Thoughts of an Aspiring Teenage Writer

Haha. I admit it. Once in a while, I like reading preppy books where girls fight over hot guys (usually in school), stab each other in the back (oooh, burn), and simple love triangles where it’s either two girls and one guy or two guys and one girl (which, I now realize, is less common…hm…)

Which is why I picked up this beauty over here:

((this is the full book jacket, those of you who’ve seen me carry around the books have probably seen how the front cover extendes over to the back.)

First off, I’d like to say a few words about the book cover: OH MY GOSH THAT DRESS IS AWESOMELY BEAUTIFUL AND LOOKS AS IF IT IS A MAN-MADE TORTURE DEVICE!! WE SHOULD ALL GIVE THE PEOPLE WHO MODEL FOR BOOK COVERS A RAISE! haha. so….shiny and long.. @.@

And now for a random video from the publisher, Harper Collins that basically tells you just how ’scandalous’ the book is. LOL

I love the music when it gets to “dangerous gossip”. haha. And the costumes always make me laugh. I wonder, was 1899 fashion in Manhattan really that…frilly. -childish giggle-

Okay, back to business. The Luxe is basically “Gossip Girl” set in 1899. The story jumps around from one character’s perspective to another, and each character has a secret from another character…so the plot is just one ,big dramatic irony. The reader knows everything. The poor characters, however, do not.

In the video, the girl wearing the pink dress is Elizabeth Holland…who I must say, I have the most respect for. She is really the nicest and most naive out of the characters (and thus is, traditionally, the main character). She even agrees to marry to this complete and total stranger in order to save her family from immense debt! The bad thing about her, though, is that she’s sort of a doormat (like most nice people are). She only does what she truly wants at the end of the book, where she feigns her death (oooh, a dramatic and ‘fatal’ plunged into the Hudson River) so she could escape society’s curious gossip and flee to California where her true love awaits.

The girl who has on the black…smock or whatever that thing is is Penelope Hayes.  She is my second least favorite character…because she is an honest and total B*tch. She is so stuck up and conceited and just the worst kind of blue blood (they’re all blue bloods, by the way, no, not the vampire blue bloods, but the actual epitome of New York social life ,blue blood.) EVER. She uses everyone and everything to her own advantage, likes to show off her wealth and brag about how awesome she is, always wears the most ‘exquisite’ dresses. Basically your late nineteenth century, stereotypical cheerleader/queen bee/etc.

I mean, come on, she even LOOKS mean. I have to admit, she’s pretty though. In the Wicked Stepmother from “Snow White” kind of way.

(Penelope in her favorite outfit: a dramatically scarlet dress.)

Now, for the guy that we all hate and all the girls love: Henry Schoonmaker

(((PICTURE THANKFULLY NOT AVAILABLE)))

OMG. He is like…the epitome of…two-timers. Although he DOES learn his lesson AFTER ELIZABETH’S SUPPOSED DEATH, he is a total playah for the majority of the book.  He also serves as a foil (ohoho, Honors English!) to Elizabeth because he’s out doing whatever he wants, getting drunk, and being all moody after his dad arranges a marriage between him and Elizabeth (who he thinks is a total bore) while Elizabeth just bites her lip and goes along with it calmly (even if she’s in love with this other dude..aw…)

Reasons why I hate him:
1.) Before the engagement, he has dated…what 5 girls? And also, he tried to seduce this MARRIED LADY. And also Penelope (who falls totally head over heels in love with him and becomes even MORE b*tchier by plotting against poor Elizabeth).
2.) DURING THE ENGAGEMENT, he sees Diana, ELIZABETH’S SISTER, (pictured below) BEHIND HER BACK. HOW LOW CAN A GUY GET?! And, I guess Diana could be blamed for this too, but she’s honestly too young and is kind of, sort of like Juliet in the way she’s totally inexperienced in love and therefore falls deeply in love with him.
3.) … And while he’s not seeing Diana, he’s either just standing there, refusing to talk to Elizabeth more than absolutely necessary in front of all those people (what an embarrassment) and getting himself completely wasted by hanging out on bars in yachts and such. D:
4.) He’s just a spoiled, little brat. All he does is mope around and complain. And drink. And seduce Diana. Rinse and repeat.

Diana:

I actually sort of like Diana in a way that she is a deviant from the norm and is really spunky. lol. I mean…it’s not her fault her first love is engaged with her sister…is it? There’s great character development in her and I related the most in her. (She’d rather read than go to social balls and is kind of a nerd. lol in a good way.)

In fact, according to this personality quiz I found in the publisher’s website (such awesome goodies…)

I am most like Diana. Haha. Not that I’m being seduced by pedophiles, of course.

Overall, it was really interesting how the high society of Manhattan revolved back then and how strict everything was…I’m kind of glad that we deviated from all those manners…(which spoon is which, again?)

A big theme that Anna Godbersen seems to pound you with, though is: Being beautiful, rich, and popular, doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness.

This made me think a lot about the celebrities of today…and question their happiness…

Oh, by the way, before I forget. I JUST LOVE THE COVERS OF THIS TRILOGY! The models on each of the books just fit them SO WELL. I think these covers are like one of the best examples of potrayals of the main characters…(I just hope that they don’t randomly decide to do a book with Henry on it. -_-;)

This post was prompted by the fact that the  last two books I’ve read both coincidentially have the best guy friend winning the girl…something that doesn’t usually happen. (Well, not in the books I read, anyway.)

Now, in most books, the best guy friend is usually the dude who LOSES the girl to the hot, sexy BOYFRIEND. The best guy friend is the one that the girl always complains about her boyfriend and makes him feel so totally miserable because she has no idea that he’s been crushing on her since…what, fifth grade? LOL.

But no, these two guys in these two books won the girl…which I totally did NOT expect because I’d already marked these guys down as losers and was actually rooting for the boyfriend. (Like I did with Jacob in Twilight)

1.) City of Bones:

Now this is Jace.

(Yeah. They put the “boyfriend” on the cover. HAHA without a shirt on! Although, I don’t recall there ever being a scene where he’s shirtless…mmm maybe when he’s, like, injured and recuperating, maybe? I think they just put him half-naked to show the tattoos though., which ARE a significant part of the book…and very eye catching.)

He was totally winning against the guy best friend, Simon Lewis, who was like a total nerd and whose role for most of the book only consisted of doing favors (and creating awkward moments) for the main character, Clary.

Clary was totally all out for Jace…but then….SHE FINDS OUT IN THE LAST PAGES OF THE BOOK THAT JACE IS ACTUALLY HER LONG LOST OLDER BROTHER!!!!!!!

And of course, Simon is very happy about this. Because the top contender has been disqualified in terms of incest.

I dk. I personally thought it was a cruel thing to do to the characters. I mean, it’d be like Bella finding out that Edward is really her great-great grandpa. D: Clary and Jace were like: uh…-blush- -walks away from each other-

But congrats to Simon, all the same.

2.) Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Will is basically the same as Simon. But before the book actually begins, Will is more ahead of the game than Simon. He’d just kissed Naomi the night before.

Too bad Naomi trips on the top of the stairs, hurts her head, and totally forgets everything about him and later on just thinks he’s nothing but a best friend/co-editor of the school’s yearbook.

Naomi is sort of, kind of confused. (Who can blame her, she is an amnesiac, after all) First, she tries hanging out with her OLD boyfriend, a total, body-obsessed jock named Ace…but finds out that she doesn’t like him anymore and has no idea why she went out with him in the first place.

Enter James. Who actually called 911 after seeing Naomi fall off the stairs and is one of the classic dark, sexy, and brooding types.

How Will wins Naomi in the end: James, who has throughout the story shown some signs of mental instability, goes back to a temporary asylum type facility and later on graduates from high school, “drifting apart” from Naomi.  The lonely Naomi has no one to talk to than Will and by means of thoughtful presents (he actually compiled all the videos and photos of the four years she forgot when she fell off the stairs and gave it to her on her birthday…aw…) he wins her back. Yay.

I personally think that being the best guy friend/best girl friend is the hardest place to be when it comes to romantic relationships. I mean, you have to watch the girl/guy you love obsess over this other guy/girl and cry on your shoulder, complain, etc. when things don’t go well. How totally awkward and sucky.

SO, although the two guys’ victories  were technically prompted by weird plot devices thrown out by the author, congrats to both characters and for winning the girl after persistently staying by her side.