From Lauren Weisberger, the author of the best selling book 'The Devil Wears Prada', comes 'Everyone Worth Knowing'. Again, this was another quick buy from WH Smith (see my Going Home review) and frankly, a terrible buy. But let's start from the beginning:
• The Plot •
Bettina ... Read review
Advantages: Umm, It can be recycled and used as loo roll. Disadvantages: See the review!
...She is pushed around by everyone and doesn't make a stand for what she wants. Even in the end she somehow quits her job and just lets things 'happen'. And the fact that she moans and drones on about how it's tedious to be famous and have money gets annoying.
Penelope is Bette's best friend. She is marrying a complete loser who is so obviously cheating on her and her parents can't stand. She eventually gets phased out of Bette's life. ... ...the teary reunion at the end. Boring.
Philip Weston is a spoiled rich kid who is using Bette as a distraction from the media. I know it's completely off topic, but if you've ever seen The Simpsons where Troy McClure marries Selma to take all the attention off his strange personal life, then you've read this. It turns out that Philip is gay, and Bette walks in on him and another member of her company having sex. This character changes ... more
From Lauren Weisberger, the author of the best selling book 'The Devil Wears Prada', comes 'Everyone Worth Knowing'. Again, this was another quick buy from WH Smith (see my Going Home review) and frankly, a terrible buy. But let's start from the beginning:
• The Plot •
Bettina 'Bette' Robinson lives in New York in a dingy, insect infested flat. She is stuck in a boring, tedious job and doesn't know what to do with herself. Cue the obligatory gay Uncle Will and his partner to help out. They manage to secure her an entry level job in a PR agency run by a shallow woman called Kelly. After finding out the life of a party planner, Bette begins to fall in love with her new life: partying in some of New York's hottest clubs and bars 'til the sun comes out, meeting the socially accepted, rich and famous and having a great time.
When she wakes up in a strange mans bed after one partying session she later finds out that this man is no ordinary bloke, he is Philip Weston, British playboy and heartthrob. After learning that they didn't have sex, Bette leaves the rude mans house and heads to work, only to be greeted with pictures of her and Philip leaving the club in a newspaper. Suddenly the envy of her co-workers and the new star employee, Bette is forced into keeping up this showy-offy act and pretend she's dating Philip to give the company good publicity and to hide a big secret. But is this life all she thinks it is? When she starts phasing out previously important people in her life and a new love interest, will she realise who is worth knowing?
Throw in a menial best friend with the token loser fiancé, hippy parents, occasional drug use, trendy parties and clubs in the city the never sleeps, the surprise gay man and the hunky bouncer who happens to be from the same town where Bette grew up and you'd think you're in for a treat. You're wrong.
• My Opinion •
For a start, this book is very poorly written. It has obvious plot holes, for instance, one night she invites a guy back to her hole of a house by the river, and the next time we hear mention of where she lives, she's got a house in a different street by Lexington Ave! And to change a chubby girl who hated wearing fashionable clothes and didn't care what sort of a mess she looked like in the morning to a stick thin girl who wore the most expensive designer clothes and HAD to have a highly coveted Birskin bag in a matter of weeks is highly unlikely. At the parties, half of her friends are so stoned and drugged up they can't talk, which makes for very boring reading.
The writing itself doesn't flow; it makes it hard to read and detracts from the information being presented. I really struggled through this book and only during the pages about Turkey and the restaurant did I really start to care about what was going on. The plot was super thin and I guessed the ending after only reading a few chapters. The characters are all unoriginal stereotypes. If you could describe a twenty something party girl, how would you describe her? Chances are it would be the exact same description in this book. Two old, gay men? The same. Bette is a shallow character and I couldn't sympathise with her at all.
As I said before, there was no element of this book that kept me hanging on and wanting to read more. You can make a book about party planning and scandal a lot more interesting than this. This is like reading about Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie for 400 pages and, to be honest, I just read it to pass the time. I should have left it on the plane!
• Characters •
Where do I start? Ok, well, Bette is the typical chicklit protagonist, a little fat, bored with something in her life and wanting a change. The only difference with this and the other chicklit books I've read is that she is completely superficial and lacks intelligence. She is pushed around by everyone and doesn't make a stand for what she wants. Even in the end she somehow quits her job and just lets things 'happen'. And the fact that she moans and drones on about how it's tedious to be famous and have money gets annoying.
Penelope is Bette's best friend. She is marrying a complete loser who is so obviously cheating on her and her parents can't stand. She eventually gets phased out of Bette's life. Cue the inevitable argument that sends them drifting apart and the teary reunion at the end. Boring.
Philip Weston is a spoiled rich kid who is using Bette as a distraction from the media. I know it's completely off topic, but if you've ever seen The Simpsons where Troy McClure marries Selma to take all the attention off his strange personal life, then you've read this. It turns out that Philip is gay, and Bette walks in on him and another member of her company having sex. This character changes throughout the book and occupies about 300 of the 400 pages. He changes from quite a strong character to someone that Weisberger decided she didn't need anymore and left in the background.
Sammy is the cute bouncer who it also turns out, is a male escort. Although he likes Bette she, being the shallow character she is, won't go out with him, fearing he is too beneath her. Bette learns he doesn't want to be a bouncer, detests his job and the A-Lister that think they're something special and wants to be a chef. At the end, he sets up his own restaurant.
