Author: Sarah Pekkanen
ISBN: 978-07-318-1569-2
RRP: $29.99
Sarah Pekkanen introduces us to three young women living in New York in her new novel ‘These Girls’. These Girls seem to be very different but as we get to know them a little better, and peek into their lives through Pekkanen’s words, we realise that they aren’t so different after all. More to the point, they aren’t that different from any young woman trying to find their place in their world. They have their insecurities and past experiences they would be happier if no-one ever discovered.
These Girls are realistic and believable, and the novel tells a story that you have no problem believing – there is no point where you need to suspend disbelief to get you past it. Actually, maybe there is one because I’m not sure I can believe that last chapter would ever happen.
Centred around the high fashion world of glossy magazines in New York there is a lot of emphasis on appearances so it’s understandable that Renee feels she doesn’t fit as a size 12 in a size 4 world and this is something I can understand and empathise with. I can understand the draw of diet pills, I can feel the horror of having to put yourself out there only to be shot down and humiliated by nasty and inappropriate comments. There is no reason that a size 12 shouldn’t win the coveted position of Beauty Editor at Gloss magazine but if you’re insecure about your size to begin with it would feel like a major hurdle, and how do you talk about it when your friends are all, seemingly effortlessly, the size 4 you so covet?
Cate has just landed the position of Features Editor but there are times she can’t stop herself wondering why. She started at the bottom of the ladder as a receptionist and has worked her way up but there are things in her past that will always stop her truly believing that she deserves this.
Cate and Renee have been sharing an apartment for a while now and they have a pretty easy, casual relationship but it has never progressed to the real bond of friendship that both of these girls so desperately need.
Enter Abby, the sister of the GORGEOUS guy working at another magazine in their building. She arrives in the middle of a party looking less than together. Trey is worried about her and isn’t comfortable leaving her alone while he jets off for a story, enter Cate, Renee and their newly-spare room.
Preparing the room for Abby brings Cate and Renee together a little more and sets them on the path to friendship. Renee is outgoing and friendly but Cate isn’t one to open up easily so she appears aloof and unwilling to connect when really she just doesn’t know how to open up – yet.
These Girls follows three girls who have come to New York for very different reasons and from very different backgrounds. They grow together after the initial ice is broken and become more than room-mates and as they grow closer they begin to share more of their secrets, tell a little more of their backgrounds until we have the full picture and can see how they got to where they are. Better than that we get to watch this friendship form, grow and blossom until these three damaged women find that strength and support that a close friendship offers to face their issues and move on from them.
These Girls is the beautiful tale of a friendship that saves three young women from themselves and the mistakes of their pasts, three young women that could be any one of us. Pekkanen describes the beauty and importance of friendship in a way that is totally down-to-earth and easy to read. She’s definitely an author I will be keeping my eye out for, and it was nice to get a glimpse into the way the big glossy magazines work – something to aspire to.
40 of our Beauty Chick Chat members have been reading These Girls, find out what they thought below…
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
This book sounds fantastic I just came back from a trip to NYC and I loved it
Well, I have had the pleasure of being one of the reviewers of this book, and I say pleasure, because it really was! The entire book had me drawn into it from the beginning. I could relate to the characters (particularly Abby, whose brother had passed away when she was 4, the same age I was when my brother passed away). It is a very “now” book; with references to twitter, facebook etc throughout it. I loved the New York City setting, very Sex and The City feel. It was a wonderful book, and I have raved highly about it to friends and family (my sister will start reading it today when I drop it off to her), and it flows beautifully. The female characters have some personal struggles and it is nice to read how they attempt to overcome these hurdles. Life isn’t always perfect, and this book shows that. I would happily recommend this book especially to females aged 20-40+.
I loved this book, I loved the fast paced magazine world, even though I had a tendency to compare it to Ugly Betty which was a show I loved. I love how Cate even though she is beautiful seems to have just as many self esteem issues as what Renee has.
It is such a believable story, showcasing the cut throat world of high fashion magazines and the bitchiness and challenges that occur everyday. Also the devastating reality of how some normal women view themselves and the dangerous lengths they can go to, to get to the “perfect” weight or size or look, and the cheap remark on the blod sight is such atypical attack these days.
Even Abby’s story is so real and so painful you can almost feel the pain she is going through.
This is such a fantastic story and I am passing it on to my friend now that I am finished, I would definitely recommend it because I enjoyed it so much and couldn’t put it down. Oh I also had a chuckle at the Robert Pattinson reference in the book, being one of those mad fans it really made me smile that the book is so up to date with modern pop culture and technology.
This is a great read – I was hooked from page one and did not want to put it down!
