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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
5.0
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I know a lot about the Kennedys from years of reading books about them, but besides the historical fiction novels Jackie’s Paris (The Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Collection #1) and And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, I hadn’t really explored Jacqueline Kennedy’s life before she became a Kennedy. The historical novels were a good start, but the real story is just as interesting as any fiction book.
Jacqueline Bouvier was born to a philandering stockbroker and a woman who cared more about how one appeared to everyone else rather than how good of a human being they were. Jackie was the oldest of two children the couple had, but they eventually divorced and did all the manipulative things divorced parents sometimes do in order to curry favor with their kids. It really is amazing how well Jacqueline turned out considering how toxic both her parents were.
Bouvier’s mother, Janet, remarried a very rich man and along with him came step and half-siblings. Jackie became very close with her step-brother Yusha and many of the recollections in this book are taken from letters written to and from Yusha to Jackie or Jackie to him. I always find it amazing that letters of famous people written years prior still survive. I can’t say I saved any letters from my husband during the time we were dating and lived in different cities, although I know he kept mine, so maybe it’s a generational thing. There are plenty of letters to and from other people in Jackie’s orbit during her years before he became Mrs. John F. Kennedy.
Much time was spent discussing Jacqueline’s two trips to Europe, one as an exchange student to the Sorbonne and the other as a graduation gift to her younger sister, Lee, where she acted as a guide because she was so familiar with the places they visited. She had grand plans of making a life for herself in Paris after she graduated college, and entered a magazine contest which would send her back to France if she won. Well, she did win, but her manipulative parents kept her from going.
Instead, Jacqueline got herself a job at a Washington, D.C. daily paper as the Inquiring Camera Girl, going out on the streets and interviewing people by asking any questions that popped into her head. A study of the daily questions revealed that Jackie was having an internal debate regarding being a working woman, which is what she wanted, or succumbing to society’s norms and marrying and having children, which she also wanted, just not as much. She interviewed men and women from all classes, including Senators and Congressmen. It was while Jackie had this job that she met another former journalist and now Congressman John Kennedy of Massachusetts.
I thought this book did a great job telling Jackie’s life as a young adult and her courtship with JFK. The fact that there’s so much source material in terms of letters to and from Jacqueline, as well as her various articles she wrote before hanging up her journalist hat when she married Kennedy, all added to the overall story arc of how these experiences formed a basis for how she lived her life during and after the White House.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed are my own.
I know a lot about the Kennedys from years of reading books about them, but besides the historical fiction novels Jackie’s Paris (The Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Collection #1) and And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, I hadn’t really explored Jacqueline Kennedy’s life before she became a Kennedy. The historical novels were a good start, but the real story is just as interesting as any fiction book.
Jacqueline Bouvier was born to a philandering stockbroker and a woman who cared more about how one appeared to everyone else rather than how good of a human being they were. Jackie was the oldest of two children the couple had, but they eventually divorced and did all the manipulative things divorced parents sometimes do in order to curry favor with their kids. It really is amazing how well Jacqueline turned out considering how toxic both her parents were.
Bouvier’s mother, Janet, remarried a very rich man and along with him came step and half-siblings. Jackie became very close with her step-brother Yusha and many of the recollections in this book are taken from letters written to and from Yusha to Jackie or Jackie to him. I always find it amazing that letters of famous people written years prior still survive. I can’t say I saved any letters from my husband during the time we were dating and lived in different cities, although I know he kept mine, so maybe it’s a generational thing. There are plenty of letters to and from other people in Jackie’s orbit during her years before he became Mrs. John F. Kennedy.
Much time was spent discussing Jacqueline’s two trips to Europe, one as an exchange student to the Sorbonne and the other as a graduation gift to her younger sister, Lee, where she acted as a guide because she was so familiar with the places they visited. She had grand plans of making a life for herself in Paris after she graduated college, and entered a magazine contest which would send her back to France if she won. Well, she did win, but her manipulative parents kept her from going.
Instead, Jacqueline got herself a job at a Washington, D.C. daily paper as the Inquiring Camera Girl, going out on the streets and interviewing people by asking any questions that popped into her head. A study of the daily questions revealed that Jackie was having an internal debate regarding being a working woman, which is what she wanted, or succumbing to society’s norms and marrying and having children, which she also wanted, just not as much. She interviewed men and women from all classes, including Senators and Congressmen. It was while Jackie had this job that she met another former journalist and now Congressman John Kennedy of Massachusetts.
I thought this book did a great job telling Jackie’s life as a young adult and her courtship with JFK. The fact that there’s so much source material in terms of letters to and from Jacqueline, as well as her various articles she wrote before hanging up her journalist hat when she married Kennedy, all added to the overall story arc of how these experiences formed a basis for how she lived her life during and after the White House.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed are my own.
sakuraanne's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I usually don’t love biographies, but this one was intriguing, maybe because I didn’t know much about Jacqueline Bouvier’s life before she became Jackie O’. I most enjoyed hearing about the trajectory of her education and career, and that it ended with her wedding to Jack.
dearkatie's review against another edition
informative
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
A great look at Jackie Kennedy’s life before becoming First Lady. It covers her schooling, family life, dating, time in Europe, time working as a newspaper photographer and columnist, and her early days with JFK. I’ve read a lot of books on the Kennedy’s and found this one really interesting.
grandma_pat's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
In that I grew up in the time of Jackie as First Lady, and the awful event of JFK's assassination, I've been interested in her history. This author did lots of research and detail of her early years, the challenges of her parents' divorce and finding her way in the professional world as a writer, which she had to give up, due to societal expectations in those years. Hence the 4 star rating.
cordelialeigh's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
nancyroz1234's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Changed my opinion of Jackie and her relationship with JFK. It was strictly a business arrangement orchestrated by the parents.
baxtervallens's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0