24-Karat Kids: A Novel [Hardcover]

Dr. Judy Goldstein (Author), Sebastian Stuart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 2006

Meet Dr. Shelley Green - newly minted pediatrician.  After graduating medical school at the top of her class, Shelley is hired by Madison Pediatrics, the Upper East Side's most exclusive practice.  Suddenly this self-described 'schlumpy girl from Jackson Heights' is thrown into the world of the rich, famous, and very neurotic.  Her life is about to change in a big way.   
 
Hyper-parenting has reached epidemic proportions -- and Madison Pediatrics is its over-privileged epicenter.  Shelley, a superb doctor with a kid-friendly touch and a genius for diagnosis, quickly becomes the Upper East Side's latest must-have accessory, the darling of the fabulously-wealthy-with-kids crowd.  Now she's slimming down, dressing up in Fendi and Prada, and weekending in the Hamptons.  No wonder Arthur - her adorable schoolteacher fiancé - is baffled. 
 
Enter Josh Potter - blueblood hunk who never seems to have his checkbook around.  What he does have is charm, connections, and enough sex appeal to set Shelley's head spinning.  Before long, Shelley's plate is way too full:  men and medicine, elite nursery schools and rooftop swimming pools.  Can she handle it all without losing her soul?  Find out in this delicious dose of fiction that brims with acerbic wit, dead-on satire, and finally, poignancy and heart.
 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Dr. Shelley Green joins Madison Pediatrics, a medical practice catering to the rich, peculiar parents of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, this self-described "schlumpy girl from Jackson Heights" is unprepared for the self-centered eccentrics who parade through her office. First-time collaborators Goldstein and Stuart have created them all in this chick-out-of-water comedy: a six-year-old with strep devastated to miss her Bergdorf manicure, a show-biz mom who wants a nose job for her eight-month-old son, and ultrapampered busybody Amanda Walker, who takes Shelley under her gilded wing. In the name of developing the "persona" to fit in with the posh parents from her practice, Shelley dives into the world of designer stores, spends weekends in the Hamptons with Amanda and her upscale friends and considers a dalliance with rich, hunky Josh Potter—a man entirely unlike her schoolteacher fiancé, Arthur. Of course, Shelley eventually has to decide what really matters to her, but before she does there are plenty of delicious laughs and devious betrayals among the Dior-and-diapers set. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Feeling poorly? Treat yourself to a full dose of 24-Karat Kids.   A nostrum, a kick, a pick-me-up--so pick it up and take it home. Call me in the morning if you can't stop laughing."
 
--GREGORY MAGUIRE, author of  the New York Times bestsellers Wicked and Son of A Witch
 
"The most fun I've ever had in a doctor's office"--Nancy Lieberman, author of Admissions
 
"Shelley Green is one of the funniest, warmest heroines I've ever met.  I was rooting for her all the way!"--Vicki Lewis Thompson, author of the New York Times bestselling Nerd series
 
"Dr. Judy Goldstein and Sebastian Stuart are writing about a milieu I know well, and their take on it is fresh and very entertaining."
--Woody Allen
 
"Dr. Judy Goldstein and Sebastian Stuart have written a very funny and occasionally biting fictional account of a young doctor's plunge into big time Manhattan pediatrics and upper East side glitz.  It has the ring of truth and I found it thoroughly entertaining." --Jonathan Newhouse, Conde Nast International

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (June 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312343272
• ISBN-13: 978-0312343279
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,547,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Did I read the same book?, December 18, 2006

By 

Amy Gold (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 24-Karat Kids: A Novel (Hardcover)

I rely heavily on Amazon Reader reviews to plan my reading list, but I'm going to respectfully disagree on this.

Here's what I think happened: Judy Goldstein read "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Nanny Diaries" and said "Hey kids ! Let's re-write these books but from a pediatrician's point of view" Then she thought of every funny case she's ever seen and exaggerated it, and changed the names. Then she thought of some ridiculous plot that allowed her to show off her extensive knowledge of fancy boutiques on the Hamptons.

