Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
Published by Harper
Publication Date August 12, 2010
Source: Library
Genres: Young Adult
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.
What was the first thing I thought of while starting this book, prohibition, flappers, the bob? No, no and no, the first thing that came to mind was Micheal Jackson’s PYT Pretty Young Thing — and I’m not even a fan!
Cordelia starts off as a runaway bride from a small town in Ohio who with her best friend Letty’s head to New York to make it big. Once there she discloses that the real reason she has traveled such a distance is to find her long lost father, a wealthy bootlegger. Upon hearing this Letty, feels betrayed (and rightly so) going her own way. She quickly finds her father and is accepted with open arms. Personally, I found this rather odd, what if she had been an imposter after his vast fortune? Some people are so trusting. Cordelia soon becomes an entitled bitch who mixes with the wrong crowd to drastic consciences. She is the character we all love to hate.
Letty is a sweet naive girl who despite her talent always falls down on her luck. Unlike her former friend, she mixes with the right crowd but is blinded by the idea of her name in lights and books a degrading position to discover her mistake too late. The poor young thing, your heart goes out to her.
Astrid, Cordelia’s new best friend and brother’s fiance. I think the best way to describe her is a hooker with a heart of gold, although she is no hooker, Astrid just likes to have a good time. She is perhaps the most likable character of the three as she is kind and considerate and has a head on her shoulders. Unfortunately, she can not be the only one skips along like a Disney princess and has her shortcomings too.
With the era, plot and lively characters Anna Godbersen’s Bright Young Things is sure to be a wonderful appetizer to a new series.
Sounds great. I look forward to trying this one.