Customer Reviews

Summer Intern

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

 

 

Here is another book by one of my favorite writers, Carrie Karasyov. This book is about a summer internship at a fictional magazine, Skirt. I know this book has been compared to Devil Wears Prada, Mean Girls and Gossip Girls--well, I say that is a good thing!! Definitely a light summer read that will hold your attention. It may come across as predictable to some people, but I don't really think the point is to be unpredictable. It was just a fun read!

Kira, recently graduated from high school and entering her first year at Columbia, is about to embark on the opportunity of a lifetime: a prestigious internship at Skirt magazine. Her roommates are Gabe and Teagan, who quickly become her best friends for the summer. Kira's nemeses, however, are the girls dubbed the Trumpettes, led by Daphnes Hughes, daughter of the owner of the company. Daphne gets pretty much everything she wants, including the hot boyfriend, and it seems as though she's going to get the pretigious internship working for Genevieve West, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. Kira is also accustomed to getting everything she wants, but not in a spoiled-brat kind of way. At some points it seems similar to the plot of Mean Girls, except set in the offices of a magazine.

At first I thought I wouldn't like this attempt at YA from two chick lit authors. But I found, to my surprise, that I did. The book is written in a quirky, upbeat style. Although the book was filled with cliches (gay best friend, anyone?), I thought the authors did a good job of highlighting how much Kira grows during her first summer in New York. I'm looking forward to reading Bittersweet Sixteen, another YA novel by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman.

Summer Intern is essentially two parts Mean Girls (the characters are virtually identical), one part Gossip Girl (rich NYC heirheads), and one part The Devil Wears Prada (the summer internship is at a Vogue-like magazine). What do you get when you add these all up? One very unoriginal book. Although I enjoyed the breeziness - and this is after all a summer book - I found it so annoying how blatantly the book ripped off other existing characters and stories - Mean Girls being one of the most obvious. Despite the familiarity of the characters, I found it difficult to really *care* about any of them cause I could predict what was going to happen.

To summarize the plot, Kira is a Philly girl who wins an internship at Skirt magazine. Along the way she makes a number of friends (many who waffle between friend and foe) but feels frustrated at being under the shadow of the heiress to the magazine Daphne - who barely does a thing to earn her keep, her friends, or her boyfriend. Enter various hilarity and you'll get the plot.

I've actually read a couple of other books by this author duo - who specialize in writing about the Upper Crust of NYC. I still have mixed feelings about Karasyov & Kargman's talents...I've failed to reallllly love one of their books, although Wolves in Chic Clothing was by far the best I've read of theirs.

Overall if you're into the whole teen chick lit going on right now, this is a better written, more palatable version of books like the Gossip Girl series. If you don't think you'd be interested in reading a full-length tome like Devil Wears Prada, this is a great teenage version of it...but if you're expecting some revolutionary writing/plot, skip it.

Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman's SUMMER INTERN tells of a 'fashion junkie' slated to work as an intern at Skirt, a fine fashion magazine. All seems well, until showdown with the boss' daughter evolves, and suddenly the dream summer in New York City sans parents turns into a nightmare.

SUMMER INTERN was a fast, fantastic read that I read in one sitting. The plot moves fast, the characters are unique and I was beyond satisfied with the book. Two thumbs way up!

SUMMER INTERN is definitely going to be the summer beach read of 2007! When I first picked up this book I thought to myself, "Here we go again with the whole The Devil Wears Prada theme!" No way! These books have their similarities but are much different, too! There is scandal, mystery, fashion, mean girls, and a really nice pair of Blahnik shoes involved! What girl doesn't want to read a book like that?

Kira gets her dream job at the high profile fashion magazine, Skirt. But did Cinderella get prince charming without a few bumps in the road? Uh, no! During the course of the book Kira even meets her own Prince Charming at a club--or at least she thinks she does.

Daphne is a fellow intern at the magazine, but she just happens to be the daughter of the owner of the entire corporation! Kira stays late, works very hard, knows a lot about fashion, and is super nice to everyone--but Daphne doesn't like her because she is a threat to the real dream job...being the intern of the editor-in-chief of the magazine!

After finding out who wins the coveted internship, things get worse. At the end of the book something ties the whole story together, the mean girls get what they deserve, and something VERY unexpected happens! You will just have to read this amazing novel to find out the rest of the story that is also about more than finding the perfect pair of shoes for an upcoming cover!

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

Kira Parker is absolutely ecstatic when she learns that she's landed the Cotton internship for SKIRT Magazine, where she'll be living in fabulous New York City digs, and carousing with editors on a daily basis. After all, the Philadelphia native may be getting ready to make the transition from high school graduate to Columbia University freshman, but she hasn't forgotten her number one passion in life: fashion. So Kira forgoes a summer scooping ice cream for locals, packs up her things, and heads to the Big Apple. Upon arrival, Kira instantly thinks things are set. She'll be working for the big-wig Editor-In-Chief, and trying her hand at penning articles regarding upcoming fashion. But Kira's plans come to a sudden halt the moment she realizes that she's landed a position with the most demanding Editor at the magazine. A woman who makes her sort through model headshots day in and day out. Then there's the tiny fact that she'll be competing against Daphne Hughes - the daughter of SKIRT's owner - for the coveted position of Editorial Intern.And as for the sweet digs? Well, Kira's hopes for them have quickly soured when she discovered that her room for the summer is no bigger than a closet. The only upside is that she has the two coolest roommates ever - Gabe, a guy who has yet to come out of the closet to his family; and Teagan, a punk rock chick with amazing style. But Kira's still not happy. Daphne appears to have everything she's longing for: the boyfriend of her dreams, the perfect style, the right connections, and enough money to do whatever she pleases, whenever she pleases. When Kira meets a smoking hot guy named Matt, however, she begins casting her plans for claiming the title of "Intern of the Year" aside, and sets her sights on making this the romance of the century. But when everything takes a turn for the worst, Kira is unsure of whether or not she'll be able to hold her own, or head back home with her tail between her legs.

I fell in love with Carrie Karasyov & Jill Kargman's writing last year when they released BITTERSWEET SIXTEEN, and have fallen in love all over again with SUMMER INTERN. In a world where internships have become the hottest thing since sliced bread, Karasyov and Kargman have managed to create a character who not only embodies the Intern everyone dreams of, but has enough stamina to hold her own, and keep her head above water, even as she encounters backstabbing heiresses and daddy's girls. Kira is a down-to-earth character, whose sensibility, and attention to detail is refreshing; while her hardworking, girl-from-the-suburbs demeanor is appealing. Her interactions with Daphne and the rest of the Trumpettes (great clothes, bad attitudes), along with her co-workers are enjoyable, while oft-times painful to witness. But it's her nights out with the trendy, yet totally dramatic roommates Gabe and Teagan that provide the most enjoyment. A mix of MTV's hit show THE HILLS, Nicole Clarke's FLIRT series, and Lisa Barham's A GIRL LIKE MOI, Karasyov and Kargman have penned a tale that will bring the claws out in everyone. Hike up your SKIRT and get ready for the summer of a lifetime!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer