You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Every so often I get the itch to read some “trashy” written literature by people who you need to question whether or not they’re morally bankrupt people. Sometimes it’s nice to just read some lighthearted if not mildly narcissistic memoir by some nepo baby, celebrity, or in this case, some “influencer”.
I’m not going to lie, I went into this with low expectations and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The writing itself isn’t that great, and while Caroline does have the capability of being a decent writer, it’s clear that she has a ways to go to meet those goals.
As others have mentioned, she needs an editor and this felt more like a blog than a memoir, and since she’s a well-known liar, who to say how much of what’s in this book is true? I mean, Caroline herself even admits to lying in her book plenty of times!
Overall, Caroline, while very generally unlikable on the surface. She has repeatedly scammed her followers through her overpriced “art”, refuses to take any actual responsibility for her actions, has some serious histrionic and narcissistic tendencies, and always manages to find a way to make something about herself (the perfect example of this would be her reaction to Natalie Beach’s essay about her in The Cut), and is a known liar.
BUT
Below the surface, I find her to be… interesting.
She certainly suffers a lot mentally and this could explain some of her actions, while still not excusing them. But something about her just seemed very interesting to me. Maybe it’s because she tries to make herself an enigma through living vicariously through this persona she’s made up about herself, using herself.
As someone else put it, at times it feels like she disguises her old-money aspirations for intellectualism.
But at the same time, we all can see at least a little bit of ourselves in Caroline. She’s ambitious, self-mythologizing, precocious, delusional, and literary.
In some weird way, she inspired me to once again aspire, expect, and feel the urge to take what I want after a year and a half mental block due to a toxic work environment. But I digress.
I will give Caroline this, she sees, she wants, and she aspires to get it. I mean, who else would apply to Cambridge University, three times by falsifying her academic credentials?
While morally bankrupt, you at least need to give her some props for being ballsy enough to do it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Meta, deranged, and humanizing. Without Caroline Calloway there is no Natalie Beach, and CC is smarter than us all
Reading scammer is like experiencing whiplash with every other page. I would not call it a pleasant experience, but it is one that made me feel something. Caroline Calloway has been called many things, but at her core I believe she is just a woman trying to find her way among the ruins of generational trauma that she was gifted. If you've followed Caroline for a while, as I have, this is an interesting peak into her mind. It's only lightly edited and thus reveals more than most memoirs probably do about their creator. Caroline is clearly intelligent and culturally astute, but she is also her own worst enemy. Among the brilliant metaphors and highbrow references are also manic, jealous outbursts about her old friend and off-putting moments of gloating. She is all at once charming, endearing, insufferable and embarrassing. In the end, though, I mostly felt sadness for her raw talent that could be shaped into something long-lasting, if only she could figure out how to help herself.
A masterpiece. I will be thinking about this book forever. Caroline Calloway can WRITE.
“But I call this finally building a life around what matters to me most: Books and love. I call this growing up.”
“When I wake again, it’s Blue Dawn. My sacred hour. The periwinkle and holy realm! Way before sunrise, Blue Dawn is a name I coined for that time when the sky starts paling, but the world’s still sleeping. You could sort your whole life out before anyone gets up, starts e-mailing. Anything could happen in this spell of forget-me-nots and dragonfly wings!”
“But I call this finally building a life around what matters to me most: Books and love. I call this growing up.”
“When I wake again, it’s Blue Dawn. My sacred hour. The periwinkle and holy realm! Way before sunrise, Blue Dawn is a name I coined for that time when the sky starts paling, but the world’s still sleeping. You could sort your whole life out before anyone gets up, starts e-mailing. Anything could happen in this spell of forget-me-nots and dragonfly wings!”
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
You think you know but you have no idea
while it wasn’t everything i had hoped, it was the perfect, flowery chaos i expected
it’s a 3 star book from me, but despite that, i will continue to attempt to absorb every fascinating word that caroline calloway ever writes
p.s. it’s unfortunate that so many of these Goodreads “reviews” are from prior to the book release/disgruntled people who simply dislike the author
it’s a 3 star book from me, but despite that, i will continue to attempt to absorb every fascinating word that caroline calloway ever writes
p.s. it’s unfortunate that so many of these Goodreads “reviews” are from prior to the book release/disgruntled people who simply dislike the author