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Trading Up
With a brilliant comic voice as well as Jane Austen's penchant for social satire, Candace Bushnell, who with Sex and the City changed forever how we view New York City, female friendships, and the love of a good pair of Manolos, now brings us a sharply observant, keenly funny, wildly entertaining latter day comedy of manners. Modern-day heroine Janey Wilcox is a lingerie model whose reach often exceeds her grasp, and whose new-found success has gone to her head. As we follow Janey's adventures, Bushnell draws us into a seemingly glamorous world of $100,000 cars, hunky polo players and media moguls, Fifth Avenue apartments, and relationships whose hidden agendas are detectable only by the socially astute. But just as Janey enters this world of too much money and too few morals, unseen forces conspire to bring her down, forcing her to reexamine her values about love and friendship-and how far she's really willing to go to realize her dreams.
586 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
270 people are currently reading
8168 people want to read
About the author
Candace Bushnell
45 books3,360 followersCandace Bushnell is the critically acclaimed, international best-selling author of Killing Monica, Sex and the City, Summer and the City, The Carrie Diaries, One Fifth Avenue, Lipstick Jungle, Trading Up, and Four Blondes. Sex and the City, published in 1996, was the basis for the HBO hit series and two subsequent blockbuster movies. Lipstick Jungle became a popular television series on NBC, as did The Carrie Diaries on the CW.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 785 reviews
August 28, 2007
Dear Candace,
Please stop writing female characters with no depth of soul. I am a women and yet capable of thought. I am capable of getting a job and supporting myself. I am capable of dating people because I like them and not because they are rich. I am capable of having friends who I don't back-stab.
If you were a man I would accuse you of hating women, however, I believe I will have to look for another excuse for your writing.
In the meantime please cease and desist.
Love.
Me
Please stop writing female characters with no depth of soul. I am a women and yet capable of thought. I am capable of getting a job and supporting myself. I am capable of dating people because I like them and not because they are rich. I am capable of having friends who I don't back-stab.
If you were a man I would accuse you of hating women, however, I believe I will have to look for another excuse for your writing.
In the meantime please cease and desist.
Love.
Me
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July 24, 2007Do yourself a favor and NEVER READ THIS. I give it zero stars.
This book was the worst piece of crap ever written. I have a problem when it comes to books in that I have to finish reading a book once I start it. I hate myself for finishing this one. I'm dumber for having read it and will never, ever read a Candace Bushnell book again.
Awful.
This book was the worst piece of crap ever written. I have a problem when it comes to books in that I have to finish reading a book once I start it. I hate myself for finishing this one. I'm dumber for having read it and will never, ever read a Candace Bushnell book again.
Awful.
June 21, 2008
Fun, totally underrated, and maybe misunderstood. This is a contemporary update of The House of Mirth, which makes it a creative, ambitious project. The plot mirrors that of the Wharton novel until the end, where the shameless, LA-based, culture of entertainment allows the protagonist to survive her exclusion from rule-bound New York society. Yes, that protagonist is shallow and bitchy, but she has her demons, and Lily Bart was hardly without shortcomings.
August 3, 2023
I couldn't get into this at all, I just couldn't get into the story line or relate to the characters.
Two stars.
Two stars.
August 2, 2011
I cannot describe the extent that I dislike Candace Bushnell’s character, Janey Wilcox. She is the only protagonist I have willed to die.
My stomach bubbles in fury with what Ms. Bushnell put me through with this devastating waste of paper. It isn’t a book, it’s a door stopper.
Janey is the face of today’s reality stars. A former model, Janey gets meaning from her “existence” by climbing social ladders. Aiming to become a movie producer, Janey is constantly buffeted by past acquaintances that have spent a night (or five minutes) using her for what she’s good at – taking it. Janey has periods of what I can only presume are psychosis as she flashbacks to younger versions of herself. These younger versions aren’t only nicer to read about, they’re generally smarter too.
I hung on page by page determined not to be beaten by drivel. Given the terrible things Janey does to get her way I hoped there might be a moral to this story; Janey’s half-eaten body found draped over cacti, her bludgeoned head floating through a non descript river. Did I get a moral?
No.
Did she get her come-uppance?
Heck no.
Janey got just about everything she wanted by using people. She never learnt how to be nice, she never learnt the consequences of being used as a village bicycle.
I couldn’t believe this got published. It had no real baring or quality, it’s Easy Mac in a book.
