Trading Up

I always read reviews before I read a book. I had already bought this book and was disappointed when I read the reviews. They made me not to want to even try the book. Well, I am glad I did. I am halfway through the book, and I think it is great. I have not read any of her other books, but I will now.

That is the only way to discribe this fun, and twistedly sad novel. Janey Wilcox is the character you love to hate, and hopelessly feel sorry for at the same time. You, like Selden (her husband), Patti (sister) and Mimi (a friend she betrayed like so many others), strive to see the good within Janey, try to give her the benefit of the doubt each time. But, Janey is relentlessly and sometimes unsubconciously, self-destructive and selfish. She was given beauty, which without a compassionate heart and a fully functional brain to accompany it, can be trecherous to anyone. Janey's problem is that she is told beauty is the answer to everything, and it actually is. The reason why people are not "getting" this book, is because it is so close to real life, it's laughable! There are MANY Janey's filling up the park avenue penthouses of Newyork, and spilling out of Beverly Hills mansions. When you are rich, young, beautiful, and you get everything handed to you just because of these things, you do not think nor act like a "normal" person, indeed you will be abnormal (i.e. Paris Hilton, Nichole Ritchie). Bushnell just sheds a little light on the actual happenings of New York Society. While we like to believe that the Tyra Banks', Kate Moss's, and Giseles of our world are simply beautiful humanitarians, and the CEOS and movie producer's that help create the media we devour are kind jolly Santa's, Trading Up just tells a little TOO much of the truth, and the everyday idealistic American shys away from too much truth (especially when it is about how rich people REALLY behave) This book has MUCH more literary purpose and fufillment than the chick-lit that is spewing from every corner today. You won't find the cliched "Angry Woman Boss of The fashion Magazine", no cowaring assistants, or over-done synopsis of every outfit ever worn by each character. This book actually develops characters, not clothing, and I love it! I can't wait for Janey to take over LA! I LOVE it when the bad guy wins, because THAT is Real Life folks ; )

I've read this one twice and I hardly ever do that. Janie is such a fighter. This book is so beautifully done. I with this author whould hurry and write another.

I think that Trading Up is a great additional to the chick-lit genre. It's a nice change of pace to read one in which the main character is a glamourous model instead of ordinary and always trying to lose weight. This is different from other chick-lit books in that the average reader will most likely not be able to relate to the characters or setting in the book at all, and she certainly won't LIKE them. You will NOT like Janey Wilcox, and you will not wish that she was your best friend. Despite her looks and fame, you will actually feel sorry for her and the other characters in this book because they're completely miserable, rather vile people.A college professor of a writing course told me once to never tell your story through the eyes of a character who is delusional, because it's extremely hard to make it work. I think that Bushnell partly pulled it off. At times I wasn't sure what I was supposed to believe. In some cases (the first one that comes to mind is one of the scenarios when Bushnell is first describing how Janey believes that Zizi is interested in her) I didn't know what to believe--that Janey is correct and Zizi is really interested in her, or that Janey is simply being her usual ego-centric self and Zizi couldn't care less about her. As the story continues, and I began to realize more and more how distorted Janey's perception was, it became easier for me to understand what Bushnell was doing.The other critiques I have about this book are that is that I found it to be occasionally melodramatic and the dialogue to be a little soap-operaish (the same reasons I can't stand romance novels). Despite that, this is the most page-turning book I've read in a long time, and every day I stayed up until the early hours of the morning to read just a little more. It's juicy, scandalous and exciting, and I felt like I really was getting an insider's view into the lives of the New York society elite. I loved it and now I can't wait for Bushnell's next one.

Forget about Collins' "Hollywood Wives" or Susann's "Valley of the Dolls". With "Trading Up", Candace Bushnell has ascended to the top of the beach book heap, proving that summer reading can be so much fun. Grab the sunscreen, cop a squat on the beach and settle in for a wild, well-written romp through New York society, as experienced by one of Manhattan's prettiest upstarts, aspiring model Janey Wilcox. "Trading Up" is like a chilled vodka tonic on a hot summer's day -- impossible to resist and hard to put down. I can only hope that Ms. Bushnell will spend her summer days penning another tome, so that the summer fun will continue for years to come.