Trading Up
by Candace Bushnell
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2631)
Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone
gw ga suka sama buku candace bushnell yang satu ini, yang jelas membosankan!!
menggambarkan kehidupan seseorang yang sangat benar-benar membosankan! suka mengeluh! tidak menyukai dunianya tapi harus menyukainya! ada cerita dimana 2 pasangan yang udah married tiba2 menjadi unfaithful! model yang menyukai seorang pria tapi menikahi pria lain demi status! wanita yang tidak punya otak utk menghargai pekerjaan suaminya dan menghambur2kan uang, pergi kepesta tanpa memahami perasaan suaminya,tapi be...more
menggambarkan kehidupan seseorang yang sangat benar-benar membosankan! suka mengeluh! tidak menyukai dunianya tapi harus menyukainya! ada cerita dimana 2 pasangan yang udah married tiba2 menjadi unfaithful! model yang menyukai seorang pria tapi menikahi pria lain demi status! wanita yang tidak punya otak utk menghargai pekerjaan suaminya dan menghambur2kan uang, pergi kepesta tanpa memahami perasaan suaminya,tapi be...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Brittany by:
Gillianrecommends it for: People who enjoy chick lit
How I Came To Read This Book: I believe my sister purchased this book as I found it when rummaging in her closet for my books.
The Plot: Janey Wilcox (first seen in Bushnell's series of Novellas 4 Blondes) is in her early 30's - but she's showing no signs of slowing down. Always scheming, always gorgeous, Janey feels like she is finally on top as a Victoria's Secret Model. The book centres around Janey as she navigates the social worlds of New York City through marriage, friendship, and scand...more
The Plot: Janey Wilcox (first seen in Bushnell's series of Novellas 4 Blondes) is in her early 30's - but she's showing no signs of slowing down. Always scheming, always gorgeous, Janey feels like she is finally on top as a Victoria's Secret Model. The book centres around Janey as she navigates the social worlds of New York City through marriage, friendship, and scand...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
I loved Sex & The City, so I am hoping that this one will be good too. However, after reading the first chapter, I am already disgusted with the main character. And unfortunately, I am the type of person that has to finish a book once I start reading it...so we'll see.
A few days later...Okay, I gave it another try and gave up. I have no desire to finish this book and will not recommend it. Stories about the fashion world and the glamorous life of the rich and famous can be tastefully...more
A few days later...Okay, I gave it another try and gave up. I have no desire to finish this book and will not recommend it. Stories about the fashion world and the glamorous life of the rich and famous can be tastefully...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
Dear Candace,
Please stop writing female characters with no depth of soul. I am a women and yet capable of thought. I am capable of getting a job and supporting myself. I am capable of dating people because I like them and not because they are rich. I am capable of having friends who I don't back-stab.
If you were a man I would accuse you of hating women, however, I believe I will have to look for another excuse for your writing.
In the meantime please cease and desist.
Love.
Me
Please stop writing female characters with no depth of soul. I am a women and yet capable of thought. I am capable of getting a job and supporting myself. I am capable of dating people because I like them and not because they are rich. I am capable of having friends who I don't back-stab.
If you were a man I would accuse you of hating women, however, I believe I will have to look for another excuse for your writing.
In the meantime please cease and desist.
Love.
Me
Like this review?
yes
(4 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
This is one of those dirty indulgences because books by Candace Bushnell are not difficult reading by any means, but they hit up all those things you secretly love to hear about but would never do yourself. As most of you know, Candace Bushnell is also the author of "Sex in the City."
This book is much like many of her other books in following the journey of a young woman in the city that struggles to make ends meet. With a lot of men, wine, and hairy situations, you love and hate her...more
This book is much like many of her other books in following the journey of a young woman in the city that struggles to make ends meet. With a lot of men, wine, and hairy situations, you love and hate her...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2006
recommends it for:
ladies who need a poolside book
I picked up this book because it was the only book in English that I could find at a German train station. I was on a bus tour that was 12 hours long and so I was kind of forced to read it just to keep from gouging my eyes out....and...
I was surprised! It was actually very good. It takes you to Upper Class NYC lifestyle and while the motifs are superficial, the characters facades are well-developed and interesting to follow. While the protagonist is a flake, there are moments when you see in...more
I was surprised! It was actually very good. It takes you to Upper Class NYC lifestyle and while the motifs are superficial, the characters facades are well-developed and interesting to follow. While the protagonist is a flake, there are moments when you see in...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
someone looking for a mindless beach read.
I really enjoyed the show Sex & the City, so when I found this book in the bargain aisle, I figured it would make good beach read. It was a decent read to pass the time on the beach, but it didn't really draw me in. The characters were too superficial. They weren't developed enough to make me care about them or even really be overly interested in what happened to them. With Sex & the City, even though you might not always like what the characters do, there is always some redeeming qualit...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Coming from a gal who normally loves shallow chick-lit (think the "Shopaholic" series, "Bergdorf Blondes", "Devil Wears Prada", etc. etc...) "Trading Up" didn't even serve my only purpose for it: to be a mindless beach read while on vacation. I struggled through about 60 or 70 dull, tedious pages before I finally gave up on it. Fortunately, I found it in B&N's bargain bin for only 5 or 6 bucks. Unfortunately, I also wasted another 5 or 6 bucks on &qu...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
Not quite the same cover but almost.
I enjoyed this - I stayed up until 12:30 to finish it a day after starting it. I love Candace Bushnell's ballsy heroines, even if they are unlikeable - at least they've got some go in them! And Janey Wilcox was certainly that. I like the fact that you could see how she went down the road to end up as the person she was, although you didn't find that out until much later on in the story.
I say again that Bushnell is in league with Jackie Collins, althoug...more
I enjoyed this - I stayed up until 12:30 to finish it a day after starting it. I love Candace Bushnell's ballsy heroines, even if they are unlikeable - at least they've got some go in them! And Janey Wilcox was certainly that. I like the fact that you could see how she went down the road to end up as the person she was, although you didn't find that out until much later on in the story.
I say again that Bushnell is in league with Jackie Collins, althoug...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Like many of you, I buy books at the airport because I left my brain at home and forgot to bring one myself. I loved Sex and the City so I decided this would be a nice, big book to get me through the long trip.
It was difficult to stay up with all the characters and their particular situations, even up until the very end. It seemed like everyone was on their own agenda, and, unlike a Guy Richtie film where everything comes together, this was not the case.
My weakness is reading books abo...more
It was difficult to stay up with all the characters and their particular situations, even up until the very end. It seemed like everyone was on their own agenda, and, unlike a Guy Richtie film where everything comes together, this was not the case.
My weakness is reading books abo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
Picked this one up at the library after re-scanning an inherited copy of Sex and the City. While wasn't crazy about SATC, it's a chef d'oeuvre compared to the crap this author has churned out since, most notably this one. Boasts none of the smirking irreverance that 'Sex...' did, which makes one wonder how much editing went on for that one as opposed to her other titles. Why I keep reading her I'm not quite sure...even the trashiest Harlequins hold more literary merit. So jealous of this woman'...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
no one
Do yourself a favor and NEVER READ THIS. I give it zero stars.
This book was the worst piece of crap ever written. I have a problem when it comes to books in that I have to finish reading a book once I start it. I hate myself for finishing this one. I'm dumber for having read it and will never, ever read a Candace Bushnell book again.
Awful.
This book was the worst piece of crap ever written. I have a problem when it comes to books in that I have to finish reading a book once I start it. I hate myself for finishing this one. I'm dumber for having read it and will never, ever read a Candace Bushnell book again.
Awful.
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
1 comments
Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
Fans of SATC/chick lit
I liked this book a lot. Bushnell does a much better job of writing characters you can care about in this book than in her other novels. They are more complex and sympathetic, although not always likeable (which I'm fine with.) One thing I enjoy about this book is that it's a snapshot of NYC society at the end of the millenium, written after 9/11. Although she doesn't mention or even allude to 9/11 (except maybe once, very indirectly), there is definitely an ironic feel to the decadence of t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2004
Reading this book was painful and horrifying. I was astonished to find that anyone could think up so many shallow topics and characters on which to write. However, I found myself compelled to finish the book, hoping all along that Janie, the main character, would eventually do the right thing. I did, however, find some of the character names, locations, corporations and New York-isms both clever and interesting.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
OK... I am now officially swearing off 'chick lit' for good! I enjoyed 'Sex and the City' as a casual viewer, and was curious to know what Candace Bushnell's writing was like... my curiosity is now sated... though my desire for decent reading material is not!
This book was full of silly self-involved characters, with some of the silliest character names I've ever read! And frankly, I just wasn't engaged or entertained by the plot.
Another reader may enjoy this book... but I just found it tedio...more
This book was full of silly self-involved characters, with some of the silliest character names I've ever read! And frankly, I just wasn't engaged or entertained by the plot.
Another reader may enjoy this book... but I just found it tedio...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2005
Janie Wilcox is a Victoria’s Secret cover model, summering in the Hamptons and hoping for love. She finds a polo player she admires, but when her new girlfriend begins an affair with him she quickly finds a movie executive to marry. However, her past indiscretions and her ambitions come back to haunt her, threatening her happiness and her marriage.
Vapid and fairly unbelievable main character, but fun beach reading nonetheless. Recommended for a “mindless” read.
Vapid and fairly unbelievable main character, but fun beach reading nonetheless. Recommended for a “mindless” read.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
i read the first 75 pages and couldn't imagine reading the remaining 325. it reads with this snobby tone of pretentiousness, not in a satiric or sharp/witty way, but in total seriousness! there's no balance! every character is either hoping to screw someone over, hoping to get screwed, or insecure because they're not as fabulously screwable as another. there's only so much of that before you have to say, i dont' have time for this... completely heartless, and un-S&TC..
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Fun, totally underrated, and maybe misunderstood. This is a contemporary update of The House of Mirth, which makes it a creative, ambitious project. The plot mirrors that of the Wharton novel until the end, where the shameless, LA-based, culture of entertainment allows the protagonist to survive her exclusion from rule-bound New York society. Yes, that protagonist is shallow and bitchy, but she has her demons, and Lily Bart was hardly without shortcomings.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in December, 2007
well, this book was not what i expected. it really wasn't that good and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone. it was trashy, the girl was a slut, so it was entertaining in a way, if you like that sort of stuff. i guess it's a different book from what i've been reading so maybe that's why i kept reading it? in all, it was just really slow for me and the author would go on and on and on about one stupid subject for about 2 pages and it drove me nuts!!!!!!
Like this review?
yes
4 comments
Read in August, 2007
I am not liking this book. The main character is a bitch.
So I thought that maybe the main character would get better and would quit being a spoiled rich girl who just uses people. Nope, I was wrong. She continued to be like that for the whole 403 pages that is Trading Up. I'm not impressed. Why does Candace Bushnell write like this? Was the original Sex and the City like this? I sure hope not, otherwise I don't think I would be a fan.
So I thought that maybe the main character would get better and would quit being a spoiled rich girl who just uses people. Nope, I was wrong. She continued to be like that for the whole 403 pages that is Trading Up. I'm not impressed. Why does Candace Bushnell write like this? Was the original Sex and the City like this? I sure hope not, otherwise I don't think I would be a fan.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