My thoughts lie with the trees that were sacrificed.
My stomach bubbles in fury with what Ms. Bushnell put me through with this devastating waste of paper. It isn’t a book, it’s a door stopper.
Janey is the face of today’s reality stars. A former model, Janey gets meaning from her “existence” by climbing social ladders. Aiming to become a movie producer, Janey is constantly buffeted by past acquaintances that have spent a night (or five minutes) using her for what she’s good at – taking it. Janey has periods of what I can only presume are psychosis as she flashbacks to younger versions of herself. These younger versions aren’t only nicer to read about, they’re generally smarter too.
I hung on page by page determined not to be beaten by drivel. Given the terrible things Janey does to get her way I hoped there might be a moral to this story; Janey’s half-eaten body found draped over cacti, her bludgeoned head floating through a non descript river. Did I get a moral?
No.
Did she get her come-uppance?
Heck no.
Janey got just about everything she wanted by using people. She never learnt how to be nice, she never learnt the consequences of being used as a village bicycle.
I couldn’t believe this got published. It had no real baring or quality, it’s Easy Mac in a book.
My thoughts lie with the trees that were sacrificed.
April 29, 2020
This book had the chance to become memorable, then kept falling short of it. The heroine was not only hard to like, but hard to pen down into a character. She jumped around too much. One minute a terrible person, the next a not so terrible person.
I probably would have put it down and gotten another audio book, but the pandemic has closed the library temporarily.
I probably would have put it down and gotten another audio book, but the pandemic has closed the library temporarily.
May 14, 2009
I read a lot of reviews on here before I read this book. I was almost talked out of reading it because they were so negative. But I had already bought it at goodwill, so I went ahead and read it.
The character this book is based on is in fact a horrible, shallow, nasty person, but I found myself liking the book anyway. Even if it was ridiculous and I couldn't believe what was being said, I kept on reading, and wanting to read more.
Yes, she's horrible, and no, I am not like her, but at the same time, I felt sorry for Janey Wilcox, and I wanted something better for her. I wanted her to succeed in the end, because she needed to do so on her own, and not because she married someone great.
The character this book is based on is in fact a horrible, shallow, nasty person, but I found myself liking the book anyway. Even if it was ridiculous and I couldn't believe what was being said, I kept on reading, and wanting to read more.
Yes, she's horrible, and no, I am not like her, but at the same time, I felt sorry for Janey Wilcox, and I wanted something better for her. I wanted her to succeed in the end, because she needed to do so on her own, and not because she married someone great.
January 9, 2008
Reading this book was painful and horrifying. I was astonished to find that anyone could think up so many shallow topics and characters on which to write. However, I found myself compelled to finish the book, hoping all along that Janie, the main character, would eventually do the right thing. I did, however, find some of the character names, locations, corporations and New York-isms both clever and interesting.
February 13, 2013
It's a fun read. I was rooting for the main character the whole way! This is a continuation from one of the stories in "Four Blondes", read that one first and you won't be disappointed. This certainly isn't going to be a book that challenges the social norm or makes you look particularly smart on the subway home, but that's what the hipster sitting next to you reading Nietzsche is for. If you don't take yourself too seriously and just want something easy and fun to read this is for you.
July 26, 2018
Wow, not sure how I have missed these book on my bookshelves on Goodreads.
Can I just say, I loved this book? I loved Janey Wilcox. I liked the dirty mix of the socialites with ulterior motives, the 'the one-upping' and just the candid fun journey of Janey trying to pry her way to the top.
This book rocked.
I loved the whole bit about her maybe or maybe not had written a screenplay. I like how the novel eventually peels off the layers of Janey's tough exterior...however, I did not agree with some of the measures Janey took to climb the ladder of success.
The way Candace Bushnell justifies Janey's actions by revealing her earlier darker days as a model, I could accept Janey's motives and sympathize with this main character.
The ending was GLORIOUS for Janey.
Fun, edgy read with twists and turns.
Can I just say, I loved this book? I loved Janey Wilcox. I liked the dirty mix of the socialites with ulterior motives, the 'the one-upping' and just the candid fun journey of Janey trying to pry her way to the top.
This book rocked.
I loved the whole bit about her maybe or maybe not had written a screenplay. I like how the novel eventually peels off the layers of Janey's tough exterior...however, I did not agree with some of the measures Janey took to climb the ladder of success.
