Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Pages: 389
Source: purchased
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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 and Cordelia leave the farmlands of Ohio behind, one night, and enter New York City. It’s 1929 and the speakeasies are blaring with music and overflowing with illegal drink. Letty wants to be a star. Cordelia wants to find her father. In their journeys, they meet people who will help them and people who will deceive them. In a city where there is always going to be dark corners, can these girls follow their dreams and succeed?
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.--Goodreads
Anna Godbersen has been my favorite author since I read The Luxe in high school. When I tell people about her books and how wonderfully written they are, people look at me like I am crazy. I describe Bright Young Things as Gossip Girl in 1929. It is a fast paced historical drama (rather than historical romance), which is not my usual genre. I am more the type of supernatural, paranormal, and dystopian. However if Godbersen wrote it, it has to be good. And, yes, it was beyond good. Her writing style takes you to another world, alongside two girls who are trying to figure out their place in New York City.
Bright Young Things
is set in 1929, during the Jazz Age, which is definitely glamourized and filled
with drama. And, oh, Godbersen writes
drama so well. She starts out with two
girls, Letty and Cordelia. Perspectives
move around a bit between chapters but is written so gracefully that is easy to
understand. Every character has
something which is likeable to them but also each has their dark secrets. That is something to love about Godbersen’s
characters: they all have depths; they have stories beyond the main story and
backgrounds beyond that.
It is difficult to talk about the plot without giving too
much away. Drama always has its standard
twists and turns. Some of Godbersen’s
were predictable but lovely to read about.
However, other twists were totally unexpected which only made me love
the book more.
Bright Young Things
has a way of making your heart fall in love, tremble, and ache all at the same
time. This is the first book in a new
series by Anna Godbersen and, to me, she is off to a great start. I look forward to reading the second
installment! Godbersen knows how to
write drama and if you haven’t read one of her books, I highly recommend them.
“It is easy to forget now, how effervescent and free we all felt that summer.”-Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen, p. 1
Rated R for blood and gore, nudity, and adult content.
Cover: 4
Characters: 5
Plot: 5
Writing Style: 5
Ending: 5
Overall:
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