The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

February 5th, 2008 at 9:21am |

Audience: Young Adult (mature content)

Rating: B

Synopsis:

Set at the turn of the twentieth century in upper crust Manhattan, The Luxe follows the lives of privileged teenagers as the discreetly, and not-so-discreetly break all the rules of etiquette and decorum. In a time when social conventions dictated behavior, these characters are breaking all the rules in their quests for love, social standing, pleasure, and money.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) The first thing that caught my attention about this book was its title: The Luxe. The cover was also beautiful and the synopsis on the back sounded promising, I couldn’t wait to read a story set in upper crust Manhattan in 1899, and was looking forward to a good dose of extravagance and foppery. While this book does match it’s synopsis, it was good, but it wasn’t great.

The biggest problem I had with the book is that I didn’t like any of the main characters. We’re supposed to hate Penelope, and I do. But we’re supposed to like Elizabeth, and I don’t. I didn’t think the ending was a surprise. It was clear to me from the moment Will said he was moving west, that the funeral in the prologue was going to be a sham, but I didn’t really care if Elizabeth was really dead or not.

Diana is the character I connected with the most. She’s got some serious flaws, but she’s also the most vivid character and the most human. Hers is the only relationship that I want to work out- perhaps because while we’re told Elizabeth loves Will, it’s never really shown within the text. With Diana and Henry, however, we get to see their relationship progress and watch as they both evolve as people because of their love. (How much progress they actually make is debatable!)

I applaud the author for what she’s trying to do: show empowered women during an age when females didn’t have much control over their lives, but I’m not sure she’s quite there yet.

The book clearly sets the stage for a sequel, which has the potential to be much more interesting than the first book. I’m curious to see which characters the sequel will follow. Will Elizabeth still be searching for Will, or have they started a life in California? Will Penelope give up on Henry? Can Henry find a way to court Diana without public censure? Will the Hollands be able to save themselves from financial ruin?