The way Candace Bushnell justifies Janey's actions by revealing her earlier darker days as a model, I could accept Janey's motives and sympathize with this main character.
The ending was GLORIOUS for Janey.
Fun, edgy read with twists and turns.
April 3, 2010
I really enjoyed this book. If you like Sex and the City then you should like this. It is very similar. This being said, this book is not for everyone. If you are somewhat of a prude or if sex bothers you in ANY way don't bother reading this book. There is a lot of sex in it. I think it is a fun book and as long as you don't take it too seriously you will enjoy it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any of my friends...just not my mother (which is funny because she is the one that bought it for me! HA HA)
May 21, 2011
I received Candace Bushnell's novel Trading Up in a care package from friends when I was on bedrest during my third pregnancy. Knowing that I had just discovered Sex and the City on DVD, one of my girlfriends assumed that I'd like reading this book. At the time, I was reading at least one and sometimes two books a day, and yet it took me three days to read Trading Up. The following explains why.
::: The Premise :::
Trading Up opens with Janey Wilcox, a character introduced in Bushnell's previous novel 4 Blondes, on her way to a party in the Hamptons. From the car she is driving (a Porsche Boxster) to her clothes, to her thoughts about her oh-so-trendy lipstick color (Pussy Pink), it's apparent that Janey is all about image and nearly nothing about substance.
At the party, she meets people, sizing them up by how attractive they are, or how they could help her get higher on the social ladder. She also meets up with Comstock Dibble, a studio head she once slept with who gave her money while she was sleeping with him under the guise that she was writing a "screenplay."
Janey also meets the up-and-coming actor Selden Rose, an attractive polo player named Zizi, and a host of other "names" on the party circuit. She also has a sister, Patty, who has married a rock star known as Digger, but never seems to negotiate the social waters in the way Janey wants to.
Over the course of the novel, Janey throws herself at Zizi, who is actually having an affair with the married Mimi Kilroy, a sort of Christina Onassis character who was known from the time she was a baby as an heiress, marries the undesirable Selden Rose, and is dragged through the press as a high-priced call girl when the story of the money she got from Comstock Dibble is divulged, and yet no screenplay can be found.
Janey's up-and-down social life (as well as her wardrobe, makeup and shopping) are chronicled, and the reader is supposed to be drawn into the story, wanting to know whether or not Janey can once again rise to the top as the cream of society.
::: My Experience :::
If you loved Sex and the City for merely it's fashion and name-dropping, then Trading Up might be the book for you. But over half the text is names: fictional character names, real-life celebrity names, designer names, and cosmetics names. With more names than plots, I found myself struggling to keep all the players straight, where the attractive men were few and far between while the overweight, balding men were the power players and the ones to be slept with for favors.
Janey appears, in all cases, to be morally bankrupt. Even her marriage is based on where it will get her in social circles, and I was unable to find even one redeeming quality to her. When her own sister has problems, Janey's real concern is how it will look in the press and how it might affect her, not how her sister, who is probably the only genuine person in the book, is actually doing.
The list of men she's slept with grows, and the list of skeletons she is hiding grows even longer. By about halfway through the book, I actually found myself hoping that she'd hit rock-bottom, either kill herself in a overdose or be murdered, and her sister would somehow end up with a fairy-tale life.
Needless to say, it didn't happen, and I was forced to endure 404 pages of vapid Janey and her very boring life. If Paris Hilton's life is anything like this, only not having to worry about climbing up the ladder, I'll take back every nasty thing I've ever said about her, because what a sad, empty life it is.
::: Overall :::
Trading Up is an empty shell of a book, propped up with namedropping and lurid sexual escapades with fat, old power players and undesirable attractive men. This book, and its characters, are so shallow that they blow away easily in the wind.
I'm a big fan of melt-in-your-mouth easy summer reading, but this one just leaves a stale aftertaste.
This review originally published on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Tradin...
::: The Premise :::
Trading Up opens with Janey Wilcox, a character introduced in Bushnell's previous novel 4 Blondes, on her way to a party in the Hamptons. From the car she is driving (a Porsche Boxster) to her clothes, to her thoughts about her oh-so-trendy lipstick color (Pussy Pink), it's apparent that Janey is all about image and nearly nothing about substance.
