Everybody Rise
Author: Stephanie Clifford
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: August 2015
Format: Paperback ARC
Pages: 384
Rating: 3.75/5
Summary:
It's 2006 in the Manhattan of the young and glamorous. Money and class are colliding in a city that it about to go over a financial precipice and take much of the country with it. At 26, bright, funny, and socially anxious Evelyn Beegan is determined to carve her own path in life and free herself from the influence of her social-climbing mother, who propelled her through prep school and onto the Upper East Side. Evelyn has long felt like an outsider to her privileged peers, but when she gets a job at a social network aimed at the elite, she's forced to embrace them.
Recruiting new members for the site, Evelyn steps into a promised land of Adirondack camps, Newport cottages and Southampton clubs thick with socialites and Wall Streeters. Despite herself, Evelyn finds the lure of belonging intoxicating, and starts trying to pass as old money herself. When her father, a crusading c;ass-action lawyer, is indicted for bribery, appearances in her new life, grasping with increasing desperation as the ground underneath her begins to give away.
Review:
So I received this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. It was an ARC edition, but of course, I was a little late to read before it came out... and getting my review in. But as they say "It's better late than never."
First lets just talk quickly about this cover! Yes it's green, but that definitely makes it pop to readers like myself (for those who judge a book by its cover lol) I know it's bad to just books by their cover, but I find that if something about the cover catches my eye, that's when I'll take another look to see what it's about. Although now a days, I have more books I want to read, that I'm always going for those rather than browsing a bookstore. I really like the pop of pink for the chandelier in the background. I think after reading this book, that the cover really captures the essence of the book. High class, Old money, very fancy living.
Now the reason why this book didn't get the 4 or 5 stars, I'm sure you're wondering. As a person who mainly enjoys contemporary romance novels, I did actually enjoy this book! It's not that I don't read ONLY romance novels, but I just enjoy the story lines a little more, because it's something that everyone wants and can relate to in some way.
I did find that Everybody Rise was a little slow to start, and she had a brief discussion of her past, but really not delving more into it, which was okay with me. I could tell that Evelyn was aiming for something out of reach, but would hurt anyone or anything that got in her way to get there.
When Scot was in the picture I knew that Evelyn would grab a hold of him, and they would be a couple, but in my eyes it was for all the wrong reasons. Of course with it being a novel about Old Money and social standings there was a lot of talk about businesses and making quota's which wasn't the most enjoyable aspect. I really like the fact that Stephanie Clifford did have all of these aspects about socialites and what it's like to be part of businesses and having so much money, but not really knowing what happens behind closed doors.
Throughout the novel, I noticed that Evelyn was making up all of these lies about a life she never had, trying to fit into the Old Money crowd. I could sense early on that it would spin out and everyone would find out who she really was, and that this life she made up was not real at all.
Now moving onto her life with her parents. I really never understood how parents could be so business like to even their children. Like how Evelyn needs to make a business deal to get some money from him; although at 27 she should be having her own job and making hew own money, she shouldn't need help from her dad financially.--On a side note, all of the money problems that Evelyn faced clearly showed that she never really took charge and faced the fact that you need to pay for things in life, they don't come free.
With Scot I noticed that she would change his appearance for a social life, but she really liked the man he was when they were at home. Why change the man for appearances, if it's not the one you (maybe) fell in love with??
I found times where I was angry at Evelyn for acting this way. Treating people like they were accessories just to fit in, but would drop them immediately (Karma clearly strikes back at her on this one) and stealing other people's stories and passing them off as your own just to then sleep with another man to get what?? famous for all of 15 minutes? Sorry, but not worth it!
Overall I really did enjoy the book. Obviously I've ranted on about how badly Evelyn lived her life, but I did see at the end of the book when she hit rock bottom, that it all comes back to the true friends who will ask "How are you doing?" and stick by you as well as family (although not completely in tack there) Evelyn did realize her wrongs and tried to make things right, and to start her life over again which was a feel-good-moment for me.
Stephanie Clifford did bring a modern twist to Old Money, trying to fit in, and how sometimes just being yourself is all it takes for good (or great) things to happen to you. Because when you try to force something, it most likely will not turn out the way you wanted it to go. Great story, and I hope that many of you enjoy it!
So until then, Keep Reading!
Your Graduated Bookworm! :)
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