Now I have nothing against good chick-lit, but there was NOTHING to this book. The heroine was *so* perfect, I found her unbelievable. Actually Goldstein seemed afraid to include any characters that weren't basically amiable (Ira goes on gambling sponsored coke binges? How eccentric!) Even the bird is quirky.

There are so many random threads to this book: the receptionist has chemo and loses her hair, well obviously then she's going to focus all her attention on her opera for kids CD, and never mention the cancer again. Someone suggests Shelley loses a few pounds and POOF ! she goes on a diet and she loses 30 pounds and that is that. Oh Fran Templar is at a party? Let's run around looking for her and then drop it all of a sudden because we remember that she's not actually a character in this book.

Usually I'll give any book 100 pages, and if I don't like it, I'll put it down guilt-free. However I felt compelled to finish 24 Karat kids simply so I could write this review. I'm not going to ruin the highly predictable ending but it seemed to me like the author looked at the book, said "Ooh look 200 pages, I'm done now!" and typed a final 3 page chapter that tied everything up.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 and a Half, Actually - FUN, First Novel!, July 19, 2006

By 

JJ Stark (Cicero, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 24-Karat Kids: A Novel (Hardcover)

I don't know anything about "Mary Sue", but I thought this was a fun, well-written, pleasant & satisfying read. The characters and tone of the book reminded me at times of best selling "chick-lit" books DEVIL WEARS PRADA, THE SECOND ASSISTANT, and THE NANNY DIARIES. I definitely thought that this one belonged right up there with those, as one of the better chick-lit books I've read (especially considering it was written by a NY Pediatrician and NOT an established and/or trained author).

As the heroine of the story, Shelley is both likable and REAL. I never got the impression that she was perfect, or even close to perfection. Yes, her patients loved her and yes, some of the solutions to her patients' ailments were easily resolved, but it's a fun, FICTIONAL NOVEL!!! And Shelley did make some mistakes along the way as she adjusted to her new lifestyle. Jumping to conclusions and misdiagnosing a favorite patient before all the test results were available, choices in her love-life, a change in living arrangements, her shopping habits, even in her choice of "extra-curricular activities." As Shelley makes mistakes and uses poor judgment, you come to love her more since these are the very things that make her all the more real and human to readers. For years Shelley was the "plain" girl, the "smart" girl, the "reliable" girl, whose mother was always (and still is!) shouting SUS (Stand Up Straight!) at her. For the first time in her life, she's out having fun and behaving like someone she used to only envy. Are there lessons to be learned along the way? Of course there are, and by the end of the book, Shelley has learned a few of those and takes a good hard look at the life she's created for herself.

The book is written by an experienced, high-profile NY pediatrician, so I'm sure that some of the patients, parents and ailments that were written about were based on actual things that the author has seen and experienced over the years. What mother hasn't wanted to stop her child from sucking their thumb? I'm sure there are more than a few parents who dread the "poopy" diaper!! Throw in the fact that these normal, every day new parent experiences are being poorly handled by NY's upper class, well that's what makes this book all the more fun!!

I picked up the book without ever hearing anything about it before seeing it on my bookstore table. I'm so glad I did, as it's one of the more enjoyable books I've read this summer! My only problem was with the book's ending. There were too many loose ends left hanging and questions left unanswered. While it appears that Shelley's future is left to the readers' imaginations, there were more than a few parts of the story that I would have liked to have seen a more definite conclusion for. Whether this was intentionally done with thoughts of a sequel, only the author and publisher knows, but I am hoping to hear more from Dr. Goldstein as I'm sure she's got hundreds of stories to share!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh Please, December 2, 2007

By 

Avid Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: 24-Karat Kids: A Novel (Paperback)

I couldn't get through this book. I know it's chick-lit and I have to put on my chick-lit goggles , but even so- there is good chick-lit and there is bad chick-lit. This is really bad chick-lit! The character are cardboard cut-outs that I couldn't care less about. Everyone is so stereotypical, the situations are so unbelievable yet the outcomes are so predictable.