At the party, she meets people, sizing them up by how attractive they are, or how they could help her get higher on the social ladder. She also meets up with Comstock Dibble, a studio head she once slept with who gave her money while she was sleeping with him under the guise that she was writing a "screenplay."
Janey also meets the up-and-coming actor Selden Rose, an attractive polo player named Zizi, and a host of other "names" on the party circuit. She also has a sister, Patty, who has married a rock star known as Digger, but never seems to negotiate the social waters in the way Janey wants to.
Over the course of the novel, Janey throws herself at Zizi, who is actually having an affair with the married Mimi Kilroy, a sort of Christina Onassis character who was known from the time she was a baby as an heiress, marries the undesirable Selden Rose, and is dragged through the press as a high-priced call girl when the story of the money she got from Comstock Dibble is divulged, and yet no screenplay can be found.
Janey's up-and-down social life (as well as her wardrobe, makeup and shopping) are chronicled, and the reader is supposed to be drawn into the story, wanting to know whether or not Janey can once again rise to the top as the cream of society.
::: My Experience :::
If you loved Sex and the City for merely it's fashion and name-dropping, then Trading Up might be the book for you. But over half the text is names: fictional character names, real-life celebrity names, designer names, and cosmetics names. With more names than plots, I found myself struggling to keep all the players straight, where the attractive men were few and far between while the overweight, balding men were the power players and the ones to be slept with for favors.
Janey appears, in all cases, to be morally bankrupt. Even her marriage is based on where it will get her in social circles, and I was unable to find even one redeeming quality to her. When her own sister has problems, Janey's real concern is how it will look in the press and how it might affect her, not how her sister, who is probably the only genuine person in the book, is actually doing.
The list of men she's slept with grows, and the list of skeletons she is hiding grows even longer. By about halfway through the book, I actually found myself hoping that she'd hit rock-bottom, either kill herself in a overdose or be murdered, and her sister would somehow end up with a fairy-tale life.
Needless to say, it didn't happen, and I was forced to endure 404 pages of vapid Janey and her very boring life. If Paris Hilton's life is anything like this, only not having to worry about climbing up the ladder, I'll take back every nasty thing I've ever said about her, because what a sad, empty life it is.
::: Overall :::
Trading Up is an empty shell of a book, propped up with namedropping and lurid sexual escapades with fat, old power players and undesirable attractive men. This book, and its characters, are so shallow that they blow away easily in the wind.
I'm a big fan of melt-in-your-mouth easy summer reading, but this one just leaves a stale aftertaste.
This review originally published on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Tradin...
September 14, 2007
Coming from a gal who normally loves shallow chick-lit (think the "Shopaholic" series, "Bergdorf Blondes", "Devil Wears Prada", etc. etc...) "Trading Up" didn't even serve my only purpose for it: to be a mindless beach read while on vacation. I struggled through about 60 or 70 dull, tedious pages before I finally gave up on it. Fortunately, I found it in B&N's bargain bin for only 5 or 6 bucks. Unfortunately, I also wasted another 5 or 6 bucks on "Lipstick Jungle" which I am now unlikely to crack open. I expected so much more from the originator Sex & The City.
February 7, 2012
I love Candace Bushnell, there can be few more intelligent authors working in the U.S. today, and Trading Up is one of her best. I'd say that this tale of a lingerie model's attempts to claw her way into the upper echelons of New York society reminds me of Edith Wharton, if I wasn't afraid that might make it sound a tad dull and worthy. Whereas it's sparklingly funny and wonderfully observant. A long flashback towards the end of the novel throws things off-kilter a bit, but otherwise this is heavenly fare for anyone who likes chick lit with a bit of a brain.
November 14, 2013
This was not my favorite Candace Bushnell book. Instead of feeling sorry for the protagonist you felt sorry for everyone she came in contact with!
January 7, 2018
People who didn't like this book are the sheltered types who can only like things if they can personally relate to it. Zero imagination beyond what feels good and zero open-mindedness. I'm so thankful I gave this book a shot in leu of all the negativity. Not everything can be the uplifting girl-power of Sex and the City and Pride and Prejudice, ladies. Having been exposed to the shallow, immoral, smutty world which Candace Bushnell paints from a very young age, I applaud her for her unapologetic honesty and lack of fluff in an attempt to somehow make her painfully realistic characters more likable. Furthermore, people should know what they're getting themselves into when they read the description on the back of the book: If scandal and social politics aren't your cup of tea, don't read it! There's nothing genuine or happy about social climbers or gold diggers, they're bad people. As for my review: Candace is brilliant, brave, and I hope she never stops writing. Not only does she give you a raw, front row seat into her characters' world, but into their very souls. Candace seems to study celebrities the way Jane Goodall studies primates, then puts it on paper. What I find so captivating is here ability to make you feel sorry for Janey and the other characters without casting a phoney, redeeming light on any of them. (Hard to believe you can pity anyone so shameless.) Or maybe that's just my inner empath wanting to save them from themselves. Anyway, not every piece of literature is going to have a profound life lesson or deeper meaning that speaks to everyone; just have fun hating or relating to the characters as they take you on their entertaining journey and lay off the author. No one made you read it, after all. There are way more important things in life to get so worked up over than a book you probably got to enjoy (or didn't) for free at the library. lol
September 30, 2015
I think, after a month of reading Trading Up, it is safe to say that Candice Bushnell's novels worked better when HBO interpreted her writing. Believe me, Sex & The City was my favorite Bushnell book but I loved it better on cable. I was also glued to the TV set whenever Carrie Diaries was on.
Somehow, with Trading Up, I had a hard time getting charmed with Janey Wilcox and her posse. I didn't think I had the energy to like her, much more appreciate her as both a heroine & a bitch.
Yes, I hated Janey to bits. Until the end. So forgive me if I lost my passion for reading this one after 15-20 days to a month. But I still took a peek from time to time, thinking that I might get interested in the end. But no. I just couldn't.
Somehow, with Trading Up, I had a hard time getting charmed with Janey Wilcox and her posse. I didn't think I had the energy to like her, much more appreciate her as both a heroine & a bitch.
Yes, I hated Janey to bits. Until the end. So forgive me if I lost my passion for reading this one after 15-20 days to a month. But I still took a peek from time to time, thinking that I might get interested in the end. But no. I just couldn't.
Read
September 27, 2018This book had all the goodies that I was craving after my extended break from reading chick-lit - name dropping, fashion, and petty problems. But underneath all of this it also had a tragic undertone and character development that really makes you feel something. It made me ponder how lonely it can be at the top, and how it must feel to give all of yourself away to get things that you don't even know if you want (having sex with strange, rich, gross men for popularity, money or fame). One of Candace Bushnell's better books. I enjoyed this one and 'One Fifth Avenue'. 'Sex and the City', 'Four Blondes' and 'Killing Monica' were kind of flops for me.
July 30, 2012
I attempted, TWICE, to read this book. Not only was it a complete bore being in the main characters head, but in my head I can't get around the fact that it was so bad that I could barely start it, and there was no way in hell I was going to finish it. I have read a lot of bad books in my time, but there have only been a couple that I never finished. This is proof that being published takes a good backscratching and nothing more. Write one good book and get the golden publishers ticket. I won't be attempting any more of Ms Bushnell's work in the future.
January 18, 2009
A different kind of read. I have seen a lot of women get angry over this book because it is about a model who uses her looks and men. Yes, I feel that I have more depth and can't really relate to the character. But, the reality is, this DOES happen. And, it also shows you that just because women do this, it doesn't mean that they are happy with themselves or their lives.
March 28, 2012
I kept reading this book to see if the author could produce some redeeming character in this incredibly selfish self absorbed girl, but no she just keeps using people and gets away with it because she is beautiful. I don't think I have ever read a book with more despicable main character.
January 9, 2020
Not recommended. Shallow loathsome people and poorly written. A complete bore.
Read
January 27, 2024seriously, after reading sex & the city i was skeptical about this one… to say that i was right would be an understatement. the story has so many flaws it’s actually impossible to make the entire list. look, books third person doesn’t bother me at all, but you have to know how to write coherently; and this is exactly where the problem is, she doesn’t. results are simple, the story feels confused and sometimes you can’t even know who’s the characters feeling she’s talking about. not to be mean or anything, but i seriously wonder how she even became an author… the subject of the book could be soo interesting because it’s actually a real problem in our society, but it’s just way too overlooked. we just read about janey who is embarrassing herself like i’ve never seen it before, i cringed almost the whole time. i despise her with my entire heart, i wanted to smash her head against the wall SO HARD. she doesn’t care about other’s feelings she only care about hers, everything have to resolve around HER, her, her, her, her, her blah-blah-blah. never ever will i read a book from this author again. if i could have the mental & capacity to dnf a book, i would have the first second i picked it up.
