CAPITAL GIRLS by Ella Monroe is the first book in a glitzy, fast-paced, fabulous new young adult series set against the backdrop of Washington, D.C. In it, we meet four young women, best friends forever, who must navigate life as the children of some of the most powerful people in the nation. With that life comes not only awesome vacations, beautiful clothes and A-list parties, but also scandal, heartache, danger and the ever-present paparazzi who seem to have a knack for catching them when they’re up to something bad!
It may have taken me a bit to get into the story of Capital Girls, because I almost couldn’t feel sympathetic or even empathetic for these characters. However, as the story progressed I did become more involved and I actually cared what happened to these seemingly stuck up and superficial girls.
Jackie, who was the main narrator and focal point of this novel, grew on me more than I expected. She was witty and very accessable when she was dealing with the death of her best friend and the fact that her and her boyfriend (who happens to be the President’s son, by the way) are growing apart.
As a southern girl, and a former cotillion attendee, I found myself really loathing Laura Beth and her mother. Unfortunately I felt that Laura was constructed of the basest stereotypes of southern belles and the worries of being a “society girl” which should be the least of her problems when she manages to be mislead and made to be the fool at almost every turn.
Lettie, obviously, was my favorite because she was the obvious underdog who was working hard to move up in society and has the brains to prove it. She was much more street smart, but still felt a little on the naive side. Honestly, I would read the next book, Secrets and Lies, purely to find out what happens to Lettie and hope that she succeeds.
Whitney, the last of the living girls, really just felt like she was written to be a flat villian…but I couldn’t help but sympathize with her when we kept hearing about how she felt used and abandoned by her mother.
Overall, I would say that I enjoyed this book once I got into it…so if you pick up a copy be sure to try and make it past the first few chapters. It will pick up. I recommend this to fans of the Gossip Girl series or even the A-List books.
I am giving this book 3.5 Bards, because I know it is just setting up the characters for more intense drama in the books to come…and I know I will be reading them.
Moving! 