Capital Girls by Ella Monroe

Capital Girls by Ella Monroe

Expected Publication Date: August 7th 2012

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Source: ARC from ALA

Goodreads synopsis:

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!

The Skinny: Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars mate and have a child named Capital Girls 

A group of friends navigates the world of politics, love, friendship, and betrayal in this story. We have a cast of characters that includes the First Son’s girlfriend, the southern belle, the wild child, and the token diversity member. This is a light read that fans of Gossip Girl will enjoy. 

I enjoyed the multiple points of view and the storyline, but I felt very little connection to the characters. Jackie, our main character, starts off as a sympathetic gal who is stuck in a mundane relationship while trying to cope with the loss of her best friend. Her character loses all sympathy during the next ten pages, and I feel that Monroe aimed to add complexity to this character, but rather than developing a layered personality, Monroe created a character that was difficult to understand. There are a few aspects of the story that leave lingering and frustrating questions (i.e. who keeps calling the First Son?!?). They read more like plot holes than cliffhangers.

The end of the story was the most interesting part of the book, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel just to find out what precipitated a specific event. 

If you are interested in reading a story about privileged girls and their scandals, this one is for you.