June 21, 2013

Review: 52 Reasons to Hate my father by Jessica brody

52 Reasons to Hate My Father


Being America’s favorite heiress is a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it. 

Lexington Larrabee has never to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Blvd either.
Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteen birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her.
In a hilarious “comedy of heiress” about family, forgiveness, good intentions, and best of all, second chances, Lexi learns that love can be unconditional, money can be immaterial, and, regardless of age, everyone needs a little saving. And although she might have 52 reasons to hate her father, she only needs one reason to love him.


A Long Story Short:


A great and entertaining novel. You should not be too critical going into the book because it does lack depth and meaning. However, if you're ready to just throw yourself into it without questioning too much, you will find this to be an amazing read - for the summer time as well as at every other point in your life!


Review for You:


This book was everything The Daughters, for example, should have been. It's contemporary, it's a cheesy premise that comes with witty writing, funny dialogues, a swoon - worthy guy and a horrible ending.
I can't even say I'm torn about this book. Yes, there were parts I didn't like but most of the time I just simply enjoyed this novel.
Truth be told: a thousand things could have gone wrong. 
The 52 reasons thing? Just imagine having to read a bout that many different jobs in one book! Brody managed that topic very well, though. By only including a few jobs, but making those count. By doing flashbacks and time jumps that were neither forced, nor missplaced or confusing.
The only that did get left behind through those jumps was character development. Of course, you can go through a drastical change within weeks, but if it's just two pages in a book it appears unrealistic. More on that later, though.
The other problem I expected with a book that was about a rich person doing 52 low wage jobs in order to learn something? Exactly, clichés. 
I'm extremely opposed to prejudice, clichés, whatever you want to call it. And yes, the novel went in that direction once or twise.
For one, Lexi, our main character, herself seemed like the author's modified version of Paris Hilton - or society's general of the hotel chain owning lady, at least. Lexi was spoiled, materialistic and arrogant -while still being utterly educated, smart, funny and witty. Kind of too perfect for my taste.
The people she met at her different jobs made me a bit crazy at times, too. For example, we have that picture of the poor family living in a crammed apartment in a dangerous neighbourhood where girls can't walk the streets on their own. The family members, though, always work together, support each other. There was so much warmth and understanding and harmony in that family that it almost made me gag. 
I mean, yes, being poor might bring families closer together. But being poor can also totally destroy  a family. It is not said that no money makes for perfect families and relationships and that actually being able to pay rent every  month makes you a cold hearted person. 
However, as I said, most of the novel was just funny and entertaining and a bit too cheesy at times. I grew to like Lexi - and loved the love interest SO much!
The other side characters were pretty flat but I didn't expect much more from them and they weren't really important to me anyway.
The ending was still too cheesy for me - to the point where I felt uncomfortable reading it. Too unrealistic in the plot, too forced when it came to language and dialogues and not satisfying at all meaning - wise.
52 Reasons did contain a great message, though. I always like when books encourage (teenage) readers to not only try to live their best lives possible, but to have big dreams and achieve them.
For some reason I can't mention (would spoil the book) I really, really want a list of all the 52 jobs Lexi had to do and the "story" behind them. That would have been the icing of the cake :)

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