Posh

by Lucy Jackson

Inside Manhattan's private school world of fast-paced over-the-top entitlement and superficial gloss lurk many secrets—the secrets of emotionally charged teenage and adult lives. In this eloquent novel set during one class's senior year at the Griffin School, among the queen bees and the wannabes, Michael Avery and Julianne Coopersmith begin a relationship. Their backgrounds are so different—he's beyond privileged and rich, her mother is a writer who drives a cab—but it's the rich boy who ends up being the needy one, with an emotional hole they both believe only Julianne can fill. Their parents are not immune from internal torture either—Michael's mother finds it easier to love her Chinese Crested Hairless than her own child, and Julianne's mother's protective instincts have unexpected consequences.

Fast-paced, gently satirical, yet deeply felt, Posh is a poignant and knowing novel.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Young Adult, Adult, Friendship, High School, Adult Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2007

About the author

Lucy Jackson is the pseudonym for an acclaimed short story writer and novelist whose fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, and many other magazines and anthologies. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

What, exactly, was the point of this book?
Lucy Jackson, a pseudonym (understandably) takes on the overused and much abused world of the Upper East Side to toss around all the cliched stereotypes she can get her hands on. The story, if you can call it that, centers around some students in a prep school, their neglectful and band name happy parents and a headmistress.
First, if you have clearly never met a teenager, don't try to write about one. Jackson drops as many buzz words as she can, all the while coming across as trite and very out of touch. She offers serious problems - a girl involved with a manic depressive abusive boyfriend - with no attachment to her characters, no development of conflict and no real sense of who these people are.
The loud mouthed, obnoxious pushy parents all have Jewish names. A Saudi Arabian joins the schoold and all the head mistress can think is, hm, where were you on 9/11, and I better not suspend you for stealing a paper or your dad will blow up my school. How is this ok???
I wish the world would just get over the Upper East Side. I've worked there. Yes, they buy a lot of handbags. And so we move on. PICK A NEW FIXATION.

[Lanetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole story kept my full attention! I imagined Posh as some sort of true story. It's sad to say that some prestigious private schools/universities are not what they seem. As in to say, people view prep schools as being guaranteed an easy acceptance to the top univerisities in the nation. When, honestly, not everyone gets into Yale, Harvard or Princeton. Also, the relationship between Julianne and Michael was somewhat speechless. My favorite character in the story was Julianne's mother, Dee. I didn't like the fact that she lets her daughter talk however she wants to talk to her, but other than that, she always had that close mother-daughter relationship with Julianne (not as "friends"). Dee was also a real woman who was going through issues that most divorcees go through. The other thing I liked about Dee is that she's done a great job insuring that her daughter is protected and secured at all times. Sadly, most mothers (and/or fathers) today do not show the type of love and affection their children will need.

[stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think the reason this book suffered (and i found it on the discount-discount pile) was because it's kind of hard to describe. you automatically think from the book jacket, the blurbs, even the title, that this is another chicklit book about life on the UES - this time in prep school setting.

however, it's much darker and deeper than that. it's written extremely well, and from multiple character perspectives, in little vingettes that last no more than five pages (most ring in at three). but it underscores the teenage angst that even the most priviledged feel without making a mockery of either group - it walks a fine line between satire and compassion, and i think it comes out on top. i was pleasantly surprised by this, and don't know why it wasn't more critically acclaimed - though by the response, i understand why the novelist decided to use a pseudonym for her first foray into chicklit.

problem is, she never got there. she got much further. really excellent. honestly.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished this book in a few days and looked back on it, wondering what I'd read and why I'd read it. It tells no worthy story, has no redeeming qualities, and ends up going nowhere. The main characters all lead the kind of privileged, horrible life that I don't want to accept actually existing somewhere. Awful. The author, Lucy Jackson, is a pseudonym, and nobody, even her editor, seems to know who the real author is. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be Curtis Sittenfeld, who wrote the equally loathsome and horrible "Prep". Yawn.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this book doesn’t have the best reviews, but I really enjoyed reading it. It has my favorite setting, a prep school, and it changes characters for each chapter. I found this to be a great quick read.

[Meredith Hines-Dochterman · Rating 2 out of 5]

They say money can't buy happiness. According to author Lucy Jackson, it REALLY can't.

This is Jackson's look at the lives of those who reside on the Upper East Side, centering around an elite prep school. There's the headmistress who hates the parents she has to deal with but loves the money and prestige that come with the job; the parents who don't care about their offspring until they make them look bad; and some students trying to figure it all out. Sort of.

This book didn't really have a plot. It had characters. It had rich people stereotypes. It had brand names. There's a beginning and an end and some things get resolved, but it reads more like a series of short stories with characters whose lives kind of intervene.

Watch Gossip Girl instead.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was like eating Hershey bar. It doesn't taste amazing but it's good enough and satisfies a craving. Posh is a fluffy YA read that feels voyeuristic rather than having a true plot. Multiple characters intertwine but each runs parallel to the others. It was great for an airplane ride!

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok story about teens in private school, one with manic depression.

[Rivke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think the way the author portrayed bipolar disorder was sensitive to people with this disorder. The message was that people with bipolar don’t deserve to be in healthy relationships and cannot be in healthy relationships even if they tried. It seemed like Michael had more going on than just bipolar. Most bipolar individuals can lead very normal, happy and productive lives on medication, and as far as I know, the bipolar condition does not result in most individuals refusing to take their meds. I wish the author would have just briefly stated that some of his behavior was not typical or common for all bipolar. It could have been easily inserted into a conversation with Julianne about the condition. I feel like this did a huge disservice to people with bipolar. People with bipolar will always have the battle of telling perspective romantic interests what she/he has at a certain point in their relationship, but if the other party would read a book like this, the second he/she heard the word bipolar they would go running. I think we need to be more responsible in the way we portray mental illness, because to a lot of people novels are the only exposure they get to these things, and then they will make future personal judgments based on preconceived notions they might have gleaned from mere novels that give an inaccurate depiction. I really hope the inaccuracies are due to the fact that this was written almost twenty years ago, and that what we now know about bipolar and how it is treated is different. If things were the same twenty years ago then the way this book treated bipolar disorder was highly irresponsible.

[Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked out this book because I thought it would be a light-hearted, witty "summer" read. While witty and well crafted, I was very wrong about it being light-hearted. Its multiple sometimes interwoven narratives deal with heavy emotional subjects (abusive relationships, mental disorders, etc.). However, I am not sure what the tone or "point" of the novel was-- are readers supposed to be empathetic to the characters or find humor in their misfortunes? Jackson never dives deep (enough) into some of the heavy subjects (particularly the issue of class/wealth inequality). The writing is meticulous and engaging, although the book sags a bit in the last third (and adds some unnecessary twists/events) before its swift conclusion. Overall, a good "summer" escape.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book interested me a lot, and while I felt it delivered on showing off the lives of the members of the Upper East Side, it felt very hollow and detached from its characters. While Juliette and Michael's relationship is interesting, it's also rather cliched and forgettable aside from the more dramatic moments. The headmistress feels very cardboard, and her POV is incredibly stilted. Her final moments of conflict felt contrived, and it all ended a little bit too quickly for what was supposed to be a deep and moving novel. In reality, it's good for a trashy read and not much else.

[Martine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seemingly unpopular opinion here on Goodreads, but I LOVED this book! It was quirky for sure which can go one of two ways. Personally, I think the author made it work. A quick read that I never once dreaded picking up. :)

[RO]

good; realistic representation of my idea of what probably goes on at a private school

[Barbara Moher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy read, but disappointing..... I did not like the main? Character, Lazy! Her nickname that she is called seems ridiculous, as do her actions. The teenagers were better....

[Sarah McAuley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished reading this and all I could think was "meh". A shallow story of some teens. That's about it.

[Nicki Morales · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thrift store find. Quick, easy read. Unsure the meaning of the book. My thought throughout: some people are so poor, all they have is money.

[Barbara Cryer · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written and unexpectedly thought provoking.

[Ayah Awadallah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taking this book off of the bookshelf, I didn't know at all what to expect. I have never heard of this book, nor anyone who read it, but I thought I'd give it a try. Sadly, I was disappointed, and by the end didn't like the book at all.
For one, while the beginning of the novel may have drawn me in, by the end, I felt that it served no real purpose or importance, and didn't understand why the author started the novel the way she did.
Secondly, since the novel was broken up chapter after chapter about the 5 different characters, I thought that at one point the significance of each character and the underlying message of each of their stories would somehow connect, but they didn't. The problem is- I don't even know what the message of this story was meant to be, as many other reviewers before me have mentioned. I felt that Lazy's story, as well as Morgan's, for instance, were boring and didn't provide anything to the novel. By the ending, I was asking myself what the moral of the story was, and couldn't find one. Could it be that the prestige and power of money take away from a person's ability to love, care for someone, and have morals, as he or she becomes more and more selfish? At the same time, I don't think it applied to every character. Because this message was unclear, even by the ending, it left me feeling as if I never finished the novel, when indeed, I had.
The one thing that instantly turned me away from this novel, almost preventing me from finishing it, was the racism the author felt the need to include, which served no purpose, and added nothing but distaste to the novel itself. Maybe she was trying to add humor? It wasn't at all funny, and only conveyed ignorance. Not only that, but it took away from what I thought was meant to be a realistic novel. A prince? Really?
Finally, I didn't think the ending was much of an ending at all. While the last few chapters each concluded a character's story, the author failed to bring together the overall message or connection of the characters, even in a way that could possibly leave the reader to imply it for themselves.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend this novel to another person.

[Susan Becraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satire or truth?

I liked this book, despite its many typos and other proofreading errors. Before reading the first word, I expected snarky satire of the New York elite, but when I finished Posh, I wondered if I had misjudged the story. Yes, Posh does mock the super rich - high school (oops - private school) girls flaunting their Jimmy Choos and jeans bought at Barney's, mothers toting $9000 purses in their minks while their offspring are falling apart makes for some delicious black humor and irony. As a student at a posh public high school, I would have thought Jimmy Choo was the name of dog food because I was styling in my Bass Weejuns, Pendleton skirts and Villager blouses.

Julianne and her mother, Dee, are my favorite characters. Dee, a writer who garnered critical acclaim despite selling almost no books, now drives a cab, and along with freelance editing jobs and child support, manages to send Julianne to the prestigious Griffin School. Julianne's best friend, Morgan, is drowning in money, but loses her mother to cancer and has an absentee father. This begs the question: which girl has more?

Julianne is joined at the hip with her boyfriend, Michael, who despite his wealth and lack of parental guidance, has a serious mental illness. She puts most wives to shame by faithfully adhering to the "in sickness and in health" vow. Rather than leaving Michael, she stands firmly at his side, ignoring the pleas from her mother and friends.

And what prep school book would be complete without the shenanigans of the headmistress? Kathryn, a.k.a. Lazy, is a stereotype, par excellence. As I expected, she is a graduate of the University of Hypocrisy.

If not for the countless number of proofreading errors, I would say that the story flows smoothly. I recommend Posh to those fascinated by life in Manhattan's fast lane.

[Kristie Giamei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honesty a sweet easy read and truly shows how teenage girls would think and the pain of their parents. The story is told by each character as chapters change and each was told in a unique voice. I kinda wanted it to continue to see how they all ended up.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. It's a really good fast, summer read about some of the people involved with the exclusive high school where New York's ultra rich and elite send their kids. The book is told in alternating point-of-views of the school's headmistress, "Lazy", students Morgan, Michael and Julianne, Michael's mom, and Julianne's mom.

I liked the book, because the characters were complex and I was drawn into their lives early on in the book; however, the book was too short to really delve into the characters' minds, and in some cases, there wasn't a satisfactory resolution to the character's conflicts. A lesser writer would've made the characters one-dimensional, at best, and unlikeable, at worst, but Jackson makes them so realistic and multi-dimensional that you want to keep reading about their lives. And, while you may not agree with some of the actions of the characters, you still understand why they do what they do, even Lazy and her affair with the Don Juanesque English teacher, for example. I don't agree with or understand her carrying on the affair, but I still don't hate her for it because even she doesn't understand why she's having the affair. I especially appreciate how the teenagers, Morgan, Julianne, and Michael were written so realistically and complicated. The character I liked the least was probably Julianne's mom, mainly because I didn't understand her motivation behind many of her actions.

All in all, I recommend you read this book, but get it from your library or at a discount price. It's not worth full price.

[Maile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine, but I expected something different. The plot moved a bit too quickly for my liking, and I could have done without the Headmistress subplot. The other characters were connected through their relationships with one another, but the Headmistress ("Lazy") was really only connected to the school. Her plot had interesting moments, but I was far more interested in the other characters. Unfortunately for me, Lazy seemed to be the author's favorite, as her story closed the book.

There was a lot of good in this book, particularly in the later chapters, but more than anything the good moments only made me want more. We saw bits of the horrible relationship between two teenagers, enough to get the picture, but I wanted more actual moments between the two. I felt that a lot of the story was told, rather than shown, and more than once, I had to push myself to keep reading.

I think the title and cover did this book a disservice. I was expecting stories of the elite in New York city, and characters who were staggeringly wealthy. Instead the bulk of our leads were outsiders in that world, and their observations were minimal. I expected the world of Cruel Intentions or Gossip Girl. Had the title reflected the damaged relationships throughout the work, my expectations would have been different.

