The Last Beautiful Girl by Nina Laurin (review)

Isa is a theater star at her Brooklyn high school, which makes her impending move to the small town of Amory—and subsequent handing over of the lead role to her BFF—devastating. Amory has its quirks, between its oddly preppy student body and Isa’s new home, a rundown four-story Edwardian house that once belonged to socialite and artists’ muse Isabella Granger. Paintings of Isabella adorn every wall, and Isa is inspired to start a new fashion Instagram with the help of her goth classmate Alexa, an overbearing photographer. The pictures are surreally beautiful, and any photos taken in the house seem to naturally Photoshop out any flaws; Isa goes viral, and when she starts losing herself to popularity and calling herself “Isabella,” her friends know something’s up. Horror fans will know the direction the book intends the moment the house and its history of mysterious deaths are introduced, but the novel unfortunately takes until nearly the end to introduce any real terror. Though Laurin handles the social media side realistically, other implausible elements may be too much for readers (the flimsy excuse for why Isa gets to live in the house, the 100-year-old clothes that are still in wearable condition). Fans looking for another Picture of Dorian Gray–inspired horror with a social media twist may want to turn to Heard’s She’s Too Pretty to Burn (BCCB 2/21), but those who can gobble up any haunted house story may still find enjoyable material here.