The stories of the three girls is so believable and well written you can well understand their fears and celebrate their successes! It also points out the unrealistic expectations woman everywhere place on themselves to be perfect – the perfect size, weight or perfect in their profession or for the men (they want) in their lives. Failure isn’t an option and seems like the end of the world! So been there! And being destroyed by the wrong number of the scales, a bad comment or rejection from a guy – eeeeek we have all been there too.
Such a great readable story – I would recommend this novel for any reader young or old!
What an absolutely delightful read, I finished this one in record time, because I just couldnt put it down.
This wonderfully written novel is about three young women all hiding some kind of secret from the world. They all come to New York in the hope of finding a better life, making a better life or escaping from what they thought would be a good life.
There really is something in this novel for everyone. We see the struggles of three very different women, who really deep down are just the same on the inside. They each have their own personal fears of failure, humliation, and abandonment.
Abby, Cate and Renee are a trio of girls that show us we all have same fears, they are just packaged differently. We see their struggles with work, family and relationships. That wanting of something more out of life, that wanting to belong.
One is a nanny that falls in love with the father of the child, another is obsessed by her world of beauty and wanting to fit that perfect image of what society calls thin, and the third is trying to escape a past that meant she didnt graduate college.
Any one of us could relate to part or all of each of the girls stories, and most importantly it teaches the meaning of true friendships and loyalty that comes with it.
I totally adored this book, a fantastically easy read.
This book was a good read. I liked the characters and felt involved in the details of their lives, lies and adventure. It was a relatable novel that drew me in and I enjoyed reading it.
In saying that it wasn’t a book that I felt I simply couldn’t put down and had to continue reading. It was intriguing to read but it also felt a little predictable. It was more of an easy weeknight read.
I loved following Abby’s story, it had the most strength. It was nice to relive her story and also read the emotions she was going through at the present time. I can also relate to her and her parents lack of love which I think drew me further into her character.
I am curious to know if Trey and Cate ever end up together though? It would be great if another book followed as there is still much left to the imagination at the end. Does Renee move on to pursue other options or does she find happiness in the Beauty Editor role? I will be looking out for a follow on if ever there is one 🙂
These girls is a warm, engaging story that kept me involved to the very end.
There are no heroes or villains in this novel just three very human young women struggling with careers, relationships and family issues. Cate, Abbey and Renee are all very different but each have secrets that threaten to sabotage their professional and personal lives. The novel is well constructed and blends the present, past and inner lives of the three women seamlessly. It is ultimately friendship that enables them to confront their demons and move on to a more promising future.
It is a book I would highly recommend as a great read.
Wow “These girls” Sarah Pekkanen was simply a brilliant read. A hard book to put down without being tempted to just read another chapter or two! After reading the blurb,these were my initial burning questions.Will Cate cope with her new job demands as editor at Gloss?, Will Renee find the inner strength to love her figure that God gave her? Will Abby fit into the girls inner circle? What secrets are all the girls hiding? Are their lives richer now they have found each other?
I felt sorry for Abby as she seemed like such a lost soul who desperately wanted to love and be loved in return. She found that love in the young child Annabelle and when they could no longer see each other, due to difficult circumstances, it broke my heart.
Cate never really opened up her true feelings to anyone. I felt sorry for her that she poured her heart and soul into work commitments (working on the weekends was too much for me) and I almost cried when she couldn’t support her mother when she needed her the most. I honestly think that she would never truly open up to her friends and her college secret would stay hidden until her dying day.
Personally,I related and emphasised the most with Renee. I have recently gained weight post pregnancy and no matter what I try I just can seem to lose it! Her comment that her weight was clinging to her body like the Titanic catchprase “I’ll never let go” had me in hysterics!!! I also found myself daydreaming about Trey he seems too good to be true, handsome & thoughtful. What a catch! I secretly wished that he would fall madly in love with Renee.
In the end, I got caught up in the drama of the various characters lives and I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was interesting the lengths that all of the characters would go to protect their inner secrets and I am not sure whether the all found happiness and inner peace. My initial questions were answered along the way, and this book was a fantastic read and I’d highly recommend it.
I really liked this book, it was so easy to read and sometimes that is a good thing, when you just want to relax and chill out and be taken away for a day or a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. It made me really want to spend more time with my friends or live with a group of girlfriends, which I have never done before. It looks like so much fun, though I guess it doesn’t always work. It depends on the friends. But really, really enjoyable read,
thank you Beauty and Lace 🙂
The stories of these women are so realistic! Making the book much easier to engage with and enjoy. It was interesting to read about the weight dilemas, along with the struggles and ‘little things’ that must be done to attain a particular job. The book explores personal and professional struggles and reveals how women feel when they are in these positions, and how they feel people around them judge them. I feel like I relate closely to Renee; especially at such a young age where appearance is everything and you’ll work so hard to get “that job”. I enjoyed the writers writing technique; giving us insight into background information whilst keeping us on track with the narrative. Very interesting.