Title: Between
You and Me
Author: Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
Review: I love to read books that initially come
across as light material, a summer read so to speak, but by the end I find it
has changed my way of looking at the world.
Between You and Me starts off as a look at the excesses of being a
young, mega-successful pop star and slowly turns around to a deeply moving
statement about the unquenchable thirst the public has for celebrity, and cost
in real lives that has. You will not
look at the tabloids quite the same way again after this book.
Much like reading
Curtis Sittenfeld American Wife and thinking Laura Bush the whole time, if you
are like me you will not be able to separate the pop star of this book from
Britney Spears. It is the story of a
young girl thrust into stardom with her controlling parents, to begin a journey
on a runaway train called fame. It
doesn’t matter how much you wish for normality the minute you step off it seems
that ride will be gone forever. So you
keep on to keep on until ultimately something just breaks inside of you.
It is easy to sit back
and watch the TMZ style news and pass judgment on the celebrities, thinking to
ourselves “Well I would be different if I was famous.” But we are not famous and we can not imagine
what that pressure and loss of privacy is like.
I kept coming back to Craig Ferguson’s impassioned monologue at the
height of the Britney meltdown. The
notion it doesn’t make us good people to attack the vulnerable.
They say if you truly
want to understand another person you should walk in their shoes a little
while. Between You and Me allows you do that, at least for a little
while, for the young and famous. One of
my favorite quotes is from a Henry B. Eyring speech, “When you meet someone,
treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than
half the time.” We should not be so
quick to judge others, especially people we know nothing of substance about.
Publisher: Atria June 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4391-8818-7
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 303
Quick Review: 41/2 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It:
I have read one of their previous novels, The Nanny Diaries, and enjoyed
it.
Where Did I Get the Book: Sent
by the publisher for review.
Synopsis: From the authors of the #1 New York
Times bestseller The Nanny Diaries comes a new novel that takes readers behind
the scenes of stratospheric celebrity—what it means to be worshipped by
millions and still feel loved by none.
Emma McLaughlin and
Nicola Kraus have proven again and again that they are masters at exploring the
nuances of family relationships—as they intersect with the current trends in
the culture at large.
In Between You and Me,
twenty-seven-year-old Logan Wade has built a life for herself in New York City,
far from her unhappy childhood in Oklahoma. But when she gets the call that her
famous cousin needs a new assistant, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Logan
hasn’t seen Kelsey since they were separated as kids; in the meantime, Kelsey
Wade has become one of Fortune Magazine’s most powerful celebrities and carrion
for the paparazzi. But the joy at their reunion is overshadowed by the toxic
dynamic between Kelsey and her controlling parents. As Kelsey grasps
desperately at a “real” life, Logan risks everything to try and give her cousin
the one thing she has never known—happiness. As Kelsey unravels in the most
horribly public way Logan finds that she will ultimately have to choose between
saving her cousin and saving herself.
Author Biography: McLaughlin graduated from New York
University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She met Nicola Kraus
while both were attending New York University, and working as nannies. Their
first novel, The Nanny Diaries, a tale about a 20-something New York nanny,
reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2002. The film version was
released in 2007.
Kraus graduated from
New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She met Emma
McLaughlin while both were attending New York University, and working as
nannies. She lived as a child at 1000 Park Avenue, whose residents she claims
inspired some of the characters in her fiction.
Other Reviews:
The Nanny Diaries is a great book so I'm really curious to read this latest novel. I love your review and I'm definitely adding it to the list!
ReplyDeleteMegan @ Storybook Love Affair