nerfherder86 's review for:

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

4.0

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A fun, romantic, kind of soap-opera-y story set in 1923, when girls wanted to be "flappers" and bob their hair. The story switches between three girls, all wealthy socialites, and their adventures intertwine. Gloria, engaged to a rich young man, secretly wants to be a torch singer, and she falls in love with a black piano player. The scandal! Clara, her cousin, has come to Chicago from Pennsylvania and a secret life in NYC that she is trying to move beyond. But some secrets may be too big to hide...especially from Lorraine, the catty best friend who becomes very jealous of both Gloria and Clara. I had a lot of fun listening to this, although it seemed like it took a little while to get to the juicy bits. Nice romances and some mob-related action. A great setting and time period, and I learned one new piece of flapper slang: "barneymugging" means s.e.x.! Never heard of that one before!! The book's appropriate for 7th and 8th graders, who are reading Clique or Gossip Girl--there's nothing explicitly described but the dialogue and scenes suggest a little older. Lots of drinking of illegal booze. I am hooked and waiting for the sequel!