Brooklyn Girls - Gemma Burgess
Published: 04/07/13
Publisher: Quercus
Pages: 292
I am going to -try- not to gush the whole way through this review.
If I’m 100% honest, when I first saw this book I was a little disappointed. I didn’t love the cover and the blurb made me think it would be a bit contrived with excessive girl power and no realistic element.
However, like normal I was totally wrong and I ended up ADORING this book.
I think the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I could relate to the main character Pia SO much, at times it was like I was reading my own thoughts and feelings.
Pia is in her early twenties (like me), is unemployed (like me), can’t seem to find a nice boy (like me) and ends up with pictures of herself topless on facebook (NOT like me). Everyone else around her seems to be dealing with the whole ‘growing up’ thing fine but for some reason it hasn’t really worked out for Pia. When her parents give her an ultimatum, either she get a job in Brooklyn so she can stay living with her friends or she goes home to Zurich with her parents where her father will get her a job, she realises she needs to make big changes in her life. With the help of her four friends, Angie, Coco, Madeline and Julia she begins to try and get a job. Lo and behold, because she doesn’t have job experience people are unwilling to employ her (like me) but unless she gets a job than how can she get experience? The age old catch-22 that I am sure so many young people are really facing today. She manages to get a job as a waitress but that doesn’t go quite to plan…
If no one is going to give her a job, maybe she should make her own….
I bloody loved this book. There was no sugar coating, no quick fixes to Pia’s problems and she had so many failures before she had a success. Reading this book was enjoyable but it was also like a self help book! I took so many great things from it. Never give up. If things don’t work out just pick yourself back up again and head in a slightly different direction etc.
As I mentioned, Pia was a character I could so easily relate to (maybe not the topless facebook photos, copious alcohol and occasional line of coke) but in terms of the place she was in her life. The four female supporting characters were all intriguing and had their own problems and stories to tell which added lovely layers to the plot. And, of course, there were some rather dishy boys to read about, but hey, I don’t want to spoil the whole book for you!
This is my first real taste of the New Adult genre and I am pretty impressed by what I have read so far and I am SO excited that there will be a whole series based around these characters. This first one was Pia’s story and early next year we have the chance to read Angie’s story. I am secretly hoping we will hear about how Pia is getting on in that book too!
If you are a young adult then I recommend you read this book, I am pretty sure you will gain a lot from reading it. And, if you’re past the ‘young’ adult stage then I would still pick it up, I’m pretty sure every reader will see a bit of themselves in this book, because, who hasn’t in their early twenties had a slight breakdown and wondered where they belong in the world?
A fantastic novel about the struggles of finding your way in the world and having to learn how to be a grown up.
Publisher: Quercus
Pages: 292
I am going to -try- not to gush the whole way through this review.
If I’m 100% honest, when I first saw this book I was a little disappointed. I didn’t love the cover and the blurb made me think it would be a bit contrived with excessive girl power and no realistic element.
However, like normal I was totally wrong and I ended up ADORING this book.
I think the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I could relate to the main character Pia SO much, at times it was like I was reading my own thoughts and feelings.
Pia is in her early twenties (like me), is unemployed (like me), can’t seem to find a nice boy (like me) and ends up with pictures of herself topless on facebook (NOT like me). Everyone else around her seems to be dealing with the whole ‘growing up’ thing fine but for some reason it hasn’t really worked out for Pia. When her parents give her an ultimatum, either she get a job in Brooklyn so she can stay living with her friends or she goes home to Zurich with her parents where her father will get her a job, she realises she needs to make big changes in her life. With the help of her four friends, Angie, Coco, Madeline and Julia she begins to try and get a job. Lo and behold, because she doesn’t have job experience people are unwilling to employ her (like me) but unless she gets a job than how can she get experience? The age old catch-22 that I am sure so many young people are really facing today. She manages to get a job as a waitress but that doesn’t go quite to plan…
If no one is going to give her a job, maybe she should make her own….
I bloody loved this book. There was no sugar coating, no quick fixes to Pia’s problems and she had so many failures before she had a success. Reading this book was enjoyable but it was also like a self help book! I took so many great things from it. Never give up. If things don’t work out just pick yourself back up again and head in a slightly different direction etc.
As I mentioned, Pia was a character I could so easily relate to (maybe not the topless facebook photos, copious alcohol and occasional line of coke) but in terms of the place she was in her life. The four female supporting characters were all intriguing and had their own problems and stories to tell which added lovely layers to the plot. And, of course, there were some rather dishy boys to read about, but hey, I don’t want to spoil the whole book for you!
This is my first real taste of the New Adult genre and I am pretty impressed by what I have read so far and I am SO excited that there will be a whole series based around these characters. This first one was Pia’s story and early next year we have the chance to read Angie’s story. I am secretly hoping we will hear about how Pia is getting on in that book too!
If you are a young adult then I recommend you read this book, I am pretty sure you will gain a lot from reading it. And, if you’re past the ‘young’ adult stage then I would still pick it up, I’m pretty sure every reader will see a bit of themselves in this book, because, who hasn’t in their early twenties had a slight breakdown and wondered where they belong in the world?
A fantastic novel about the struggles of finding your way in the world and having to learn how to be a grown up.
Laura