Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson

Release Date: Oct. 12, 2010
Pages: 389 pages
Genre: Historical
Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary: 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.

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.

Review: Beautiful descriptions of New York in the roaring twenties, lush clothes, parties at speakeasies and mansions that last all night – this book has all that, and more. The three teenage girls, Letty, Cordelia and Astrid, are quite self centered and make bad decisions which lead to interesting consequences. The boys, mainly Thom and Charlie, are not very likable, but that only adds to the soap operatic quality of this book.

What I did find a bit off is the time frame that everything happens – the novel covers a three week time span, and a lot happens in those three weeks. In Cordelia’s case, it’s a little unbelievable that such strong relationships and bonds were formed in only three weeks. Even though this is not usually the sort of book that I like to read, I liked it and look forward to the sequel.

Content: Sexual situations (not described in detail), teenage drinking and smoking but in line with the time period.