The Bling Ring

How a Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World

By: Nancy Jo Sales

Narrated by: Kathleen Mary Carthy

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The true story that inspired the Sofia Coppola film.

Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson: robbed. More than $3 million in stolen clothing, jewelry, shoes, and handbags reported missing. Who is behind one of the most brazen string of crimes in recent Hollywood history? Meet the Bling Ring: a band of club-hopping teenagers from the Valley with everything to lose.

Over the course of a year, the members of the now infamous Bling Ring allegedly burglarized some of the biggest names in young Hollywood. Driven by celebrity worship, vanity, and the desire to look and dress like the rich and famous, these seven teenagers made headlines for using Google maps, Facebook, and TMZ to track the comings and goings of their targets. Many of the houses were unlocked. Alarms disabled. A "perfect" crime - celebrities already had so much, why shouldn't the Bling Ring take their share?

As the unprecedented case unfolded in the news, the world asked: How did our obsession with celebrities get so out of hand? Why would a group of teens who already had so much, take such a risk?

Acclaimed Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales found the answer: they did it because each stolen T-shirt or watch brought them closer to living the Hollywood dream... and because it was terrifyingly easy. For the Bling Ring the motivation was something deeper than money - they were compelled by a compulsion to be famous. Gaining unprecedented access to the group of teens, Sales traces the crimes minute by minute and details the key players' stories in a shocking look at the seedy, and troubling, world of the real young Hollywood.

©2013 Nancy Jo Sales (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

Sad story of our celebrity obsessed culture

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed the story but found that it jumped around a lot. I had a hard time following. It seemed out of order and I couldn't keep the characters straight.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not at all.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was monotone and it made me sleepy! It was hard to listen to for more than ten minutes at a time.

Was The Bling Ring worth the listening time?

I am glad I know the back story and I hope to see the movie soon, so yes.

Any additional comments?

I think I would have liked this better if it had been a different narrator.

The Author is terrible

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story is fascinating, but not presented well in this book. There are tangents about drones and Columbine as she tries to make her point about narcissistic teenagers. Also, there is some pearl clutching about the case, she seems genuinely perplexed about why these kids felt entitled to steal from celebrities. She laments how obsessed the kids are with designer brands and then glorifies the luxurious lifestyles of the celebrity victims- like the biggest crime of all was not being able to afford Louboutins.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Likely the OITNB book from the real "Alex Vause."

What three words best describe Kathleen Mary Carthy’s voice?

raspy?

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Bling Ring?

This was presented like a book-length magazine article rather than a cohesive narrative of the actual crime, the culture that encouraged it, and the motivation behind committing the crime. I was expecting less procedure and more narrative. Not so much.

Any additional comments?

I don't usually critique writing, because I don't have a contract with a publisher, but this book is all over the place.

Difficult to follow

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I did not stay interested, my mind wandered while listening to it.

What was most disappointing about Nancy Jo Sales’s story?

It seemed to repeat the same information over and over again.

What didn’t you like about Kathleen Mary Carthy’s performance?

She had the same voice for every character, I could not keep them straight.

What character would you cut from The Bling Ring?

I still can't keep them straight.

Any additional comments?

This may be a book you need to read instead of listening to, as I found it confusing.

Badly written, badly narrated.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Huge distraction. Had clearly not pre-read the book. Frequent pronunciation errors, stumbles and zero flow to the reading.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Interesting story, but written with all the style and much of the content of a high school term paper. Incessant citation and date inserts nuked any narrative flow.