[Lindsay Heller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book much more than I thought I would given some of the reviews I read. But, I bought it from the dollar bin at Half Priced Books and figured it sort of went with my private school streak I appear to be on lately. 'Posh', a terrible title if you ask me, covers the well traversed ground of the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the privileged, Ivy bound (whether they deserve it or not), students of the Griffin School. And just for a kick in the pants author Lucy Jackson has thrown in their parents and the Headmistress of said school, who I started to like despite her idiotic nickname of Lazy (Apparently as an infant she didn't want to learn how to walk, garnering her this nickname. Though seriously, I don't know a single person who would accept this into adulthood. Especially a woman, and especially one who'd like to be taken seriously by a bunch of wealthy people on the Upper East Side.). I suppose this is one of those books that strives to show that rich people have as many issues as the poor or middle classes (we get mental illness and death tossed in, agreeably in my opinion.) But, well, that's not really news anymore and the endless label dropping did get on my nerves. But, not enough to condemn the book for it.

[Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book and thought to myself, what was it even about? I feel like it focused on a bunch of characters and nothing really happened or changed with most of them except maybe Morgan and Lazy (which, what kind of name is Lazy?).
I thought it was strange how the book begins with a chapter about Elizabeth, Morgan's mother. But then the story really isn't about Morgan or her mother, it's mostly about the relationship between Michael and Julianne and Lazy and Doug/Richard. And, why does Jackson randomly do two chapters througout the entire book with Morgan's perspective? I couldn't figure out why she did that or what the point was (I'm assuming there was one but I'm still clueless). The book was bookended by two deaths, but again, I don't really see the connection between the two. I guess maybe there was something to get from this novel but I'm not sure I really got it. It wasn't horrible (it moved fast and I didn't hate it enough to put it down) but it wasn't something I'd necessarily recommend.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another lame chick-lit type book that doesn't want to be, but no dude in their right mind would ever pick this book up. Each chapter was told from a different persons point of view and all the people sort of overlapped by way of a rich school in New York (of course). You hated everyone and everyone was very boring at the same time. I kind of like the headmaster POV the best because she was crazy! Two of the kids were stuck in some really fucked up relationship and as usual, I didn't care about the girl at all because she got herself involved with this crazy guy who ended up killing himself in the end. I was kind of glad because he was just bringing her down and he was fucked up anyway (obviously, you don't just kill yourself for no reason). Anyway, the mothers become friends which was surprising and I kind of like that part too. Okay, I guess you can say I liked the kids the least mainly because they were angsty little assholes and I just don't care about that anymore. I think I am done with this author.

[Susan D'Entremont · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, OK. I only gave it 2 stars, yet I read it in almost one sitting on a transatlantic flight. Sort of the perfect read for a time when you can't really rest, but can't concentrate on doing much else. It wasn't wickedly funny, the way many of the books set in upscale NYC are, because some of the topics were just too serious (mental illness, sick parents, abandoned kids). The author does have an engaging style, and with a little bit more editing could be a very good writer.

I liked how the very rich characters were made more complex than is usually the case in books like this. I also liked the story of how the cab-driving mother and the eccentric wealthy mother became friends. I wish there had been more of this.

I don't think the portrayal of bipolar disorder was incredibly accurate, but I don't have a lot of experience in this area. I wish the author had treated this topic a little more sensitively and in-depth. She almost made it sound as though ailments like bipolar disorder and OCD are the province of the rich, when, of course, that is not the case in real life.

[Kricket · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent satire of privileged new yorkers, although i feel like i didn't quite grasp what i was supposed to be getting out of it. there were clever moments of scathing humor...the mother who sews a full wardrobe for her dog but ignores her suicidal son; the headmistress afraid to punish a plagiarizing student because he's from saudi arabia and she's afraid his father is a terrorist...

but at the end i just wasn't sure what the point was.

supposedly lucy jackson is the pseudonym of a famous novelist & short-story author but i cannot find out her real name, even with my mad librarian skills.

also: we keep this book in the teen section. i think it would work equally well and perhaps better in adult. might move it, we'll see.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I totally agree with reviewer Kate, who had this to say about the book:


"The jacket of this book is obviously very similar to the jacket of Prep. However, I think this similarity does this book a disservice. "Prep" focused on one character who didn't seem to develop much over the course of the book--the conceit of the novel really hinged more on the idea of a "behind-the-scenes" look at student life at an elite boarding school than anything else. "Posh" follows several characters, all of whom are 3-dimensional and interesting in their own right. It's a fast read and I far preferred it to Prep."

The cover gives the impression of chick-lit, but the book does not fit that label at all, I think.

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this from the library, thinking it would be a fluffy read for the plane. It did not quite match my expectations, exceeding them in some ways and falling short of the mark in others. The overall quality of the writing was fair to middling. The chapters are each devoted to someone connected to a prestigious private school. The treatment of the teen relationships and of the relationships between the parents of the teens was well done. The treatment of the headmistress was more uneven / less satisfying. I would definitely never re-read this book, but I am surprised at how some aspects of it have stuck with me for a few days after reading when I thought I would long since have forgotten about it.