Customer Reviews

GoldenGirl (Bradford Novels (Quality))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In western Philadelphia, there's a wealthy area of suburbs called the Main Line in which the posh and the pretty play by day and party by night. Now, readers can journey there, thanks to The Bradford Novels by Micol Ostow. Set an a private school, these books are filled with blog entries brimming with gossip, secrets, and lies. Characters post entries in their private journals as well as their school blog.

The first book introduces readers to Spencer Kelly, aka GoldenGirl. Rich, respected, and athletic, Spencer is fierce and poised on the field and off. Her best friends are Paige Andrews (aka FrontPaige) and Madison Takahashi (Madison_Ave). Popular Paige is hiding something that happened to her the previous summer, while Madison is busy designing clothes and playing the violin. Then a new girl named Regan and Spencer's old boyfriend Jeremy enroll, and things get really messy. Spencer finds herself drawn to Jeremy and considers breaking up with her current boyfriend Tyler. Meanwhile, Spencer befriends Regan, even though the California girl's rehab rep precedes her.

When Spencer writes in her personal online blog, All That Glitters, she tells all - but not for all to see. Each chapter is an entry marked with a privacy setting, so you know if it's public (for anyone to read), restricted (only her BFFs have access to posts marked "VIPs" - and they leave plenty of comments!) or private (posts marked "the vault" are for Spencer's eyes only).

With all of the frienemies and romantic entanglements, this series will definitely appeal to fans of Gossip Girl. It will also attract those who read the Pretty Little Liars books by Sara Shepard, which also take place on Philadelphia's Main Line.

*3.5*

GoldenGirl was my first read my Micol Ostow and it definitely won't be my last, because not only is GoldenGirl fabulously fun read, it establishes a new series that will definitely be high on my TBR list in the months to come.

Golden Girl tells the tale of Bradford preps it-girls- Paige, Spencer, and Madison. Three girls that seem to have it all; the money, the beauty, the gold-ness, the popularity. Though, these three are also hiding quite a bit of info in their designer filled closets... secrets that might even kill their friendship for good if they come out, and with the arrival of a new girl from Paige's past, it seems like these secrets may be coming out sooner than later. So, what are three golden and perfect girls supposed to do when someone they hate comes out from the wood-work? Will they ruin her? Or will Paige's friends turn on her and love the new girl? Only time and more pages will tell in this quick read told in blog entries, e-mails, and IM conversations.

While I did enjoy reading about the characters and their scandalous' lives in this book, character development, as well as back story, lacked big time, which bothered me. Though, I have to say, it's easy to tell this isn't supposed to be the most richly formed book out there, and that's fine with me. Out of the three girls, I think I liked Spencer the best, because I felt she was the most real and vulnerable out of the bunch, making her one I rooted for throughout the whole book unlike some of the other characters.

The aspect I found most rewarding about this book was the way it was told, because it's not everyday you see a book told entirely in blog entries, IMs, and e-mails. I love this format for many reasons. One is the fact that it made GoldenGirl be an extremely fast-paced and addicting read, and a second being the fact that it showed you different sides to each character, letting everyone get a "word" in edge wise. Though, as with any novel that has this kind of format, there are downfalls such as lack of development, as motioned before.

The plot of this was just like the rest of the book- fun and scandalous, though lacking development. Micol's writing was also decent, though far from prefect.

In all, if you would like a Gossip Girl type read GoldenGirl is the read for you, because it's just as scandalous and fun as Gossip Girl, if not more.

Grade: C+

Setting: high school
Secrets: always unsafe
Thoughts: innermost
Romance: lots
Verdict: guilty pleasure!
Everyone knows that high school secrets never stay secret for long! But that doesn't stop these popular prep-school girls from trying... This is a really fun book - I'm hooked and can't wait for the 2nd installment, Fashionista. These high-society characters come to life beautifully through a series of blog entries, texts, and online convos.Fashionista (Bradford Novel)

When I first heard about this book, I thought it sounded kind of Pretty Little Liars, which I'm fine with, since I lovelovelove Pretty Little Liars. But although this book isn't quite Pretty Little Liars good, it's pretty darn good.

I'm a big fan of drama in books. The more drama the better, I say. And there definitely was not a shortage of drama in this book. There was always some plot being, well, plotted, and juicy scandal unfolding. As the book went on, there was more and more of the drama, which makes me a very happy girl. I liked how there wasn't too much drama, because although I previously stated the more drama the better, I don't want to get confused keeping track of all the stuff going on. But no confusion here, so it's good.

