Brooklyn Girls (Brooklyn Girls, #1)

by Gemma Burgess

[Leah]

When Gemma Burgess burst onto the Chick Lit scene three years ago, I was hooked! I flew through The Dating Detox, and I loved it! I similarily devoured her second novel A Girl Like You which was even better that her first, if that was even possible. So I was psyched when she said she’d signed a book deal for a new series of books, set around 5 girls living in a Brooklyn apartment and trying to get through their twenties as unscathed as possible. Pia Keller’s novel Brooklyn Girls is the first novel in the series and I nearly died when Gemma herself sent me an early copy to read. I devoured it, and I am so excited for this series, it’s going to be amazing!

What you get with a Gemma Burgess novel is that she tells it straight. She shoots straight from the hip. She knows what it’s like to have been a twenty-something (duh) and manages to nail it perfectly every time she writes a book. Pia Keller’s tale is no different. She’s Swiss-Indian, with people constantly asking her where she’s from, when she feels she belongs in New York. In Union Street. In Rookhaven. But she can’t get a job, because she has no experience and she can’t get experience because she can’t get a job. Catch-22. So after learning about food trucks, Pia decides to start her very own food truck, Skinny Wheels, catering to the masses of New York who want quick food but not fat food. Throw in a night in a cell, a beautiful man in a cab, and many drunken indiscretions and Pia’s life is a bit like a whirlwind, but can she make Skinny Wheels work?

I really enjoyed Brooklyn Girls, especially as Pia was a hot mess for most of the novel, because isn’t that what your twenties are all about? Being a hot mess. Well, apparently. (I wouldn’t know.) I liked even more than she was only 22, I liked how, as a recent graduate, she was trying to find herself a job but just couldn’t, and I could feel her frustration so that when she finally hit on the idea for Skinny Wheels, I was as happy for her as her friends were! I liked all the other bits, though, the drinking, partying, the sort-of feeling that you’re invincible at 22, though you’re not. (Obvs.) I enjoyed the introduction to all of Pia’s friends – and the future lead characters in the series!! Angie, Coco, Julia, Madeleine, all seem so interesting and individual and I’m really intrigued to read Angie’s and Coco’s stories, especially with all the intrigue surrounding both of them, ditto Madeleine. Julia’s the only one who seems sorted for a twenty-something.

I adored Brooklyn Girls, I love Gemma Burgess, I’d like her to release at least two novels a year to satisfy my craving for her novels. Her writing is so real, and that probably sounds stupid but there’s no other way to describe it. It’s honest, unflinching, amazing. She writes how I’d like other authors to write, though I don’t think other authors could manage it. I think you have to have a certain kind of knack to write like Gemma does, and she aces it every time. You have got to read this book, read this series, because Gemma’s one of the finest writers out there and you’ll easily be able to relate to Pia, who I loved. In fact, she has one of my favourite scenes, ever, when she’s working at Bartolo’s and confronts a horribly racist family, I loved how she stood up for herself, it was awesome. I also want to shout-out to Vic and Marie, the neighbours underneath the girls, they were so sweet and I’m definitely looking forward to more of them in future books, too! I can’t wait for Angie’s book and I gasped when I saw it isn’t out until Winter 2014 (AGES away!) but it’ll be worth the wait, I’m absolutely positive.