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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen 
Release Date: 12 October 2010
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 389


Synopsis from Goodreads:
The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star...

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for...and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.


My Review:
Anna Godbersen's 'The Luxe' series is one of my favorite series. I was absolutely thrilled when I found out about Bright Young Things. What could be better than Godbersen writing of the fun Jazz Age? I was excited. I read the sample to this book a while back in summer and reviewed that, but here is the full book review. It was the first book I read all year, and coincidentally, also the era we were talking about in english class due to reading 'The Great Gatsby'.

I thought that the era was pretty well described and depicted. Of course, I can't say that I lived during that era, but I can make a pretty good image of it in my head based on history. I loved how she threw in the flappers, and bootleggers. In fact, it was fun to see the life of Cordelia's father, a bootlegger, with a secret underground tunnel and things like that. The boys and girls were much more risque than in The Luxe series, but than again that is what did happen in 'The Roaring Twenties.'

I did enjoy the characters quite a bit. My favorite...I don't know. I really like the three main girls and I feel bad choosing a favorite. But I felt as if I liked each one of them for different reasons. I liked Letty's innocence and how hard she worked. I felt so awful for her at humiliating times. I liked Astrid's style and the way she acted, and also felt for her at times. And Cordelia, well sometimes I loved her and sometimes I was angry at her. She has a confidence about her that sparkled but also a carelessness that can drive one crazy. That's what made her character so intriguing, perhaps.

The boys were not my favorite. I hate to compare to the Luxe, especially since I didn't get into that series until the 2nd novel, but I prefer Henry over all of the boys. I did like Thom Hale and Cordelia because it was a little Romeo and Juliet-y, but the romances of the book didn't really do it for me. I do think that I will grow to like the characters more though, so I am going to keep reading and decide later if I like them or not. Also, I think that I have to keep in mind that in that era their were a lot of deceitful men and women. It also makes the story more interesting.

The setting was fun too! I love New York City. (and general area) Everything about it. I thought that it was fun to watch Letty's adventures as a want-to-be singer, Cordelia's adventures of sneakiness, (how else do I describe them?) and watching Astrid try to figure out who she was. 

I recommend Bright Young Things for those 13+. It is fairly clean, but as it is in the twenties there is a lot of drinking, some kissing, and some other minor things.

I LOVED Bright Young Things and I think that although I read it at the beginning of the year, it will still be a favorite by the end!

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