Katie, the main character in this novel is an 18 year young woman who obviously ha a good head on her shoulders. But it's the early 1970ies, and she surrounds herself with a bunch of burnt out losers who seem to do nothing but hang out at the beach, or in a bar, drinking way too much, taking too many drugs, and having too many unwanted pregnancies. At first I said to myself, C,mon Katie, you can do better than this. But slowly but surely, I was also won over by these "losers". Some of the most endearing,fascinating, and memorable characters I have come across in a work of fiction for quite awhile. ( )

4/5 ( )

Erased my review by accident!! But I remember saying I felt this was the worst title ever until reading the inspiration for it. Nothing like the early 70's I grew up in but a very entertaining book. ( )

Thanks to goodreads and the publisher for a free copy of this book!

I've been procrastinating on reviewing this because I wasn't sure how I felt about the book. I'm still not sure how I feel about the book, but it's sticking with me like you wouldn't believe.

And I think the thing that gets me most is the description -- beautifully written, so evocative. And it all has to do with this kind of... blend of glitz and grime. Glamorous hotels that have become seedy and rundown, people panhandling on a street called Stardust Alley. The whole book has that general feeling, and it's amazing, and vivid, and immediate, and memorable.

I feel like I should say something about the swearing, because there is a lot of it. It fits with the characters -- trying to imagine the book without it feels disconcerting because it's just the way they talk. The characters and the comments they make are a product of their time and place. The language doesn't feel unnecessary to me.

However, if swearing is something that bothers you in a novel -- or racist or homophobic comments from characters, for that matter -- then just know that you'll find that in this book.

So, overall? This book was a bit uncomfortable but had amazing writing. I put it down a little while back, but I can't shake the feeling that it hasn't put me down yet. ( )

The fragmented nature of the plot in this book, along with the depressing themes and characters made this a slightly difficult read, despite the fact that the writing is lovely. I have no doubt that others would enjoy this, but it wasn't for me. ( )