June 9, 2020
3.5 stars
The most fun part of reading books by Candace Bushnell is the feeling of experiencing a life I will never live in reality. Beautiful, thin, rich socialites live their spoiled days with self-destructive behavior and frivolity. This is true take-me-away chick lit!! The plot is a bit vapid and unrealistic, but, in my opinion, that only lends itself to the escape I’m looking for.
I am SO grateful for my fellow yoga-pant-wearing, beer drinking, REAL friends. 😊
The most fun part of reading books by Candace Bushnell is the feeling of experiencing a life I will never live in reality. Beautiful, thin, rich socialites live their spoiled days with self-destructive behavior and frivolity. This is true take-me-away chick lit!! The plot is a bit vapid and unrealistic, but, in my opinion, that only lends itself to the escape I’m looking for.
I am SO grateful for my fellow yoga-pant-wearing, beer drinking, REAL friends. 😊
July 13, 2009
You know, all day at work I am reminded about how shallow mankind is. For exanple: 1) since I am not one of the "beautiful" people I am not treated as nicely and will never make as much money no matter how hard I work or how smart I am. 2) Since there are always people willing to sell themselves out for a buck- whether it is morally, spiritually, or environmentally- it seems like we will never make progress as a society. 3) Postponing short-term fulfillment for the greater good long-term is just unheard of most of the time (just one of the millions of examples, refer to "Who Killed the Electric Car"). Mankind, most of the time, acts like a selfish 2-year-old.
So, when I choose ways to spend my free time, it is on things that make me feel good. I like things that portray a good, positive message. Or at the very least, the bad guy is portrayed as bad. If he does not get what he/she deserves in the end, there is at least the message of "the world is unfair".
But that is not the case with this book. The "heroine" (as she is called both on the dustjacket and is treated as thus throughout the book) is shallow, vapid, cliche, fairly dense, and would sell out her mother in a New York minute for fame/fortune. Actually, she does use her poor, suffering sister shamelessly for her own advancement purposes several times. And in the end, she gets just what she wants because of her immoral behaviour.
I never thought I would write this, but I think I would reccomend a Harlequin romance over this drivel. Usually they at least have a good, positive moral heroine who wants to do the "right thing".
The bottom line: If you think it is a good idea for your teenager to star in a reality t.v. show like "NYC Prep", or you think "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" shows people that you could really look up to or perhaps even envy, then this book is for you. By all means, get it and read it.
If your idea of good reality t.v. is more along the lines of "The 1900 House" or "The Edwardian Country House", I would stay away from this book. I wish I had.
I would sugest only read this book if you want to be more disgusted with how the American Intellect is sliding into a black hole.
So, when I choose ways to spend my free time, it is on things that make me feel good. I like things that portray a good, positive message. Or at the very least, the bad guy is portrayed as bad. If he does not get what he/she deserves in the end, there is at least the message of "the world is unfair".
But that is not the case with this book. The "heroine" (as she is called both on the dustjacket and is treated as thus throughout the book) is shallow, vapid, cliche, fairly dense, and would sell out her mother in a New York minute for fame/fortune. Actually, she does use her poor, suffering sister shamelessly for her own advancement purposes several times. And in the end, she gets just what she wants because of her immoral behaviour.
I never thought I would write this, but I think I would reccomend a Harlequin romance over this drivel. Usually they at least have a good, positive moral heroine who wants to do the "right thing".
The bottom line: If you think it is a good idea for your teenager to star in a reality t.v. show like "NYC Prep", or you think "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" shows people that you could really look up to or perhaps even envy, then this book is for you. By all means, get it and read it.
If your idea of good reality t.v. is more along the lines of "The 1900 House" or "The Edwardian Country House", I would stay away from this book. I wish I had.
I would sugest only read this book if you want to be more disgusted with how the American Intellect is sliding into a black hole.
March 4, 2008
I loved Sex & The City, so I am hoping that this one will be good too. However, after reading the first chapter, I am already disgusted with the main character. And unfortunately, I am the type of person that has to finish a book once I start reading it...so we'll see.
