Skinny-dipping (Au Pairs) [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Melissa de la Cruz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

And you thought last summer was hot? Your favorite bikini-clad au pairs -- good-girl- turned-It-Girl Mara, spoiled Eliza, and Brazilian bombshell Jacqui -- are back for another season of skinny-dipping in Georgica Pond, tanning on Main Beach, and oh, yeah, babysitting for the Perry kids too. The au pairs think they're ready for another summer of outrageous fun, but a lot of things have changed since last year.... Mara dumped Ryan, the uber-hot older brother of the kids she's babysitting, and opted out of spending winter break in Palm Beach with the family. Now she wants him back, but is he hers for the taking? Eliza and Jeremy agreed to see other people at the end of last summer, but Eliza's done a lot more than look at other boys...namely Ryan Perry. Can Eliza keep their Palm Beach hookup a secret from Mara? Jacqui managed to stick to her no-more-boys rule all year, but when she meets the Perry's newest au pair, Philippe, a gorgeous French guy, she's not so sure she'll be able to maintain her resolve. After all, aren't rules made to be broken? This summer Mara, Eliza, and Jacqui will manage to find trouble (and a party ) wherever they go. But if they're not careful, their friendships, their guys, and their perfect summer jobs could fade away faster than last year's tans.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up -Eliza, Mara, and Jacqui return for a second season of high fashion, fabulous parties, unlimited alcohol, sex, and celebrities in New York's exclusive Hamptons. Last summer, as au pairs for the wealthy Perry family, the girls partied their way through the season. Now Mara and Jacqui have returned to care for the Perry children while Eliza has chosen to work at the ultra-hip nightclub, The Seventh Circle. Sound perfect? Not quite. Eliza has broken up with the hunky gardener from last year and has hooked up with Ryan Perry, Mara's ex-boyfriend. After all, Mara did break up with him. The catch is that, unbeknownst to Eliza, Mara wants him back. Jacqui, the beautiful Brazilian, has recently sworn off men-until she meets Eliza's replacement, the stunning Philippe. Oh, yeah, it may be worth mentioning that Mrs. Perry also has her eye on him. The story is ultimately about the fleeting nature of popularity and how easy it is to get caught up in the game. There is plenty of underage drinking, some mild drug use, and nonexplicit sex. One thing is for sure, this book will be in high demand. Readers of The Au Pairs (S & S, 2004) will be dying to know what happens to the girls. Teens unfamiliar with these characters will be attracted by the eye-catching cover showing shapely tanned legs and discarded bikinis on a beach. Give this to fans of Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girl" books and Zoey Dean's "The A-List" series (both Little, Brown).-Michele Capozzella, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Hot Beach Reading!"

-- PW --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• ISBN-10: 1416903828
• ASIN: B000IFS0RW
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,050,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat's Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney's, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel to The Au Pairs, July 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Skinny-dipping (Au Pairs) (Hardcover)

Well, I was a big fan of the first book, The Au Pairs. This book does indeed develop deeper into Mara and Jaqui's character. Eliza, the ex-It girl, has rented a little cottage for the summer. Her family is doing better and instead of working as an au-pair for the Perry Family, she worked at an upcoming hot club called Seventh Circle. Mara is now the It-girl since dating Ryan Perry. Jaqui is focused on her job because she wants to stay in New York the year and finish school up there and hopefully go to NYU. Her plan worked, up until she met the new au pair, the hot French Phillepe. Read the book to find out more. This book is so totally awesome!!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very Interesting book.............., August 12, 2005

By 

C19 ": )" (Venezuela) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skinny-dipping (Au Pairs) (Hardcover)

This book is great to entertain yourself in a boring weekend, it really gets a hold on you.

I read the first one also, which I liked better; I think you could see more clearly the way in which three different teenagers, coming from three very different places get together in a place that consists in a material world. Comparing the two books, you could simply say that the first one is a little more realistic.

At the end of the first book, the three au pairs end up being great friends with new plans and expectations for their next meeting, but things will change faster than they think, and when they come back to The Hanptons there will be more conflics, more drama,and much more complications with the girls' characters and the way they react to the never-endless chaos in which the people from The Hamptons live.

by: Carla R.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and enjoyable continuation to The Au Pairs, June 28, 2005

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skinny-dipping (Au Pairs) (Hardcover)

SKINNY-DIPPING brings poor Mara, rich then poor Eliza, and Brazilian Jacqui back to the Hamptons for another summer of adventures. Fans of last year's THE AU PAIRS have been waiting for the hinted-at sequel where Mara, Eliza and Jacqui were supposed to go on a tropical winter break with the Perry family. For some reason, that idea was abandoned, and there is only brief mention of Eliza and Jacqui's winter with the Perrys, where Eliza and Ryan Perry were up to no good while Mara was away. That's just the beginning of the changes for this summer.

Eliza gets a job with a hot club instead of working with the Perry children, and a new au pair, Philippe, moves into the quarters with Mara and Jacqui. Philippe is as handsome as he is mysterious, and Jacqui tries to overcome an attraction to him.

Mara is still recovering from breaking up with Ryan by partying too much and dating Mr. Shallow and Wrong. She loves all the attention her uber-it self is getting from photographers and designers, but Eliza and Jacqui are growing tired of her.

Eliza never sees Jeremy while he is busy at his finance job, and ends up spending too much time with Ryan again. Her job is hard work --- catering to spoiled Hamptonites is not the glamorous status return she was hoping for.

Readers will enjoy the references to the latest designer duds and party trends, but the Hamptons is a small place and it will be interesting to see in future books what changes await these girls after they are college-bound and on breaks.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio