Hey love did you miss me? Yeah I’ve been M.I.A for a while … I guess that’s what happens when you go with the flow in life and start getting busy no? Well I’m reading again but the book is not An American Tragedy
I am taking a much needed break from that book to check out others for now. The break is not by choice (somebody checked the book out of the library) so I had to browse through shelves and I finally found a book that caught my eye: The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger. She wrote The Devil Wears Prada and though I’ve never actually read the book, I watched the movie and loved it and it seems like the movie is very similar to the book. So there’s no need for me to read it. Anyway I thought I would be remiss if I didn’t pick up this book to read it since a lot of people rave about her work.
I have to admit though that I wasn’t expecting much. I was expecting an easy read, kind of like those young adult novels I used to read as a teen and it met my expectations. But 341 pages later, there were also times where I thought Weisberger was very clever and funny. One of those moment was when Charlie, the main character, met one of her favorites actors, Zeke Leighton and after a few hours of talking to him, she hinted that she slept with him. I was shocked! And I mean SHOCKED! Her character is all but innocent and carefully crafted as this good girl who can’t be bothered to stand up for herself or deal with it if somebody doesn’t like her. She always tries to do what is expected of her and what is considered the “nice” thing to do. So at first I thought I read it wrong. So I flipped through the pages a couple of times to see if I read it properly but you see, she hinted at the affair on page 205 and page 206 started a new chapter. Plus, the chapter started off with them in bed together so … All I could think was, “Well damn Charlie.” “DAMN DAWG!” I really did not see that coming.
I found myself smiling while I was reading the book a lot. She has this way about her that I can really connect with. Or maybe it’s the writing, because at times I felt like I was in the room with Charlie … not necessarily her, because we have very different personalities, but definitely close to her. It’s an interesting feeling to connect with her at times like these, that I can image the scene perfectly in my mind. It almost feels real I guess … like she’s a real person – almost but not quite.
Still, I laughed! Actually laughed out loud and took pauses and smiled, just imagining it all in my head. And although it doesn’t seem like a big deal, it takes a good writer to invoke that kind of emotion – any emotion or connection, really and it feels so nice to enjoy the book and character, since reading Dreiser. I didn’t put the book down that often. I was breezing through the pages – reading was no longer a chore.
However, I was also emotionally attached to Charlie’s story. When she messed up and accidentally did drugs I was so disappointed and I could also see her future crumbling. Yes, she messed up, but to me what’s worse is the way she allowed others to control the conversation. It’s deeply disappointing to me that she didn’t take authority in her life or control of any situation. This is the biggest fault in Charlie’s character and I’m not sure why Weisberger decided to make Charlie this way but it’s annoying. Books like these never have characters that are strong and assertive. They always have to have this type of mentality where they are always passively accepting the things that come into their lives instead of being active. It’s troubling that this kind of narrative is common in young adult books of this genre.
Despite everything, this time I finished the book before posting about it so I have no updates to post over the course of several weeks of procrastination. I’d say the audience for the book is teenagers from 16 up? It’s an easy read, very predictable and your typical story about a good girl who gets bad for a little bit but then comes back to reality and plays nice again. Boring really, if you look at the story in its entirety but it does have moments that are great.
I give the book a 2.5 out of 5 because it’s not great but It’s not the worst read and somebody will definitely enjoy it.
Comment below and tell me what you think of the story. How do you feel about Charlie's passive personality? Don't be stingy with your thoughts!
