Book Review #20: The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

 

I've had this book for a good few years and I have read it a few times because I love it! If you have no prior knowledge of 'Sex and the City', then this book may not appeal to you. But trust me, it's worth reading whether you like SATC or not!

 

Think Carrie Bradshaw in her teen years. This book is before Sex and the City, and kind of has nothing to do with it. Carrie dreams of being a writer. She's from a small town, but knows that she wants out. She wants to be something in the world, and she knows how she's going to do it. There's just one problem - She has to get through senior year of high school. Of course, Carrie is mature enough to focus on her dream and forget her friend's dramas. But when Sebastian Kydd comes into her life, and she is betrayed by a close friend, will she ever be able to make her dream a reality?

 

I love reading teen fiction. I like reading older books with more complicated issues, but who can beat a teenage book with teenage drama? The perfect book to read if you're bored and want to start a series that isn't about vampires, wizards... or Katniss Everdeen!

 

Carrie is definitely my favourite character in the book. This is because it's nice to see her before she hits the glitz and glamour of 'SATC' and she's just an ordinary girl with ordinary teenager problems - 'What will I do in the future?', 'Does he like me?', 'Why are parents so embarrassing?' - and I love this because it shows that any one of us, all of us, are capable of achieving our wildest dreams. As well as this, it also reminds me that one day, our worst memories of our school years will be just that, memories. The problems that we are so stressed about right now will mean nothing to us in a few years time. It helps me to not worry too much about the things around me, because at the end of the day, they're not really that important! And everything works out in the end, nothing lasts forever (scary but true).

 

What was good?

One thing I love about the book, and about 'SATC' in general, is that it shows how important friendships are in your life. Obviously family is also really important. But in some cases, friends can be the family that you wish you had. And if you find a friend that loves you as much as you love them, they you're extremely lucky and you should never let them go!

Carrie is the person that most of us are, but never want to admit it. The person that tries to keep her head above the drama, so that she can get out of school as quickly as possible so that she can get out into the real world and begin to live her dreams. But, like Carrie, although most of us don't go looking for drama, it always has a way of finding us, and we don't know how to get out of it!

 

What was bad?

Not a lot was wrong with this book. However, although Carrie is trying to follow her dreams, she does get swept up in, not only drama, but romance. And, if I was her, I would have focused on the romance and less on my dream. It sounds crazy, and Carrie and I have the exact same dreams, to be writers. But your first romance is a memory to have forever, but your dream is something that should never go away.

 

Overall

It doesn't matter who you are, I think you are making a mistake if you overlook this book. I would recommend it to anyone. And if you have read it, but 'Summer and the City' and start reading that! I've read over half of it and it is so good!

 

Reading over this, I can see that I thought more deeply about the book then was probably intended by the author. However, I've always interpreted books in a unique way, which is kind of why I review them. So that I can share my unique views with you!

 

Thank you for reading!

 

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Comment below you're favourite 'teenage book'!