Before the Sex

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
As soon as I heard about this book I knew I HAD to read it. After all it combined two of my favorite things Sex and the City (I've watched ever single episode, most multiple times) and YA books. But I think with such high expectations it shouldn't be much of a surprise that it didn't live up to them. It's actually even less of a surpsrise knowing the last Bushnell book I read (OneFifth Avenue), I wasn't a huge fan of either.

But even though the book didn't live up to epectations, there were parts I enjoyed. In fact if this was just a normal YA book I probably would have really enjoyed it. My biggest complaint with it was the Carrie's voice didn't match what I've come to expect from the TV show. Of course, I realize Bushnell wasn't involved in the day-to-day of the show. And Carrie as a teenager is different from 30-year-old Carrie. But there were moments that just didn't seem right, like when Carrie makes coq au vin and mentions making Julie Child recipes every week, compared to the Carrie on the show who uses her oven to store clothes.

Even with the complaints, it was interesting to see where Carrie came from, and some parts you could see the 30-something Carrie coming through. And I'm still hoping to pick up the sequel to this, as well as tuning into the tv series in the fall.

3.5/5

Today I'm linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday!