Glittery—and surprisingly gritty—fun.
What drama lurks behind the smooth social facade of wealthy young Jewish women in the New York Tri-State area? Actress/screenwriter/first-novelist Rose tells all.
Ali Cohen doesn’t have good memories of Camp Willow Lake, an exclusive summer spot for the toniest of Jewish society. Ali was a social outcast, and something particularly ugly happened one night in the woods when she was there. But now she’s all grown up and has even been nominated for an Academy Award for her documentary work. That’s why she’s been invited back to shoot a video about Willow Lake's 100th anniversary. It’s the perfect excuse to dig into the lives of all the popular girls who made her life hell. They haven’t all turned out so wonderfully. Arden has become a drug addict after the success of her first performance art piece. Dafna is such a princess that even her father couldn’t stand to employ her; she’s out of a job and can’t land a man to support her. Beth, who’s never done much thinking, suddenly realizes she doesn’t want to marry her fiancé and runs off with the wedding photographer. Jessica, who’d always dreamed of Broadway, is doing regional theater in Florida. Successful Hollywood agent Laura doesn’t have the time or inclination to help Jessica or anyone else. And queen bitch Wendy lives in terror that her secret life will be revealed. The plentiful stereotypes here are embellished with such convincing specifics that they’re easily forgiven. It’s chick-lit for sure, but Rose gives it some extra oomph, and following the roller-coaster plot provides quite a rush. (Unexpected pregnancy! Lesbian affair!) Through it all, the author manages to make readers care about her numerous characters. They may be shallow, mean, self-centered, ruthless and resentful, but each has her redeeming qualities. Not to mention lovingly detailed wardrobes and beauty regimes.
Glittery—and surprisingly gritty—fun.Pub Date: May 17, 2005
ISBN: 0-385-51286-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2005
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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