A few days later...Okay, I gave it another try and gave up. I have no desire to finish this book and will not recommend it. Stories about the fashion world and the glamorous life of the rich and famous can be tastefully written and entertaining, however, this book is just plain trashy & disgusting. If you like stories about models sleeping with old men to get accepted into the glamorous lifestyle and the actresses that are unbelievably stuck up and whiny and selfish then you will love this book. I was disappointed because I like Candance Bunshell, and I know that Sex & The City was not realistic but it was entertaining because it was not trashy (okay maybe a little at some points, namely Samantha) but it is not nearly as bad as this book. I do not recommend it.
A few days later...Okay, I gave it another try and gave up. I have no desire to finish this book and will not recommend it. Stories about the fashion world and the glamorous life of the rich and famous can be tastefully written and entertaining, however, this book is just plain trashy & disgusting. If you like stories about models sleeping with old men to get accepted into the glamorous lifestyle and the actresses that are unbelievably stuck up and whiny and selfish then you will love this book. I was disappointed because I like Candance Bunshell, and I know that Sex & The City was not realistic but it was entertaining because it was not trashy (okay maybe a little at some points, namely Samantha) but it is not nearly as bad as this book. I do not recommend it.
October 20, 2009
"Trading Up"
All Janey Wilcox wants is to be on top. Climb up the social ladder and become Manhattan's elite. However, in NYC, its not as easy as it seems and no one is ever good looking enough, rich enough, or talented enough to stay atop the social ladder.
Many unexpected forces in the end, after many problems occurring, threaten to bring Janey down. Will she achieve her dream of reaching the apex of the social hierarchy or will she fail miserably?
-Personally I disliked this book. Janey Wilcox is as unlikeable as vegetables are for little kids. Her attitude and narcissism just make her unpleasant to read about and I just felt as though she was a complete train wreck, which is really what kept me reading, I couldn't look away..
I don't recommend this to anyone. If you're interested, I'm warning you, look for something else more educational or at least more entertaining.
All Janey Wilcox wants is to be on top. Climb up the social ladder and become Manhattan's elite. However, in NYC, its not as easy as it seems and no one is ever good looking enough, rich enough, or talented enough to stay atop the social ladder.
Many unexpected forces in the end, after many problems occurring, threaten to bring Janey down. Will she achieve her dream of reaching the apex of the social hierarchy or will she fail miserably?
-Personally I disliked this book. Janey Wilcox is as unlikeable as vegetables are for little kids. Her attitude and narcissism just make her unpleasant to read about and I just felt as though she was a complete train wreck, which is really what kept me reading, I couldn't look away..
I don't recommend this to anyone. If you're interested, I'm warning you, look for something else more educational or at least more entertaining.
October 16, 2010
This is a novel about shopping, sex and social statuses.
Janey is a character from bushnells novel 4 blondes.
Janey's dream is to the be IT girl in NYC. She is a victorias secret model, but always striving to be better than the best.
Janey’s got a crazy history that involves multiple relationships with a rich men and a reputation around town of doing anything for money
Bushnell does a great job of capturing the NY social climbing woman, unfortunately its hard to like her character. She uses people, and does whatever it takes to be the best.
Janey is a character from bushnells novel 4 blondes.
Janey's dream is to the be IT girl in NYC. She is a victorias secret model, but always striving to be better than the best.
Janey’s got a crazy history that involves multiple relationships with a rich men and a reputation around town of doing anything for money
Bushnell does a great job of capturing the NY social climbing woman, unfortunately its hard to like her character. She uses people, and does whatever it takes to be the best.
October 17, 2021
My first Candace Bushnell novel! This story is ahead of it’s time- unlikeable but realistic characters that are the product of their trauma and personal story. The story develops through an omniscient perspective- kind of rare these days but a welcome change. Learning a little about everyone allowed me to care about the characters and be frustrated by their shortcomings. The main character, Janey Wilcox, needs therapy. This story could not be told today, but it is a great snapshot of the year 2000. I enjoyed it for what it is and do recommend.
July 3, 2008
Goodreads needs a new bookshelf category: "couldn't bear to continue reading."
Why would anyone want to spend hundreds of pages with unlikable, unfunny Janey Wilcox, even if she is a blond, beautiful Victoria's Secret model? I would be a million times happier rereading _Cranford_.... so that's what I'm going to do!
Why would anyone want to spend hundreds of pages with unlikable, unfunny Janey Wilcox, even if she is a blond, beautiful Victoria's Secret model? I would be a million times happier rereading _Cranford_.... so that's what I'm going to do!
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