I borrowed this book from work (when you work at my store, you're allowed taking books home for 2 weeks. How cool is that?) a while back. I picked it up for one obvious reason: it's written by Snooki! I've never actually seen Jersey Shore, except for the first half of the first episode, which I had to shut off. I've followed Snooki in the tabloids, though, so I'm pretty familiar with her escapades. I decided to read this book for a laugh, thinking it would be the absolute biggest piece of trash I've ever set eyes on.
I was right, for a while. The first page introduces the main character, Gia, who pretty much looks exactly like Snooki. Gia is in the process of getting her signature poof up for a night out. Gia and her cousin, Bella, are spending time at the Jersey shore this summer. They're ready to spend the summer partying and meeting boys. Gia wants to meet a nice gorilla juicehead (read: large Italian man on steroids), and Bella is looking to get over her last boyfriend.
They hit Seaside Heights like a hurricane, causing destruction and chaos wherever they go. They get into completely ridiculous situations, from "rescuing" a shark on the beach and setting a building on fire, to getting involved with a boy who's up to no good and his equally slimy best friend. They also run into some of Gia's old jealous classmates, who are out to ruin her summer (and her life). Honestly, it seemed like there was never a dull moment for Bella and Gia.
Of course, each girl ends up finding a guy during the course of the book - Gia with Frank, a fireman, and Bella with her employer, the manager of a gym. Each couple runs into many problems during their relationship, breaking up or fighting in almost every chapter.
Each chapter plays out like an episode of Jersey Shore, making the whole book like watching a whole season. This made for very interesting reading. It's not a fantastic piece of literature, or anything, but I found it difficult to put the book down at times.
I did find this book slow to read, though. Normally I'm a very fast reader, and I'm able to knock back a book (or two or three) in a day. I took over a week to finish this book. It's not because the language is too complicated (ha!) or even that the story dragged. My guess is since there's SO MUCH information in this book, and so much drama, my brain just took longer to process it.
Snooki definitely put a lot of herself in this book, and I could picture her saying everything as I read it. She did write this with the help of a ghostwriter, but based on the writing itself I think they only helped her to get her ideas onto paper. This book is all Snooki. It's no Jane Eyre, but it's funny, and I was definitely rooting for Gia and Bella, as annoying as they were at points.
Not bad for a first time author, at all. I was pleasantly surprised with this one! Wait for the paperback this summer or borrow it from the library, but don't avoid this just because it's Snooki! Perfect for a trashy beach read this summer - it's like being in Seaside Heights without actually having to go there and deal with the guidos/guidettes :)
SCORE: 7/10
IF YOU LIKE: L.A. Candy (Lauren Conrad), The Rules According to JWoww (Jenni Farley)
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