Summary
It’s 1923 and London is a whirl of jazz, dancing and parties. Violet, Daisy, Poppy and Rose Derrington are desperate to be part of it, but stuck in an enormous crumbling house in the country, with no money and no fashionable dresses, the excitement seems a lifetime away.
Luckily the girls each have a plan for escaping their humdrum country life: Rose wants to be a novelist, Poppy a jazz musician and Daisy a famous film director. Violet, however, has only one ambition: to become the perfect Debutante, so that she can go to London and catch the eye of Prince George, the most eligible bachelor in the country.
But a house as big and old as Beech Grove Manor hides many secrets, and Daisy is about to uncover one so huge it could ruin all their plans—ruin everything—forever.
Paperback, 320 pages
Published August 2nd 2012 by Pan Macmillan Childrens
My Review
This is a hard review for me to write as I'm not quite sure where to start. I found Debutantes a little hard to get into, I got around 30 pages in and put it down, I went back to it again and I'm so glad I did, it ended up being a really enjoyable read. The four sisters, Rose, Poppy, Daisy and Violet are a real pleasure to get to know, they are all so unique and entirely different from each other, you will easily and quickly have a favourite although there will be qualities you will love in each of the girls. Debutantes has a really fun storyline that once you get into is both exciting and entrancing. This is beautifully written and imagined with some really well developed, intriguing characters. There are also lots of little twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the end.
Debutantes is set in the 1920's in London and the four Derrington sisters long to be a part of the lavish lifestyle with extravagant parties that all the other debutantes have. But unfortunately the girls are poor, they live in a big house that is falling down around them, with no extra money to repair their house they can hardly expect their father to pay for beautiful dresses and parties for Violet's coming out year.
A strange stroke of luck sees the girls dreams start to come true. But the ever intuitive Daisy knows there is more to this newcomer in the girls lives than meets the eye and she starts to unravel a shocking mystery that I really didn't see coming! And who do you think out of all the debutantes will catch the eye of the handsome prince?
The lead up to the ending is brilliant, but the ending itself is seriously abrupt and a little rushed, I actually thought my copy was missing some pages (which it wasn't). So this beautiful story with it's absolutely stunning cover has me eagerly anticipating the release of the second book as I really need to know more about these four sisters. Put Debutantes on your wishlists today if you are in need of a classy read.
*Special thanks to Macmillan for the review copy*
3/5 Stars
Carly :)
Debutantes is set in the 1920's in London and the four Derrington sisters long to be a part of the lavish lifestyle with extravagant parties that all the other debutantes have. But unfortunately the girls are poor, they live in a big house that is falling down around them, with no extra money to repair their house they can hardly expect their father to pay for beautiful dresses and parties for Violet's coming out year.
A strange stroke of luck sees the girls dreams start to come true. But the ever intuitive Daisy knows there is more to this newcomer in the girls lives than meets the eye and she starts to unravel a shocking mystery that I really didn't see coming! And who do you think out of all the debutantes will catch the eye of the handsome prince?
The lead up to the ending is brilliant, but the ending itself is seriously abrupt and a little rushed, I actually thought my copy was missing some pages (which it wasn't). So this beautiful story with it's absolutely stunning cover has me eagerly anticipating the release of the second book as I really need to know more about these four sisters. Put Debutantes on your wishlists today if you are in need of a classy read.
*Special thanks to Macmillan for the review copy*
3/5 Stars
Carly :)
It's so good that when you returned to this you found it a much better read, I really like when a book can surprise you like that and other than the quick ending, this sounds like a good book!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you still managed to enjoy this one, despite the few qualms you had with it! It definitely sounds like a great novel and I love stories that make me want to continue with the series! Wonderful review!(:
ReplyDelete~Keertana
Ivy Book Bindings
I agree the cover is definitely stunning! This book sounds really unique and wonderful. I love old fashioned stories, especially those in London! I'm going to add this one to my TBR right now =)
ReplyDeleteThanks for a lovely review.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether you got the review copy - the one with the plain cover. It's not the same as the final book which has an extra bit in and it was - I must admit - quite rushed
Hey Cora, thanks for dropping by! Yes it was a review copy, I will have to see about getting a finished copy now as I'm dying to read that little bit more. :)
DeleteArghh I can't stand abrupt endings! Despite that aspect, and the rocky start, I'm glad you ended up enjoying this. I've read mixed reviews so far but it does sound like a very interesting book. Lovely review, Carly! :)
ReplyDelete