Ripped from the headlines…this book is full of scandal and privilege.  Two sisters, Peyton and Skye, are both at midlife crossroads.  Neither are where they expected to be at this point, and both have made grave misjudgments.  

 

What I liked:

*Peyton’s daughter, Max, is smart, quirky, and knows exactly who she is and what she wants.  She’s genuine and relatable.  At 18, she also manages to overcome what the 40 year old adults do not.  She’s a great reminder that we often discount the abilities of the young.  

*The look at parenting and how hard we try to get it right, all the while misjudging and often failing.  

*The easily relatable, a tad dysfunctional, yet completely committed relationship between sisters, Peyton and Skye

*A reminder that what we see on the outside is often very different from the reality of the inside 

*The hideous highlight put on privilege and pretense 

 

 

What didn’t work for me:

*Aside from Max, I didn’t find the other characters well designed or easy to connect with. It was especially hard to feel sorry for utterly vapid Peyton.  

*The constant dialogue that anything can be excused or justified

*The lack of necessary commentary on privilege 

*The depth of superfluous details:  This book is awash in the unnecessary, and it does not add quality or connection to the story.  If anything, the redundancy created a disconnect with the plot and me skip entire sections.  As an example in one scene, Peyton visits her dermatologist.  There was no corner of that office that did not get chronicled along with every inch of the dermatologist’s outfit and face (Her nose melted into her face like Michael Jackson’s.).  The plot was completely derailed and for no value.  Throughout the story, the author left no details to the imagination.

*While Weisberg gives a breadth of focus to the redundant and unnecessary, she completely left me wanting in areas that could have given depth to the characters and story.  I desperately wanted more of Max’s life in Paradise where she finally finds friends that she connected with.  

 

While the premise of this book had much potential, the execution fell flat to me.  The depth of gratuitous details and lack of character development made the book feel like too much vanity and privilege with too little quality and heart. 

 

Thank you Lauren Weisberger, Random House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.