The characters are all one sided and lack personality. I didn't feel like I could relate to any of them at all. There isn't a character with any humour or individuality, they all fit some stereotype. Weisberger, as a bestselling author, should have learnt how to inject some oomph into the story and people that make it.
All in all, this book was a serious waste of money. The ending was the best bit… literally. If the whole book had been written like the last 50 or so pages then it would have been a scorcher of a read and would probably be another best seller. I could see her talent, but for some reason it was missing. I wouldn't recommend reading this unless you could get it from a library or borrow it from a friend, and in fact, I probably won't be reading her first book either.
• If you Really Must Have it, Where to Get It •
Again, it can be bought from traditional book shops at the RRP of £6.99 or even cheaper on site like Amazon or eBay.
• Paperback • Publisher: HarperCollins • Language English • ISBN: 0007182651
Advantages: boring, slow, sloppy fact-checking, annoying characters Disadvantages: good writing-style
After being let go from her 80-hour a week banking job, you would forgive Bette for mooching around her New York City apartment for a little while, eating junk food, watching daytime television and paying attention to her adorable little dog Millington. Concerned about her future, however, uncle Will quickly steps in to call in a favour and land Bette a job in super-cool PR firm Kelly & Company as an event planner. Trading in the boring suits for ... ...in New York City, working 24-7, always on call. She socializes with the most famous people from East and West Coast alike and quickly becomes boss Kelly's favourite new employee - be it for all the wrong reasons. Suddenly Bette finds her private life smeared across the tabloids - be it just because she suddenly seems to be the girlfriend of New York's most successful lawyer and eligible bachelor Philip Weston. Torn between two worlds, Bette often ...
Delicate_Orchid 26.05.2006 (28.05.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
==The Author==
Everyone Worth Knowing is written by author Lauren Weisberger. Lauren is probably better known for her book The Devil Wears Prada. I must confess that I haven't read this book but did see the film and this is what prompted me to read this book of hers. Everyone Worth Knowing was published back in 2005 however it did not reach the popularity or sales figures of her debut book The Devil Wears Prada. ==The Book==
The book tells the ... ...in New York City working for an investment bank. Her life style is a far cry from her upbringing with her parents who are portrayed in the book as vegan hippies! Bette's wealthy gay uncle and his boyfriends live in New York as well and she often visits their penthouse apartment, these visits and her book club meeting seem to be her only social life. Bette suddenly decides to quite her job in the bank as she has had enough of all the restrictions ...
withers1979 18.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
Advantages: Good read, engaging plot Disadvantages: Might be too fast-paced, annoying supporting characters
I bought this book on impulse whilst in Waterstones, as the cover was very similar to that of 'The Devil Wears Prada', and I had enjoyed that book. As a note - the copy I own does not have the same cover as is included in the product description here. Having read the book, I can now state that it is definitely a good read, but not as good as Weisberger's more famous novel, 'The Devil Wears Prada'.
**Blurb**
"Bette gets paid to party...And she can ... ...to Manhatten's hottest clubs and meeting 'everyone worth knowing' is a million miles away from her old banking job.
When she turns up in the gossip columns with a notorious British playboy, it delights her publicity-mad new boss. But her family and her friends want to know what happened to the girl who loved bad novels, 80s music and always had time for them.
Can Bette say goodbye to the glamour and the Gucci and step back into the real world? ...
amytheduck 27.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
Advantages: Easy reading Disadvantages: Not a particularly original story.
Everyone worth knowing is written by the international bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Wiesberger.
Bette is stuck in her boring job in banking and hating it, she has a creepy annoying boss, and doesn't even get time to leave her desk for a lunchbreak. Sounds vile right?
That is until one day she's pushed too far and Bette announces she is leaving and thanks to her fabulous reporter uncle Will she manages to bag the most sought ... ...success of her debut novel, Everyone worth knowing didn't live up to the expectation.
The story of Bette's rise to page six party girl fame is most young girls fantasy and one thing that can be said for this story is that it shows that sometimes when fantasy turns to reality it's not the fantastic dream life you may have wished for. And that lurking around every corner of your successful life will always be someone who wants to take you down.
I ...
emsi 31.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
Advantages: Great read, real page turner Disadvantages: None
...and hot spots and knows everyone worth knowing.
New York is her latest sexy late-night playground.
Before she knows what happens Bette is suddely being slandered in the celebrity gossip pages as the girlfriend of a very motorious British playboy who seems to be everywhere that she goes! Her family and friends are pretty shocked to think that Bette has turned in to a bit of a typical socialite and are wondering what happened to the 80s loving, junk ... ...to decide once and for all whether she wants to be a part of the celebrity world or a part of the real world! And it's not as easy to decide as she thought it would be.
The book has some fantastic moments including when she is organising a party for Jay-z (how great would that be?!).
I would definitely recommend this book as it was a great read and one that kept me up on a few nights running just so I could try and finish it! It's a real page turner.
...
katyeverett 27.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
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Advantages: At times very funny, realistic tone helps to keep the book recognisable at various points Disadvantages: Minus the humour you're not really left with much, overall you dont feel for Andrea
out there.
*Information*
Other Novels by LaurenWeisberger
Chasing Harry Winston
EveryoneWorthKnowing
You would enjoy The Devil Wears Prada if you like any of the following books:
Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
Price
(as of 1/06/08)
Play.com: £5.99
Amazon.co.uk: £5.99
Waterstones: £7.59 ...
