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pages_and_papercrafts's review against another edition
2.5
Another character, family satire based novel that I am sad to say was hard for me to like. I didn’t care for any of the characters…a bunch of wealthy, privileged and whiny set of individuals. I thought that the novel itself was rather long winded.
samstillreading's review
5.0
I love the cover of Everybody Rise. So much so that I even bought a pair of chandelier style earrings after seeing the cover (now you know just how shallow I am…and possibly how fitting this book really is! I should add that the earrings were from H&M – the cost of a cup of coffee. I’m not spending beyond my means unlike our heroine…) Before I get completely off track, I just have to say that Everybody Rise is a must read. Not for the summer, not for the winter, just full stop. It’s a wonderful tale of semi-modern New York (2006) that discusses class and wealth in ways not seen since Edith Wharton and F.Scott Fitzgerald. It’s a fun but cautionary tale, yet it’s never boring.
The story is about Evelyn, a young lady trying to make it in New York City. Her mother Barbara is a shameless social climber, sending Evelyn to the ‘right’ schools and berating her for not being married at 26. The story opens at a high school reunion (you have all my sympathy Evelyn). Evelyn has a new job at the start up People Like Us, which is a kind of Facebook meets Trip Advisor/Makeup Alley/Zomato for the moneyed crowd. She’s the membership advisor and she’s determined to get the crème de la crème of young New York society to join. To do that, she has to do some serious social climbing herself (even though Evelyn has always thought her mother’s attempts ridiculous).
Rising above the mainstream to the playpens of the rich and idle isn’t easy when you have to work for your money. Evelyn soon discovers running with the rich requires serious effort, money and spinning an intricate pack of lies. Meanwhile, her family is in trouble and her old friends are disgusted at the trouble she’s in. (For all her education, Evelyn still believes stuffing credit card bills in a drawer makes them go away). Then everything spirals out of control and Evelyn’s downfall is as swift as her rise. What will she do?
The story, although an old one, is brilliantly told. Clifford creates a world that you can’t help but be sucked into. It’s fast, flash and glamourous – who doesn’t want to hear about exclusive parties, fantastic weekends away and gorgeous fashion and foo? She sets up the character of Evelyn very well, encouraging the reader to like her before she becomes frankly, an utter idiot. Evelyn’s weak points are highlighted – she doesn’t feel as rich or deserving as her friends and this leads the reader to even feel a little bit sorry for her as she struggles to keep up with her new crowd. Evelyn’s downfall is something that you can’t look away from. It’s morbidly fascinating and I wondered several times how she would extricate herself from it.
When she does though, it’s somewhat of a letdown. It was all too neatly packaged for me (I swear I wouldn’t get out of a $60 000-odd credit card bill so quickly). I don’t know if I was secretly hoping for it all to be a terrible mess, as payback for the horrible person Evelyn had become or if I’d become used to the crazy things Evelyn was doing. The ending is somewhat redeeming as the Evelyn we once knew makes an appearance. Clifford has the ability to tell a cautionary tale with wit and wisdom in the modern era and make it a compulsive read. I adored it. I’d happily read anything she wrote!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the eARC. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The story is about Evelyn, a young lady trying to make it in New York City. Her mother Barbara is a shameless social climber, sending Evelyn to the ‘right’ schools and berating her for not being married at 26. The story opens at a high school reunion (you have all my sympathy Evelyn). Evelyn has a new job at the start up People Like Us, which is a kind of Facebook meets Trip Advisor/Makeup Alley/Zomato for the moneyed crowd. She’s the membership advisor and she’s determined to get the crème de la crème of young New York society to join. To do that, she has to do some serious social climbing herself (even though Evelyn has always thought her mother’s attempts ridiculous).
Rising above the mainstream to the playpens of the rich and idle isn’t easy when you have to work for your money. Evelyn soon discovers running with the rich requires serious effort, money and spinning an intricate pack of lies. Meanwhile, her family is in trouble and her old friends are disgusted at the trouble she’s in. (For all her education, Evelyn still believes stuffing credit card bills in a drawer makes them go away). Then everything spirals out of control and Evelyn’s downfall is as swift as her rise. What will she do?
The story, although an old one, is brilliantly told. Clifford creates a world that you can’t help but be sucked into. It’s fast, flash and glamourous – who doesn’t want to hear about exclusive parties, fantastic weekends away and gorgeous fashion and foo? She sets up the character of Evelyn very well, encouraging the reader to like her before she becomes frankly, an utter idiot. Evelyn’s weak points are highlighted – she doesn’t feel as rich or deserving as her friends and this leads the reader to even feel a little bit sorry for her as she struggles to keep up with her new crowd. Evelyn’s downfall is something that you can’t look away from. It’s morbidly fascinating and I wondered several times how she would extricate herself from it.
When she does though, it’s somewhat of a letdown. It was all too neatly packaged for me (I swear I wouldn’t get out of a $60 000-odd credit card bill so quickly). I don’t know if I was secretly hoping for it all to be a terrible mess, as payback for the horrible person Evelyn had become or if I’d become used to the crazy things Evelyn was doing. The ending is somewhat redeeming as the Evelyn we once knew makes an appearance. Clifford has the ability to tell a cautionary tale with wit and wisdom in the modern era and make it a compulsive read. I adored it. I’d happily read anything she wrote!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the eARC. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
alice_speilburg's review
4.0
Clifford’s debut is a contemporary novel about the NYC summer house set, and how one young woman rose to the top of society – despite her white collar job and her father’s professional scandal – by playing the part, and following etiquette laid down 100 years ago. The old-money quirks, judgments, and lack of concern for costs haven’t changed much since Edith Warton’s day, so in reading this, I almost felt transported into the 19th century save for the convertibles, social media sites, and credit card bills. At a certain point, I stopped routing for Evelyn Beegan to make it, and started wondering when she would fall, because with her rising debts and lies, it was clear a fall was imminent.
I found a couldn’t look away, and although this book brilliantly addresses the addiction of social acceptance, the bizarrely unchanging breed of society’s old families, the thoughtless excess required to maintain a high-profile lifestyle, it also has such a compelling cast of complex characters dealing with modern-day problems – a gay man struggling to come out to his family, a woman working in the upper echelons of the male-dominated finance world, a father trying to explain to his daughter how he slipped in his morals. This juxtaposition of a modern setting and cast among ancient civilities is a clever achievement and a compelling read.
I found a couldn’t look away, and although this book brilliantly addresses the addiction of social acceptance, the bizarrely unchanging breed of society’s old families, the thoughtless excess required to maintain a high-profile lifestyle, it also has such a compelling cast of complex characters dealing with modern-day problems – a gay man struggling to come out to his family, a woman working in the upper echelons of the male-dominated finance world, a father trying to explain to his daughter how he slipped in his morals. This juxtaposition of a modern setting and cast among ancient civilities is a clever achievement and a compelling read.
lamom77's review
2.0
I was interested in this book when I first heard of it, but then wavered as read some pretty bad reviews. It wasn't bad, but I just kept waiting for something to happen to get the story going and it never did. I would try more books from this author though, it had promise, just didn't go in the right direction.
booklovinalicia's review
3.0
I give it 3 stars. Nothing phenomenal or even exciting. I wasn't swept away by it and had to will myself to actually finish despite my ridiculously high expectations before starting. It was a satisfying conclusion but came to late for me to truly enjoy it. Read my full review at www.booklovinalicia.blogspot.com
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me the egalley to read and review.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me the egalley to read and review.
sararaymond's review
2.0
Never have I cared less for a main character. I kept thinking something would happen to make me care, but nope. Nothing. Yawn!
gleefulreader's review
2.0
I finally finished this one! I started this book a year ago and set it aside and now I remember why. The vicarious shame caused be the protagonist, with her social climbing and lying as she desperately tries to make a spot for herself on the Manhattan social scene, is excruciating. (The Germans have a brilliant word for it: fremdschämen.) While I like books with unlikeable characters, so much of this was ridiculously unbelievable and impacted a potentially good story.
mellabella's review
2.0
This was really a 2.5 star read to me. I don't know where to start. Evelyn's lies, social climbing, her parents (at least her mom) were all heinous. The fact that she didn't know when to give up? Even after seeing that the people she thought were her friends weren't? Her treatment of her boyfriend (which, he didn't even have to be a part of the story. His character was inconsequential.)I get it. I know when you are finally in the "In" crowd (whatever the "In" crowd might be to a person. In Evelyn's case it's the the elite, young, rich, NYC prep school, old money crowd that she feels inferior to), it's tough to let go. But Evelyn was embarrassing. While her downward spiral seems realistic, it was tough to swallow her spending and habits after she lost her job. Her behavior to her father who was facing indictment. It seems her evolution came too late and only because she had no way in again. As opposed to realizing that no one wanted her and, that she didn't have to keep up with them anymore. She didn't listen to the only two real friends that she had. Once again, I don't see the comparisons to other iconic books or authors. The author was also using phrases that didn't come around until AFTER 2008. It was somewhat engaging and entertaining. The labels, brand name usage... The shallow and superficial scenes all seemed right. But, it could have been better.
annieyano's review
3.0
*I listened to this on audiobook*
Reading this book was kind of like watching a bad car accident. The writing was fine and the characters were really well developed, but what happens to the main character is very sad. The choices she makes and the reasons for them... bless her.
I didn't care for any of the characters personally... they weren't nice people.
I would recommend this book if you want to feel good about yourself or you're in need of a beach read on the East Coast.
Reading this book was kind of like watching a bad car accident. The writing was fine and the characters were really well developed, but what happens to the main character is very sad. The choices she makes and the reasons for them... bless her.
I didn't care for any of the characters personally... they weren't nice people.
I would recommend this book if you want to feel good about yourself or you're in need of a beach read on the East Coast.
kdurham2's review
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Evelyn grew up just on the outskirts of everything, she went to the fancy prep school, but wasn't in the in crowd. She lived in New York City, but just one block away from where you were "supposed" to live, so when she gets the chance to be IN she may go overboard and go ALL IN!
Evelyn was a great character to follow into this world. I thought her perspective was fun, not unique, but at least fun! I thought the main plot of her working for an exclusive Facebook or MySpace was a great way to get her to reunite with her prep school alums and give her a reason to return to that world. When a book doesn't have a ton of action, the plot and characters must be enough and this one had enough for a summer afternoon of reading.
Evelyn grew up just on the outskirts of everything, she went to the fancy prep school, but wasn't in the in crowd. She lived in New York City, but just one block away from where you were "supposed" to live, so when she gets the chance to be IN she may go overboard and go ALL IN!
Evelyn was a great character to follow into this world. I thought her perspective was fun, not unique, but at least fun! I thought the main plot of her working for an exclusive Facebook or MySpace was a great way to get her to reunite with her prep school alums and give her a reason to return to that world. When a book doesn't have a ton of action, the plot and characters must be enough and this one had enough for a summer afternoon of reading.