City of Girls

3/5 stars

It seems I may be alone in this opinion based on all of the raving reviews I read before picking up, City of Girls.

Yes, the writing is beautiful. Yes, the vivid character and scenery descriptions transport you back to New York City in the 1940s. But there were several parts in the book when I questioned what the overall point was. By the time I reached the end, page 466 to be exact, my thoughts were why was this not pared down to 300 pages?

The first half described so much in such great detail. The second half somehow crammed about 30+ years into the remaining pages. I was left feeling like the ending was wrapped up too quickly without much explanation for the length of the book. It was just so slow to me.

The ending held no surprises to me. Again, I was questioning what the point was and then remembered the point was for Vivian to tell her life story. Technically she did, focusing almost entirely on ages 19-24 and then practically skipping the rest of her life.

So much of it felt disjointed, but I’m not typically one who reads historical fiction so maybe that’s why I had so much trouble with this book. The big picture is fun and intriguing as it depicts a glamorous (and not so glamorous) New York City. If that’s your thing, then this is the book for you. And yes, there were good lessons and I enjoyed the journey to female empowerment, I was just hoping for a more fast-paced book.

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