Bright Young Things (Bright Young Things #1)

I feel like this story could have taken place in any other decade and been exactly the same. I was really hoping for more insight into the Roaring 20?s, but instead got a few mentions of flimsy, sparkling dresses and people peacefully drinking their illegal liquor. Where was the excitement and the glamor?!

The writing was also pretty dense, with paragraph long sentences. By time I’d get to the period, I forgot what the sentence was about.

Example 1: “By then she knew that the flaky, crescent-shaped pastries they brought in the morning were called croissants, and she had gathered–although she still hadn’t heard anything to confirm it–that the bizarre flowers filing the tall, rectangular silver vases all over the room were calla lilies, even though they were more austere and futuristic than any lily she had ever seen, like flowers that grew on the moon.“

Example 2: “She cried for being so stupid, and she cried for the man who’d lost his life, for the things she’d known about him and the things should now never know, and she cried for the carefree, privileged world that had been hers for only a few glorious weeks, and she cried for all the years no one had loved her and all the many future years when no one would love her again.“

Aside from those two negatives, the story was interesting and moved at a decent pace (although I wished for more excitement earlier on!). It’s hard to write this without comparing it to Vixen by Jillian Larkin, which I think is definitely the better 20?s era read, even though there are quite a few similarities between the characters and plot. However, the final chapter was much better, and makes me want to find out what happens next.

Anyone who has talked to me about books in the last year knows that my love of Godbersen's The Luxe series knows no bounds. That being said I was really worried about reading her most recent historical fiction series. I put off reading Bright Young Things for a long time, but I finally got around to it this week. It blew me away. It was fun, sexy and full of vibrant characters. This is an entirely satisfying read. Set during the last golden days of prohibition era New York City, this glittering novel follows the lives of three girls trying to make a name for themselves in the big city. The glitz and glam of the 1920's is shadowed by the readers knowledge of the economic disaster that looms just beyond the horizon. This idea of fleeting opulence creates an attachment to the characters that is totally enthralling. I loved this one so much that I decided to do a video review so I could gush and gush. Even though I still love The Luxe I think Bright Young Things now tops my list of best young adult historical fiction. 5 fabulous stars for this beauty!

Bright young things is about two friends wanting to escape a small Midwestern town for the big city. Each have there own dreams to chase, Letty wants to be on the Stage and be a star while Cordelia is looking for the Father (a bootlegger & gangster) she has never met.
This book is definitely a coming of age story in the beginning they have a naivety about them and how life is going to be. Through out the book they deal with trials and tribulations, heart breaks, betrayals and revenge. With out a doubt the characters developed and changed by the end of the book.

Cordelia falls in love with the son of her fathers long time enemy - she has to decide whether she wants to follow her heart and betray the only parent she has, or follow her fathers advice to let go because in the end blood is always thicker then water.

Letty in a bid to become famous refuses the advice of a gentleman and trust's the wrong person putting herself in a compromising situation - Is she really willing to do what every other girl her age is doing to get to the top, which involves seedy men in back rooms of hotels?

I thought both Letty & Cordelia needed to hold there friendship to a higher value, I was saddened and upset to see that they where able to let go of each other so easily.

Charlie surprised me I wanted to dislike him and for a while I did but I think by the end he shows himself to be a loyal person.

Astrid I liked I thought she had a genuine heart even if she was a little weak when it came to Charlie, having said that her mother wasn't exactly a role model for her.