[Hot Off the Press] Love If I'm Pretty

New YA Release from the Ateneo Press Love If I’m Pretty tackles the nuances of growing up through complex characters and straightforward prose

What do you do when real life becomes too much to bear? In this age of technology, many turn to the escapism offered by gaming. A new release from the Ateneo University Press, Love If I’m Pretty by Lakambini Sitoy, follows a young girl as she navigates the fears and frustrations of growing up in a world that isn’t kind to her, finding some power and some solace in a game instead. However, she can’t avoid real life forever because it always catches up in one way or another.

Everything is going wrong for fourteen-year-old Lia. She is grieving the death of her mother, her father is being difficult, the kids at school are cruel to her, and she is stuck in a coastal town where life goes on amid a pandemic. She turns her attention to her mysterious classmate Charlie, who isn’t like anyone she has ever met. At the same time, she keeps around her online boyfriend from a role-play game, Shadow. Eventually, even with the uncertainty surrounding them, she must choose between the two.

Lia is a complex character who just yearns for love and acceptance, and she will look for it wherever she can, even to her own detriment. She is headstrong, as she makes questionable decisions, but even then, you can’t help but understand where she’s coming from. This book is the perfect read for those who want to see the nuances of growing up and the lengths one will go to just feel like they belong, which is an experience that many of us can relate to.

About the Author

Lakambini Sitoy is the author of Sweet Haven, Jungle Planet, and Mens Rea and Other Stories. Her work has been published in the Philippines, the United States, and in Europe. She received the David T. K. Wong fellowship from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom in 2003. Among her literary prizes are nine Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards. She grew up in Dumaguete City, worked for many years as a journalist in Manila, and now resides in Copenhagen, where she teaches English.

Love If I'm Pretty by Lakambini Sitoy is published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press under the Bughaw imprint. The book retails at PHP 500 and is available at the Ateneo University Press Bookshop in Bellarmine Hall, and the Press’s official Lazada and Shopee stores.

Get your copy in paperback: website | Shopee | Lazada