The book is told in blog entries- almost all of them done by Spencer, aka GoldenGirl. Because of this, she was the only one who seemed very real. The other characters definitely had their flaws and own personalities, but because Spencer is a tad biased when talking about them since she has her own problems with them, I didn't think they seemed as real as they could have. Since the next few books in the series will be told from different POVs, I'm sure the character development will be improved.

I'm sure all the web content will help too, since there is A LOT of web content. The characters have Twitter accounts, the school in the book has a website, the series has a website, and there's tons of other stuff.

GoldenGirl comes highly recommended, especially if you want a light read. I can't wait for the next book, Fashionista, to be released so I can find out what happens after that little cliffhanger at the end of this book.

I had very high expectations for GoldenGirl, though I thought it was going to be similar to Gossip Girl (which is one of my guilty pleasures). I was pleasantly surprised! Micol definitely exceeded my expectations with this one! It was FAR better than any of the Gossip Girl novels, and really the only similarities are the wealth and the GG initials.

GoldenGirl kept me interested through it's blog posts (private and public) and outrageous scandals! While reading, I couldn't decide who was to be trusted and was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out the truth.

The Bradford Novels are sure to be instant hits! GoldenGirl, the first in the series, is full of humor, fashion, and jaw-dropping drama!

While I would say this is a fairly light read, the characters face some deep issues, though they are not the entire focus of the book.

I definitely recommend you read this if you are looking for some "oh-no-she-didn't" drama and the fast paced life of the wealthy.

As series' centered on the over-privileged and private school become even more popular, Micol Ostow creates her take on this popular genre for teens with her new series featuring Bradford Prep.

The story features three main characters: Paige Andrews, the queen bee of the group; Madison Takahashi, the unique and most famous of the three; and Spencer Kelly, the narrator of this installment.

Although she is the quiet one, Spencer still has a mind of her own.

It's the beginning of a new year at Bradford and already it starts off extremely complicated. Strolling with her new boyfriend, Tyler, Spencer bumps into her ex, Jeremy. She may have thought that she was over him, but with this encounter all of her old feelings come rushing back.

Of course Paige doesn't approve of Jeremy, and is quick to remind Spencer that she wouldn't even be dating Tyler if it wasn't for her. Despite this, however, Spencer understands that her feelings toward Jeremy are too strong to ignore, and it's impossible to even try when he is everywhere she turns.

A new year comes with a new student. Regan Stanford has just transferred in to Bradford and already she's creating a ton of buzz. In no time, she befriends Spencer and Madison, who both find her a breath of fresh air. The only one to object to this is Paige. Everyone already knows a little of Regan's past, but no one knew that it included queen bee Paige... at least not just yet.

Join these alpha girls in their new year at Bradford, as relationships are torn, sabotaging the enemy is the game, and where scandals and discovering who your real friends are is crucial. Spence has one long year ahead of her, and in the end it just has to be survival of the fittest.

Let's just hope she can endure what fate has in store for her... it isn't pretty.

The first series to be accompanied with its own website, GOLDENGIRL is written in a blog format. All That Glitters is the blog that belongs to Spencer, and most of the time the privacy setting is set at vault, which basically is just for Spence and the readers to get the full scoop. It is accompanied by The Bradford Blog, updated by one of the three girls, which is to let all of the students, even the lower class, to know what's hot and what's so not.

Readers will find the BRADFORD series to be refreshing, as already the queen bee is taken down a notch, and the narrator does not entirely conform to all of her demands. GOLDENGIRL is a very promising start to a very unique and original series.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

This was a gossipy, scandalous, fashionably good time! I really liked reading the thoughts of Spencer via her blog posts, especially the little love triangle that she has gotten herself into. Because most of the blog posts are from her point of view (in this book) I felt I got to know her the best of all the characters. It was also really nice hearing from some of the other characters on the school blog, The Bradford Blog, I hope to get to know them just as well in future books.

What initially attracted me to this book was how it's working on multiple platforms, we have the book, which is essentially a collection of blog posts and a few emails and then probably a good dozen or so websites, from myspace profiles, to twitter pages, a Bradford Prep official website, and websites for other locations in the book. I loved the idea of being able to poke around online and get to know the characters better.

I think most of the fashion and label references got lost on me since I don't know much about fashion, so I wouldn't have minded a few less, but I'm sure there are people out there that love them! Also, I don't know if this is showing my age or what but some of the acronyms I had to look up. A little glossary of terms in the back of the book would have been very helpful to someone like me!

I'm definitely looking forward to where the second book, Fashionista picks up! There is somewhat of a mystery brewing and I really want to know the truth!