Review: Being Audrey Hepburn

Being Audrey Hepburn by Mitchell Kriegman
Grade: D+
This e-galley was provided by St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: Lisbeth comes from a broken home in the land of tube tops, heavy eyeliner, frosted lip-gloss, juiceheads, hoop earrings and “the shore.” She has a circle of friends who have dedicated their teenage lives to relieve the world of all its alcohol one drink at a time.

Obsessed with everything Audrey Hepburn, Lisbeth is transformed when she secretly tries on Audrey’s iconic Givenchy. She becomes who she wants to be by pretending to be somebody she’s not and living among the young and privileged Manhattan elite. Soon she’s faced with choices that she would never imagine making – between who she’s become and who she once was.

In the tradition of The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada, this is a coming of age story that all begins with that little black dress…

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Well this book happened. I've had such a bad slump of review books lately, but I powered through and finished this one, even though there wasn't much to enjoy. I liked all the fashion descriptions and so forth, but Being Audrey Hepburn was a very slow read that then resolved much too quickly. There was less Audrey Hepburn than I expected, and that was disappointing. I found myself thinking the book was just downright weird or meh on several occasions. Overall, it was just a bit too unrealistic. Lisbeth herself was a mess (even though she claimed not to be). I felt like most of the characters, apart from maybe Jess, were very cardboard and stereotypical. I don't even know what Chase's role was; he felt very unnecessary, which stinks because I think he could've been a great character. Also worth noting is that I'm pretty sure this is classified as YA. While that fit the writing style, the ages of the main characters and a lot of the content was better suited for a New Adult novel.
Also, language was pretty bad for most of the book, romance had its hot-and-heavy moments, and there was a TON of partying and drinking. Not my scene at all - both in books and in real life.

The Verdict: Not as enchanting as I expected it to be. Being Audrey Hepburn was a big letdown.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble