Summer is a magical time in New York City and Carrie Bradshaw is in love with all of it—the crazy characters in her neighborhood, the vintage-clothing boutiques, the wild parties, and the glamorous man who has swept her off her feet. Best of all, she’s finally in a real writing class, taking her first steps toward fulfilling her dream.
The Carrie Diaries followed our girl through her senior year in high school and her first real heartbreak. Summer in the City takes you on a journey with Carrie to her first summer in New York City and we watch the events that trigger her change from small-town girl to one of the Big Apple’s most unforgettable icons.
The big complaint that I had when I read The Carrie Diaries was that it was very hard to see the Carrie that we all know and love in the character of that book. She was so young, immature and self-conscious that it was incredibly difficult to link the two. I didn’t have that issue at all with this book. Not only do we start to see Carrie really come out of her shell and grow into herself, we also get a good look at Samantha’s start and Miranda’s start. Samantha wasn’t always the anti-matrimony queen that she is known for being and Miranda’s feminist streak used to shine a whole lot brighter than when we met her on Sex and the City.
The obvious question is about Carrie’s love life. Well, she takes a tumble or two in this book but it’s all a lesson learned in what happens when you take a chance and put yourself out there.
In Summer in the City, we see Candace Bushnell start telling the story as though it is the high-school girl’s diary. The type of narration then evolves into this very grown up, very self-analytical style. By the end of the book, you feel like you’re reading the narrative from an episode of Sex and the City.
Overall, this book was fantastic! I absolutely adore the cast of characters in this book. You meet a few people that never made it to the show but they would have been a great addition to the list of long term friends that Ms. Bradshaw has. Ryan, Capote, Cholly, Rainbow – they’re all characters that you could easily hate but they all have something endearing about them. Further proof that everyone is screwed up in their own way but this does not necessarily mean that they are bad people.
I give Summer in the City 5 stars and I highly recommend reading this one. It’s very fast paced and a constant page turner. Ladies, this is a good one if you need an afternoon to get lost in a book. You’ll laugh and you’ll cry. You’ll love experiencing New York City through the eyes of a Sparrow. A great book for passing away a rainy Saturday.
