Bright Young Things By Anna Godbersen
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Puffin (6 Jan 2011) Source: Publisher
Synopsis - It’s 1929 and Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey have escaped their small Midwestern town to chase big dreams and even bigger secrets. Amongst the glittering metropolis of New York City Long Island mansions and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, three girls will find scandal, intrigue, and romance. . .Bright Young Things begins with a startling beginning in explaining that by the end of all this, one girl will be dead, one famous and one married. This definitely threw me of guard and heightened my curiosity.
My Thoughts - The story begins, upon a girl realising that she is to be married to someone she has no intention of marrying. Cordelia alongside her best friend Letty elope from Ohio to the glitz and glamour of New York
Cordelia is a tough girl to like. She is definitely the more confident and tougher of the two apposed to Letty who comes across as very naive and timid.
Things head of to a bad start when the two get into a heated argument, without a second thought Cordelia leaves Letty and doesn’t look back. This was the start of my dislike towards Cordelia, it seemed almost as though she was looking for an excuse to leave her and in and knowing how much Letty depended on her, made her out to be just plain cruel. Not all is lost for Letty though, soon enough she has a big transformation and comes to terms with who she really is, but not without a reality check here and there alongside facing cruelties that the other two girls will not have to. The fact that Letty goes through so much more is perhaps the reason why most people will develop a fondness for her.
Astrid the girlfriend of Cordelia's Brother Charlie, who Cordelia comes across when finding her real father and discovering that he is rich leads to both girls becoming friends! Suddenly Cordelia is living the lavish lifestyle of a princess alongside her new found friend Astrid, who is very spoilt and big on attention seeking. Out of the three I found Letty the most likable, she comes across as, real and genuine and just an overall nice girl, whilst Astrid and Cordelia can be cruel and on the stuck up side. It’s easy to feel off with them, but the author manages to make each and every one of them come into their own by the end of the novel, and if not liked, each are thought well enough of, to be considered brave and admirable at least.
Alongside The Glamour and Clothing which was described in great detail throughout the book not all is fun and games, towards the middle things take a much darker turn, and it becomes apparent that there is more than meets the eye.
The love interests were interesting enough I suppose, but perhaps forgettable? That didn’t really matter though; The novel takes us through the journey of three specific girls who are filled with vibrant, varied personalities so the lack of characterisation regarding the supporting characters luckily didn’t influence me much. What I had originally hoped for were dashing young, smart and elegant men which is what The Luxe series provides you which also happened to be a very big highlight for me in the series.
Romance plays such an important role in her previous series that I was surprised when I noticed this concept was less prominent in this novel, and to add to that most romantic Interests were either unlikable, were likable and then turned out to me mean horrible jerks (This was the case many times ) :( or just not swoon worthy or interesting. Apart from, Luke and Grady who really stood out for me from the very beginning, the both of them had this bashfulness and naivety which was very endearing at times. The thing is we don’t really get to know many characters in depth like we do the three girls which is most likely the reason as to why it makes it harder to connect with the secondary characters. I am counting on the sequel to solve that issue though.
Bright Young Things is a deliciously - charming read that will transport you back into the 20s, the imagery is extremely vivid giving the reader a clear insight into the lives of these three young girls, who are struggling to come to terms with who they really are. A recommended read that will surely keep you giddy and highly entertained!
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