About this title: Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattans social scene, but are soon caught up in a whirlwind of scandal when a family secret threatens their position. This delicious novel is the first of an exciting new trilogy about five compelling teens in 1899 Manhattan, where appearance matters over everything.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061345661ISBN:0061345660
Description: Very Good. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 433 p. Luxe (Hardcover). Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061345661ISBN:0061345660
Description: Good. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 433 p. Luxe (Hardcover). Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780061345685ISBN:0061345687
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Clean, no marks. Excellent copy. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 433 p. Luxe (Paperback). Audience: Children/juvenile; Young adult. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 9/23/2008
ISBN-13:9780061345685ISBN:0061345687
Description: Fine. 0061345687 Ships next business day. NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black ink mark on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Description: Good. 0061345687 Book could have a shelf wear, or a bump, or sunfade to edges. These are new unread books from the publisher with one of these conditions. See are feedback as customers are satisfied in how we grade our books. Has remainder mark. Fast shipping and customer service is our number 1 priority! read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins, New York
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061345661ISBN:0061345660
Description: Good in Good jacket. 0061345660 This book has some shelf wear as well as marks on the jacket and pages. This book is 433 pages of a story set in Manhattan in 1899. read more
Binding: Library Binding
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061345678ISBN:0061345679
Description: Fine in ln jacket. Hardcover with dust jacket, Like New, clean, tight, unmarked, Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn. Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups. This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyoneâ”from the backstabbing ... read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 11/20/2007
ISBN-13:9780061345661ISBN:0061345660
Description: Fine. 0061345660 May show signs of shelf wear. Choose EXPEDITED shipping, receive in 2-5 business days. Please email with questions. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2007-12-01
ISBN-13:9780061345661ISBN:0061345660
Description: Like New. Like new hardcover in excellent condition with dust jacket intact, no writing, clean text, binding tight, Christian business. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780061345685ISBN:0061345687
Description: New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 433 p. Luxe (Paperback). Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Description: Fine. 0061345660 Very light shelf wear / edge wear cover / pages like new condition//"Buy with Confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Customer Service Makes All the Difference. " read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780061345685ISBN:0061345687
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
"I have been trying to resist this book for awhile now, but I just can't. The cover looks like a big piece of deliciousness. I want to both eat that huge cupcake-lookin' dress and be wearing it. Look at it, seriously! How do you not want to fall asleep. I love rich historical details, but I'm not really a gossip girl fan, so we'll see how this goes. But right now I think I'm completely up for some sweet-frosted-angel-food-cake-dress wearin' society ladies up to no good."
"Looking for a page-turning mystery/romance/turn-of-the-century-social-commentary? You have found it. While it is definitely a teen novel, and Godbersen makes no pretense of subtlety in her mimicking of Edith Wharton's 1899 New York, I really enjoyed the story and the writing.
Her sentence structure and word choice are carefully crafted. (Her writing occasionally feels as corseted as the girls she writes about; and while the historically accurate details prove she has done a lot of research, their frequency and bulk sometimes detract from the flow and pacing of the story instead of enhancing it.)
The story revolves around five teens of various social classes who battle with the stiff mold into which society (often directly enforced by their parents) puts them. While the adults seem quite stereotypical, and the "villian" seemed a little too calculated for my taste, most of the main characters were well-rounded--perhaps due to the rotating point of view the author employs for each chapter. This is thin ice to tread upon, but Godbersen handles it well--each chapter ends with a little cliffhanger to make the reader want more, and the variety of points of view does not detract from the pacing of the story; in fact, it provides further suspense and incentive for the reader to keep turning pages. For this reason (as well as the short length of each chapter), it's a quick read despite its 400ish pages.
However, I must say that it was quite predictable. I had the ending pegged from the first page. (This is one of the self-inflicted curses of authors who choose to write prologues. While I see why she did it, I wonder if the story would have been stronger if she omitted it, and just started the story where it starts.) Still, it was fun to see it play out and have my predictions confirmed.
There are currently three books in the series, and with the fourth being released sometime this fall."
Five teens living in turn of the century Manhattan face difficult decisions when it comes to love and duty. When the Holland sisters find their family in sudden poverty, one sister must decide whether to remain destitute and marry for love, or marry to maintain their family's wealthy reputation.
Characters:
Elizabeth Holland- A quiet, polite girl who falls for her family's coachman, Will, but is forced to be engaged to Henry so that her family may have money.
Diana Holland- The younger of the Holland sisters, she lives a fantasy life and wishes nothing more than to be the characters she reads about in her favorite novels. She falls for Elizabeth's fiance, Henry.
Henry Schoonmaker- The rebel boy who loves to party, but is forced to propose to Elizabeth so that he may remain in his father's favor- and his bank. He ends up falling for Diana instead.
Penelope Hayes- Elizabeth's friend... or not. She's in love with money and Henry, and seeks to destroy Elizabeth when she hears of the engagement.
Lina Broud- A Holland servant, her and Elizabeth used to be best friends, until class divided them... and they both fell in love with Will.
Review:
I'm kinda on the fence about this book. I liked the plot idea, and it actually began quite interesting, with the opening chapter taking place at Elizabeth's funeral. The book sort of builds up to the moment when she dies, and in fact, her death was staged so that she may escape her forced marriage and be with the man she truly loves. The premise was good, but I found Elizabeth to be really obnoxious, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be sympathetic towards her. I was more interested in Diana and Henry than any of the other characters, and they actually got the most character development. The writing was so-so, and it didn't feel entirely historically accurate. It's a fun and quick read if you're a fan of Gossip Girl, but I'm not sure if I want to bother with the rest of the books."
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