Just Jennifer

Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford (St. Martin’s Press, August)

Evelyn Began’s mother shaped her Philadelphia upbringing, something that was all about appearance.  Barbara even drove a beat up BMW because she felt it bespoke of old money.  Now as Evelyn is beginning her adult life, she finds herself on the outside of the same world, as an employee of a dot com start-up People Like Us, an elite Facebook/LinkedIn type site for which Evelyn must get new members.  To do so, she must insinuate herself in the world of the uber rich and often idle, a thing which Evelyn cannot afford to be.  Evelyn’s friend Scot from high school proves to be her entre into this world, but as she gets caught up deeper and deeper into a world to which she can never belong, she finds herself deeper and deeper in debt, ignoring her true friends and her parents, who are having a crisis of their own as Dale, an attorney, is investigated and indicted, sending his family spiraling further down a rabbit hole from which there may be no escape, but ultimately gives Evelyn a chance to step up and take responsibility and be “the grown-up”.  Stephanie Clifford provides a glimpse into a world most only read about in the society columns, a world few have the stamina or resources to do more than dream about.  A LibraryReads pick for August! http://libraryreads.org/