically cheerleading and gymnastics. 

Jamee’s welcome to high school comes in the form of her teachers and the upperclassmen all labeling her as “Darcy’s sister.” This tends to be accompanied by descriptions of how good and successful Darcy as been. Jamee quickly chafes under these comparisons, which she is also receiving at home, and feels frustrated, isolated, and unseen by her family and teachers. She explains that originally it was nice to have this connection in her new school, but after about a week of it, she quickly resented it. She lists a number of experiences: her history teacher, who said “You need to study harder, like your sister Darcy”; her English teacher, who said, “You’re not as good a writer as your sister Darcy”; her physical science teacher, who said, “If you’re having trouble, maybe you could ask your sister Darcy”; juniors and seniors who would stop her and say either “You look just like her” or “You don’t look anything like her”; and Mrs. Guessner, who said, “[Darcy’s] one of the best students I ever had at Bluford” (5). The trend continues at home, where her parents threaten and plead with her to be more studious and dedicated to going to college. 

The one thing Jamee feels good at is devalued by her family, leaving Jamee always feeling inadequate. Jamee explains that “she had always been agile and fast in gym class, especially with gymnastics. Years of cheerleading had only improved her skills. Where Darcy had a natural talent for schoolwork, Jamee knew her sister couldn’t touch her with athletics” (69). She even thinks maybe that’s why she’s invested so much into her athletics: because it's an area where she doesn’t have to compete with Darcy and would likely come out ahead if there were a competition. 

Ultimately, it is not cheerleading that defines Jamee’s individuality and identity, but rather her morality and courage. Though Jamee recognizes the dangers to herself if she stands up for Angel against Vanessa’s group of bullies, she has a strong sense of right and wrong and won’t stand for injustice. Repeatedly, even in the face of threats, Jamee challenges Vanessa and gets in the way of her bullying Angel. Because Angel is a new girl and not an existing friend of Jamee’s, the choices Jamee makes to protect the girl are made purely from a sense of justice. Other characters affirm that Vanessa is mean and scary; Dez says, “Man, them girls are mean” (37), and Darcy says, “That girl Vanessa is scary […] If I were a freshman, you wouldn’t catch me near her” (163). That Jamee stands up to Vanessa’s bullying on behalf of a girl she just met highlights her integrity. 

Jamee’s individuality and identity are cemented in the final pages of the book, when her family’s skewed perspective on her is challenged by the way Angel and her mother describe her. The squad already recognized her courage and leadership when “the applause spread to the girls on the gym floor who had left the bleachers, girls who were ready to quit the team because they felt it was the right thing to do” (158). This gives Jamee a feeling of acceptance and pride at school, but her home life still needed to be improved. Jamee’s parents see her in a new light after hearing the story. As they listen, they “glance at Jamee as if they had never seen her before” (163). When they recognize Jamee as an individual with her own strengths, the comparisons to Darcy stop. Instead of being seen as Darcy’s inferior little sister, Bobby Wallace’s “easy” ex, or Dez’s girlfriend, Jamee is seen as her own person—someone who stood up to the school bully and won.