In A Shore Thing, cousins Gia and Bella head to the Seaside Heights in New Jersey for the summer. They plan to get jobs while they are there, but mainly they are after "hot guidos, cool clubs, fried Oreos, and lots of tequila." They soon meet the locals (some good; some bad) in addition to some frenemies from their school days. The summer is filled with fun, men, squabbles and trouble. In the end, the girls learn that revenge is sweet and that they really can count on each other.I'm really not the target audience for this book, so I feel a little funny reviewing it. I didn't much about Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi before I'd received this book for review, other than she was a young, energetic celebrity. As for her show Jersey Shore, I didn't watch it and didn't know anything about it. Despite that, I did make some assumptions about the book before reading it. I was expecting something flaky that was filled with sex, drugs, slang, cursing, drinking and assorted other bad behaviours.
Having said all that, I wasn't expecting to like it or understand it. But I did...sort of. As for my assumptions, I was mostly wrong. There were lots of funny bits scattered throughout the book. The chapter heading were really cute and described the chapters perfectly. Some of the parts were totally unbelievable and almost spoof-like, but still fun to read. In addition to the funny parts, there were some touching, tender moments that were likeable, sincere and mostly believable. These scenes were: between Gia and Frankie in the park; between Gia and her mom, Alicia; and between Bella and her mom, Marissa. The "trying-to-be-deep" or philosophical parts didn't really work for me. Most of us think we are so deep in our twenties. It's not until we reach our thirties and forties do we realize we knew nothing back then. Snooki might just need a little more maturity to pull those off.
Even though the story was mostly fun to read, there were a few moments that made me cringe. At one point, Gia sticks her hand down the pants of a body builder. Ewwww! I won't share the details of what she finds. That was even too much for me.
The side stories added interest and tension to the story. The bet between Ed and Bender was degrading to women, but it was still fun to follow. Linda and Janey, Gia's frenemies from way back, had ulterior motives much to the detriment of Gia. I loved how both of these stories were resolved in the end.
Favourite quotes: Ok. So this isn't great literature and my favourite quotes will not go down as great ones. However, I found the following two lines funny because rather than act as apologies as they were intended, they just reinforced the insults.
I'm sorry I called you a back-stabbing, buzz-killing shit-talker. (Gia to Bella - page 227)
I'm sorry I called you a cock-blocking, helpless disaster magnet. (Bella to Gia - page 227)
New words: I couldn't find definitions for either of these on the internet. I'm assuming they are slang. Hopefully, someone will drop by and leave a comment.
- nabe (page 4) - short for neighbourhood?
- kronking (page 38) - not sure about this one. Context: girls were at a party. Sentence: "Everywhere, people were grinding, kronking, holding plastic cups of beer".
I watched a few videos on Snooki's website and about 15 minutes of the show to see what she was like. She may be a nut job (her words) and not the brightest penny in the jar (my words), but she's definitely a cutie and seems really sincere. I can't wait to see what she does next.
Recommended for fans of Jersey Shore. It also might work as a very light, silly beach read. It's not appropriate for youngsters.
For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit Simon and Schuster's website.
For more information about the author, please visit Snooki's website. There also some basic information about her on Wikipedia.
I'd like to thank those nice people at Simon & Schuster for this review copy.
A Shore Thing by Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster), ©2011. ISBN 9781451623741(Hardcover), 289p.
OMG. not in a million years did I think to find you reviewing this book. Will wonders never cease.
ReplyDeleteOk, I'll admit, this show is watched religiously every week at my house. My niece is responsible, so started it all. Now she has gone home and my kids sit on the sofa with their laptops and send her messages all through the show. It's not that they love the show, but that they are addicted to what outrageous thing the cast will do next.
I usually make them a toaster pastry snack and try to escape elsewhere in the house. This week their pastries were decorated with 'GTL' and 'T-Shirt Time'.