This summer, the summer's on
I would be lying like a dog if I said that the crazy-rich-and-super-trendy subgenre of YA literature didn't interest me. This trend pretty much defined the 2000's in books - Gossip Girl, The Clique, and The A-List were some of the more popular titles before Twilight ushered in an era of supernatural romances. We in the Western world really love our wealthy, well-dressed, snobby characters who live lives of ultimate pleasure and no consequences. It's the most decadent form of escapism.
Ten-thousand dollars to watch four spoiled kids and romp around in the Hamptons is nearly impossible to resist. Even so, the three girls who answer the ad for au pairs - Eliza, Jacqui, and Mara - do so for different reasons. Mara hopes to use the money to pay for college and a used car. Eliza, a former rich girl, wants to hang out with her old friends and feel like the "It" girl she used to be. And Jacqui, a bombshell with pedigree, is on a search for the guy who stole her heart back in Mexico. At first, the three girls want nothing to do with one another, and only Mara is interested in watching over the kids. There are plenty of distractions, like exclusive parties, trust fund hotties, catty frenemies, and a vague threat in the form of Anna, their high-strung boss. But all the boy drama, gossip, shopping sprees, and messy kids is hard to live through without forming friendships and readjusting life philosophies.
Ever since 2004 when this book was published, I've seen a copy of it nearly everywhere I went. For the longest time, whenever I saw it, I got a lame vibe. And now I know, I should have listened to my instinct. This light and breezy account of a drama-riffic summer in the Hamptons is paper-thin in terms of plot, character, prose, and tone. The entire thing goes by so quickly that any attempts at character development or a thrilling climax fall flat. Hearts are broken and mended, self-esteem is gained, and expensive clothes are worn all without preamble. As easy reads go, you can't get any easier.
It's not worth discussing any of the characters, since they are all stereotypes and the friendship between them is utterly manufactured. It's also not worth talking about the excessive name-dropping and label-checking, since those are mostly likely the only two things readers want from this book. All the same, there isn't much here to actively dislike - the snob warms up, the bombshell gets wise, and the small-town girl learns how to party. Sometimes its superficiality can be pleasant, even. I just wish it wasn't such a snoozefest. The one element pulling this book down is its drab omniscient narrator, which reveals the characters to be as superficial as the world de la Cruz illustrates. I want my escapism to be more lovingly detailed, more energized - or at least funnier.
I suggest you take this book with you to the beach and leave it there: one skim-through is plenty. Rating: 2 Page Six headlines out of 5.
Ever since 2004 when this book was published, I've seen a copy of it nearly everywhere I went. For the longest time, whenever I saw it, I got a lame vibe. And now I know, I should have listened to my instinct. This light and breezy account of a drama-riffic summer in the Hamptons is paper-thin in terms of plot, character, prose, and tone. The entire thing goes by so quickly that any attempts at character development or a thrilling climax fall flat. Hearts are broken and mended, self-esteem is gained, and expensive clothes are worn all without preamble. As easy reads go, you can't get any easier.
It's not worth discussing any of the characters, since they are all stereotypes and the friendship between them is utterly manufactured. It's also not worth talking about the excessive name-dropping and label-checking, since those are mostly likely the only two things readers want from this book. All the same, there isn't much here to actively dislike - the snob warms up, the bombshell gets wise, and the small-town girl learns how to party. Sometimes its superficiality can be pleasant, even. I just wish it wasn't such a snoozefest. The one element pulling this book down is its drab omniscient narrator, which reveals the characters to be as superficial as the world de la Cruz illustrates. I want my escapism to be more lovingly detailed, more energized - or at least funnier.
I suggest you take this book with you to the beach and leave it there: one skim-through is plenty. Rating: 2 Page Six headlines out of 5.
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