Summer and the City

A Carrie Diaries Novel, Book 2

By: Candace Bushnell

Narrated by: Jenna Lamia

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Summer is a magical time in New York City and Carrie is in love with all of it - the crazy characters in her neighborhood, the vintage-clothing boutiques, the wild parties, and the glamorous man who has swept her off her feet. Best of all, she's finally in a real writing class, taking her first steps toward fulfilling her dream.

This sequel to The Carrie Diaries brings surprising revelations as Carrie learns to navigate her way around the Big Apple, going from being a country "sparrow" - as Samantha Jones dubs her - to the person she always wanted to be. But as it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile her past with her future, Carrie realizes that making it in New York is much more complicated than she ever imagined.

With her signature wit and sparkling humor, Candace Bushnell reveals the irresistible story of how Carrie met Samantha and Miranda, and what turned a small-town girl into one of New York City's most unforgettable icons, Carrie Bradshaw.

Listen to more of Carrie’s Diaries.

©2011 Candace Bushnell (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Just Alright

Let me preface this by saying that Jenna Lamia is one of my all-time favorite narrators, but I like Sarah Drew better reading this series. This was not as good as The Carrie Diaries. It definitely improved in the last quarter. I haven't read the Sex and the City book, so maybe I'm wrong here, but I feel like Bushnell is pulling ideas and characters from the TV series because she knows it is more popular that the original book. For instance, a young woman named Charlotte makes a cameo in the last scene. She is searching for a husband in NYC. Wasn't Charlotte a minor character in the SATC book who was British? This was just alright. I really liked Carrie in The Carrie Diaries. I started to dislike her here.

Fresh and Entertaining

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes..it's a light insightful look into teens becoming women in today's society

What other book might you compare Summer and the City to and why?

Any of Candice Bushnell's books are wonderful

What does Jenna Lamia bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her tones and inflections as a reader are wonderful!

Who was the most memorable character of Summer and the City and why?

Carrie of course!

Any additional comments?

This is a great listen..buy it!

Love love love

I love this so much I wish there were a 3rd installment! I love baby Bradshaw!

a homerun

my only complaint was the long wait for my dear Charlotte. narrator's Samantha was dead on.

Fun listen!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, if you really want to know how Carrie Bradshaw got started this is a fun story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Carrie

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

How Carrie Bradshaw met New York

Any additional comments?

This was a fun story. I listened to the first book and just had to find out more. The characters were good and the situations interesting. If you really want to know how Carrie Bradshaw got to New York this is a cool way to find out. Samantha was a hoot and I loved Miranda.

Some disappointments:
I didn't like that the character Charlotte took too long to come in the picture. This could also be a way to lead into another book though. Keep you hanging right?
There were a few things that were a bit unrealistic like Carrie's love interest. This was just a little far fetched, I was waiting for her to ditch him or him her. The idea that she was seeing someone that was so much older than her and he not know how young she was just seemed dumb. But...it didn't prevent me from listening.
The teacher was a creep, I didn't think this story line was important at all.

All in all this was great. I loved the television series, so it was wonderful to connect with the characters again.

I'm not sure I like this Carrie

Carrie Bradshaw arrives in NYC at the tender age of seventeen. She is young, naive, and inexperienced. But, she has a lot of spirit and endeavors to leave her old life behind and conquer the big apple. In some ways, she is different from the Carrie of the television series. For instance, she can cook. And it is nice to see how the four women originally meet and become friends. However, the Carrie Bradshaw in this novel is sometimes very annoying. My brow was often furrowed. Instead of coming across as young and naive, she can sometimes come across as young and stupid.

The book is well written and I thought the narrator did a great job. Just note that even if you were a fan of the t.v. series, you may not be a fan of the book. It was, unfortunately, a bit of a disappointment for me.

it nothing like sex in the city .

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

Like I say it ok .

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Not interesting at all .

How could the performance have been better?

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Summer and the City?

She need to see more of what she read

Any additional comments?

None