Listening to the Silence

The Carrie Diaries by Candice Bushnell
3 Stars

Before there was Sex and the City, there was Carrie Bradshaw, girl from small town Connecticut. Math and science whiz, diving champion, and a good girl who doesn't want to have sex or use swear words. The first book of the series details her life as she navigates her senior year, with all the pettiness of high school, and the betrayal of her best friend.

There are times when you just need a total fluff read, brain candy if you will. This was it. Unfortunately it wasn't the most satisfying of brain candy's. It was like eating cotton candy when what you really want is chocolate. I should have grabbed a fantasy novel instead. I have a Valente sitting on my Nook that I am sure to have liked better, but this it what I found myself reading instead. In the published description of this book, words like ingenious, addictive, iconic, unforgettable, and poignant were used. These words do not describe this book. I think whomever wrote that description is confusing this book with the television series based on Bushnell's other book, Sex and the City. However, The Carrie Diaries kept my attention and wasn't flat out terrible like most of chick lit, in my experience, which is all I asked it to do. I didn't go in to it expecting great literature, just a distraction, and I got exactly what I asked for. On the bright side, my 2013 reading can only get better from here, because if it doesn't, then I'm doomed.