Book Review: Semi-Charmed Life by Nora Zelevansky

Semi-Charmed Life by Nora Zelevansky

Paperback, 336 pages

Published: July 3rd 2012 by St. Martin's Press 

Review Copy: Digital ARC
Purchase: Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Description from Goodreads:

In Nora Zelevansky’s hilarious debut, Semi-Charmed Life, an Upper West Side naïf, Beatrice Bernstein, gets swept up in the seemingly magical life of socialite Veruca Pfeffernoose, while ghost writing her blog. Veruca’s glitteringly opulent world soon seduces Beatrice away from her own insular, arty family with a promise of fancy parties, travel outside Manhattan (for once) and one desperately cute guy. But when her new glitzy lifestyle starts to take on dark undertones, Beatrice has to decide who she is—once and for all. With her own magical touch, Zelevansky deftly explores the world of rarified Manhattan in this sparkling modern fairy tale of first love, finding one’s voice and growing up.

My rating: 4.5/5 Stars.
My Review:

Let’s start this review off with a fun quote from the story, shall we?

With her ceaseless energy, unconscious hair twirling, and general lightness, Dolly, Beatrice often thought, would have made a fabulous Muppet.

I love it when a book surprises me, and that is exactly what SEMI-CHARMED LIFE did. I hadn’t heard much about this novel before being contacted by St. Martin’s to review the title. Had they not contacted me, I probably would have missed out on this one, which would have been a shame because I genuinely enjoyed Zelevansky’s debut.

SEMI-CHARMED LIFE is about Beatrice Bernstein, a college senior desperate for change. She ends up finding that change with the help of Veruca Pfeffernoose, a socialite that will change Beatrice's life forever...but not before turning it completely upside down.

Beatrice wants to explore, to leave New York and experience what the world has to offer. But her parents insist that there is no reason to leave New York, because they have everything that they could possibly want right there in New York. When Beatrice wishes for freedom, little does she know that very freedom will come in the form of Veruca Pfeffernoose, a popular socialite, and the H.O.S - Veruca's entourage. But not all is as it seems. Beatrice will unearth secrets about the H.O.S that'll make her question what is real and what is fake.

What I loved most about SEMI-CHARMED LIFE is that it is ultimately a story about self discovery. Beatrice is so caught up in what she thinks she wants, and the life that she thinks she wants to live, that it isn't until she meets Veruca, that she begins to understand the life that she actually wants. I think a lot of people in their twenties experience something along those lines, at least, I know that I have. Sometimes we think we need something better, that our life as it is just isn't enough, but it's only because we're too blind to see what is sitting in front of us.

SEMI-CHARMED LIFE is the perfect beach read. It’s a fun book that readers can easily lose themselves in. There's wit. There's romance. There's drama. It's everything that I was looking for in my next read without even realizing it.
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Thank you to St. Martin's Press for allowing me to review this title.