Home > Work > She's Too Pretty to Burn
1 " The photo already had its hooks in me. "
― Wendy Heard , She's Too Pretty to Burn
2 " Why are you apologizing when you didn’t do anything wrong? That’s something we teach girls to do—always apologize, never be a burden. You have a right to take up space. "
3 " I’m so glad I didn’t melt you down with steel and turn you into a lifeless, shining doll. What a waste that would have been. You’re too pretty to burn. "
4 " You wouldn’t have anything to be scared of if you didn’t commit felony fucking arson. "
5 " This is what he does. He paints you into a picture. He turns you into a puppet. "
6 " This couldn’t be good. The layers of lies and secrets were piling up fast now, like dirt being shoveled into a grave. "
7 " I want to escape, but it's me that's the problem. There's nowhere to go that I won't also be. "
8 " hate it when she says things like this. How is my own private human body a waste? "
9 " feel hatred for my own mother. My eyes prick with tears, and I stare out at the dark suburbs, blinking hard until they clear. "
10 " She was so many layers. One layer was sweet and shy. The next layer was dark and unpredictable. Under that, a layer of fierce dominance. She was the ocean, with its riptides and its soft, clean breeze and its beauty and its chilling, shark-filled depths." -Veronica "
11 " Why would you tag it like that if you didn’t want a bunch of people to see it? "
12 " That photo Veronica took of me feels like a leaked nude—I’d never show that side of myself to total strangers, but now it’s out there for anyone to see. Next up, the Inner You shoot—actual nudes. Why not, right? Soon there will be nothing left of me that hasn’t been consumed by strangers on the internet. "
13 " You’re seventeen, not twelve. You’re old enough to drive and have sex, and next year you’re allowed to murder people in the military. I think you can handle a little bit of sour grape juice. "
14 " I couldn’t imagine having a mom who would physically kick me out of the house. What would I do if I were in her situation? I was trying to show her that I was there for her in every possible way without being overly clingy, and I was also trying to figure out when to tell her about PostMod magazine and the gala. "
15 " You know how I feel,” she snapped, unguarded at last. “It feels like shit. I feel like everyone on the internet is seeing me naked. And now I have to go to this gala so people can look at my pictures and look at me in person and ask me, what—what kind of questions?” Her voice had become high and panicky, and she broke off and looked out at the ocean. “I wish I could disappear,” she said quietly. "
16 " had heard his lectures about the gatekeepers of art and culture approximately four thousand times. I was pretty sure he was just bitter after being rejected by the one art school he deigned to apply to. "
17 " What if the fire spreads to the state park? It’s enough to just surround the tent with trees. You made your point! "
18 " Growing up in Southern California, you hear about wildfires constantly. Whenever people hear that someone started one on purpose, they look at each other in horror and disgust. What kind of person could do such a thing? What kind of monster would intentionally destroy all those animals’ habitats, all that nature? "
19 " Those questions made me angry. It felt like something they planned to sensationalize so gross old dudes could get off on the idea of pretty teenage girls having sex with each other. "
20 " You took a dead girl’s purse?” My voice rose an octave. “Are you insane? Do you have any idea what that will look like to the cops?” “I got rid of it! I couldn’t let them find evidence!” “Nico,” I breathed. “Holy shit. You have dug yourself a hole.” “I know. "
