Godbersen, Anna. Bright Young Things. New York: HarperCollins, 2010.
The faces of each guest turned toward the bride, and though some of them tried to smile, their eyes seemed to say, I know what you’ve done.
Lest their looks cut her, Cordelia reminded herself that she was only half one of them. While her mother had been raised in Union, the other half of Cordelia came from some glittering, far-off place, and like Letty, she was too big for the town she’d grown up in. Letty was right, Cordelia now realized with some relief, to have insisted on a veil. Not only to protect her from the guests’ stares and the judgment in their expressions, but also because of John, who was now reaching for her hands. His eyes were shining, but she couldn’t meet them. She didn’t want any memory of the happy, expectant way he was gazing at her.
Lest their looks cut her, Cordelia reminded herself that she was only half one of them. While her mother had been raised in Union, the other half of Cordelia came from some glittering, far-off place, and like Letty, she was too big for the town she’d grown up in. Letty was right, Cordelia now realized with some relief, to have insisted on a veil. Not only to protect her from the guests’ stares and the judgment in their expressions, but also because of John, who was now reaching for her hands. His eyes were shining, but she couldn’t meet them. She didn’t want any memory of the happy, expectant way he was gazing at her.
Cordelia and Letty believe that their destinies lie far beyond the dull small town they've been raised in....they belong in New York City. Letty is going to be an actress, a singer, a star. And Cordelia is determined to find her father.
Beautiful prose. And I love that it's a historical fiction set in the 20's, we don't see much of that. Lots of twists and turns, you're never quite sure what's going to happen next. The characters were just reckless and stupid enough to make me happy...it made them real. Especially since they admitted they were being stupid. Then did it anyway.
If that doesn't ring true as a teenager, I don't know what does.
If you're a huge fan of Chicago, then this is a great book for you. I can't wait to see what happens in the rest of the series.
Yay for Book #12! I'm so excited to be liking books again!
Interesting. I just read an advance copy of Vixen which is also YA set in the 20s and has to do with wanting to be a singer. I'd be curious to see how similar they are.
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