The Daughters Break the Rules

May 1, 2011

Gr 7-10-This installment in the series features Carina Jurgensen, a teenager dealing with a ridiculously wealthy and socially prominent parent. When her overbearing father forces her to intern in his media empire, Carina is devastated as it means giving up the JV soccer team and Model UN, so she retaliates in a very public way: she leaks a memo that implies that her dad's company misused charity funds. Her infuriated father hands down the punishment: Carina will have to live on an allowance of 20 dollars a week. Although she is an outdoors girl, happier on a mountain than on the streets of New York, living on a strict allowance is a major challenge. The adults in Carina's life sometimes seem unrealistically dreadful, though they do redeem themselves at the end. Brand dropping is prevalent, and at times feels like product placement. Although the book can stand alone, much of Carina's character development begins in The Daughters (Little, Brown, 2010). Even though these flaws exist, the book will engage younger teens who aren't quite ready for Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girls" series (Little, Brown).-Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2010

Daughters of megawealthy celebrities really have it tough in this breezy, ultimately interesting continuation of the Daughters series by celebrity daughter Philbin. Fifteen-year-old Carina's apparently unfeeling father is richer than Bill Gates, but he cuts off her credit cards when she defies him. Limited to $20 per week, she can't even get through the day. She talks her way into a party-planning job but can't deliver on her promises. At this point the author allows Carina to mature through her experiences. Heretofore-unrealized imagination and spunk emerge in her party planning. She comes to understand that $900 for a pair of shoes is a ridiculous price and that both people and merchandise of good quality don't necessarily come from wealth. Writing with a light tone that should appeal to a young female audience, the author chisels a little depth into the niche of chick lit. She makes readers care for her heroes and disdain her villains, and if the plot twist is predictable, that's fine for this genre. Entertaining and not entirely fluffy. (Chick lit. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2011
Carina agrees to plan her school's Silver Snowflake Ball, pretending she'll use her billionaire father's connections to secure the DJ, food, etc. But since her dad's cut her off financially, the party has a shoestring budget. For most of this second Daughters novel, Carina's spoiled personality won't engender much sympathy, but supporting characters--including Alex, Carina's crush--add some sweetness.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)