How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls [Paperback]

Zoey Dean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2007

Recent Yale graduate Megan Smith comes to Manhattan with big plans for a career in journalism and even bigger student loan debt: $75,000. When she flails at her trashy tabloid job, she's given an escape hatch: tutor seventeen-year-old identical twins Rose and Sage Baker--yes, the infamous Baker heiresses of Palm Beach, Florida, best known for their massive fortunes and their penchant for drunkenly flashing the paparazzi -- and get their SAT scores up enough to get into Duke. Impossible job -- yes. But if she succeeds, her student debts are history. Unfortunately for Megan, the Baker twins aren't about to curtail their busy social schedules for basic algebra. And they certainly aren't thrilled to have to sit down for a study session with dowdy Megan. Megan quickly discovers that if she's going to get her money, she'll have to learn her Pucci from her Prada. And if she can look the part, maybe, just maybe, she can teach the girls something along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dean, author of the popular A-List young adult series, graduates to big-girl chick lit with this hip remix of Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling and The Simple Life. Megan Smith, unable to cut it in New York's cutthroat world of magazine publishing, snatches a lucrative offer to transform two pampered and scholastically challenged 17-year-old twins into scholars. Sage and Rose Baker, known mostly for majoring in ennui and partying, are heiresses to an $84 million fortune, but the money isn't theirs until they pass the SATs. Their grandmother, the fortune's overseer, pays Megan $1,500 a week to get the Fabulous Baker Twins up to snuff, and an additional $75,000 if they are accepted at Duke, their late parents' alma mater. But the transformation works both ways, as Megan learns she'll have to earn the twins' respect before they accept her tutelage. Megan, meanwhile, secretly intends to segue her time with the high-profile twins into a writing career. Things work out for everyone, but not in an expected fashion. Dean's writing is swift and the book is consistently funny, though her twin terrors aren't as nasty as they could be. Regardless, this is a great one to take to the beach. (July)
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From Booklist

Chick-lit lovers take note: Dean, writer of the popular teen series the A-List, is dipping her toe into the swimming pool of adult fiction. Yale graduate Megan Smith has recently moved to Manhattan, but nothing is going as planned. When her job at a tabloid magazine turns sour, she accepts a position working for the infamous Baker twins, Sage and Rose: 17, filthy rich, and unmarketable as far as their grandmother and upper-echelon colleges are concerned. Her challenge? Get them into Duke University. Her reward? Ample pay, plus a significant check that will wipe out her hefty college loans. But in addition to brushing up on her SAT-tutoring skills, she needs to gain a little empathy for her charges and learn a thing or two from the drag-queen estate-chef, Marco, and his style-consultant partner. Thrust into the conservative, money-dripping world of Palm Beach, Florida, Megan quickly learns that not everybody is as she first appears. Predictable? Yes, but Megan is quirky enough to keep the pages flipping, and the love story has a nice, made-for-the-movies ending. Cook, Emily

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (July 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446697184
• ISBN-13: 978-0446697187
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cinderalla Story in the World of the Uber Rich, April 3, 2008

By 

Bethany (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls (Paperback)

Can't get enough of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Nicole Richie? HOW TO TEACH FILTHY RICH GIRLS by Zoey Dean might be the key to your rich girl obsessions. But don't let me mislead you, the book's about Megan. And she's far from rich.

Megan graduated and wanted nothing but the publishing dream--move to New York City, find a job at a prestigious publishing company or magazine, and live her dream. What happened was a crummy job at a tabloid and a huge student load ($75,000 to be exact). And it turns even more sour--she loses her job at the tabloid. Kinda. In the same firing meeting, the editor-in-chief waves Megan a bone: tutor two of the richest heiresses on the Palm Beach, Florida scene so that their SAT scores literally score them a spot at Duke. With little other choice, Megan takes the job and our real story begins.

The twins? Seventeen-year-olds Rose and Sage Baker are known for drunken parties and flashing the paparazzi (sound familiar?) and aren't so keen on this "arrangement." Hell just arranging their social schedule to fit in a little school, isn't on their agenda. Especially when the teacher is a peer who looks like a [gasp!] struggling post-graduate wearing a bunch of thrift store finds. But don't fret, Megan's a fighter. The $1500 a week and the possibility of ridding herself of the school loan debt--has her determined if not plain old, scared to NOT make this plan work.

HOW TO TEACH FILTHY RICH GIRLS was hilarious. Megan had me in stitches. She is sarcastic, fun, witty, and well... like an every day post-grad girl that is so broke the thought of being well dressed and fed is merely a daydream. There's a bit-o-Cinderella in the plot (as in happily ever after; ugly girl turns pretty), but don't let that turn you away. There's more than a few twists that definitely make it giggling fun.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun, Filthy Indulgence, November 27, 2007

By 

Liz Goodgold (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls (Paperback)

DUH! MARKETING: 99 Monstrous Missteps You Can Use to Learn, Laugh, and Grow Your Business!

Chick lit is usually as light and airy as a Vera Wang gown, but How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls weaves a much tighter and textured story. From the very first page, you start to understand and empathize with the struggling, underemployed, underutilized Megan Smith. And, just when she thinks she has hit rock bottom by hearing the dreaded "we have to let you go" from her meticulously dressed boss, she hits the jackpot by landing a lucrative job tutoring the Paris and Nicky Hilton twins of Palm Beach.

Oh, the book is rich with details about a society that most of us only dream about: The Season, The Gowns, and The Protocol (never eat!). Yet, underneath it all is a heroine and 2 struggling heiresses trying to find themselves. Strong characters are finely sketched, fashion details embellished, and the pitter patter of young hearts falling in and out of love beat strong. In all, it is a twirl around the dance floor of women, wealth, and wonder.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable - good for the beach or the gym, July 17, 2007

By 

Heather A. Teysko "heatherteyskodotcom" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls (Paperback)

I've never read any books by Zoey Dean before, so this was my introduction to her. She tells a good story in a conversational way which makes it fun and easy to read. I liked her writing a lot, and while the story did seem a lot like "The Devil Wears Prada" it had enough different twists to keep me interested. Definitely one of the better chick-lit books out there this summer, and worth a read if you enjoy stories like this. I give it four stars rather than five because it sort of dragged on a bit towards the end and didn't keep me interested the entire time. Still a good book, though!