The Carrie Diaries Paperback – Bargain Price, April 26, 2011

Carrie Bradshaw. If you know the name, then you know the hit HBO series, Sex and the City; a show I began to love in high school, and still do, even though it ended years ago. Now, you can read what Carrie was like before she moved to the Big Apple. The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell features Carrie's life in Connecticut, in a small farming town.Carrie, an aspiring writer, is a senior who attends Castlebury High with her best friends: Walt, "The Mouse," Lali, and Maggie. Also in attendance are the two Jens and Donna LaDonna, the popular girls. This year, there's a new guy in town, Sebastian. Everyone who's anyone wants to date Sebastian, but Carrie has a secret, she has met Sebastian before, through her mother. Her mother and his morther went to school together and Carrie met him once at their house. Sebastian recognizes Carrie too, but just can't remember why. It's a race to see who will date Sebastian first, even though everyone thinks Donna LaDonna will win.Carrie and her friends spend senior year going to parties, crying, laughing, and pretending that college isn't as close as it actually is. The Mouse is the smart one of the bunch who plans on going to Yale, Walt is the guy all girls want to be friends with, Maggie is a drama queen, and Lali is Carrie's oldest and closest friend. Carrie is the oldest of three girls; her mother passed away a few years ago, leaving their father to raise them alone.Carrie begins to fall for Sebastian shortly after the start of the school year, and he, in return, begins to fall for her. The only problem is, Sebastian is not a one girl kind of guy. Then there's George, Carries new friend from Brown, the college she plans on attending after high school. Perfect George is every father's dream of a boyfriend, except Carrie doesn't like him in that way. Carrie learns that growing up isn't always about getting what you want, but getting what you need. She realizes that all you need during your last year of high school are good friends and a strong drink.I hated the first chapter of this book. I thought, "Oh great, another YA novel about high school, with bad writing." But once the first chapter ended, I realized it is a YA Sex and the City, except it is more like Sex and the Suburbs. These kids are nuts, but hilarious. I really enjoyed reading about the crazy adventures of Carrie and her friends. Carrie and her friends don't care about if they are popular or if they have the coolest clothes, all they care about is having a good time and making the most out of their senior year.What shocked me about this novel was how much drinking went on in high school. I thought to myself, "Did kids actually drink that much when I was in high school?" I certainly didn't. I was astounded by how these kids got into bars, ordered drinks, and chain smoked like it was their job. But then again, the Carrie Bradshaw we all know and love from TV drinks like a fish and smokes like a camel. I guess she had to start somewhere, and that somewhere is high school.The Carrie Diaries touches on a lot of typical high school subjects: sexuality, drinking, drugs, promiscuity, and bad drivers. All the stuff you learn about in health class rolled into one page-turning book. Carrie's writing aspirations are inspiring, she knows what she wants and even though she hasn't written anything important until her senior year, she knows she wants to be a writer. Reminds me of my senior year, and my dreams of becoming a writer; the dream is still out there, waiting for me to make it happen.The last line of the book is what makes it an awesome read. I wish I could say more, but I don't want to spoil it. For a big Sex and the City fan, the ending is spectacular.

We meet Carrie as she begins her senior year of high school and see the beginnings of what will one day become the Carrie Bradshaw that we know from the " Sex and the City " series and movies. We see the start of her unique fashion sense, her obsession with fine shoes (starting in kindergarten), and even the beginnings of her "Carrie" necklace when she designs her own handbag with "Carrie" written on it. We also see the start of her writing career, her attitude toward boys/men, her feelings about love and sex, and her search for "the one." Ironically, as a teen, Carrie is interested in maintaining her virginity and doesn't have much interest in sex like she does when she gets older. I thought this was a great twist because I could definitely see where this would be how she began.Despite being categorized as a "young adult" book, this novel was written both for the young adult audience it's going for, as well as the adult lover of the "Sex and the City" characters. It captures the feeling of being in high school where kids all have heightened emotions, yet it didn't feel immature. It felt relatable.The novel was very well-written, and I can tell that Candace Bushnell has matured as a writer since she first authored the poorly written " Sex and the City " novel in 1997. I was disappointed having read the original book while enjoying the TV series in its heyday. I'm glad that the writers of the show took out only the basic elements from the book in the development of the series and its four main characters. Now, thankfully, Bushnell captures the Carrie that we all have grown to know and love.Although called "The Carrie Diaries," thankfully, this book is not written in a diary format. It reads more like a series of "Sex and the City" articles similar to the ones that Carrie Bradshaw wrote/writes for her newspaper column. As I read the book, I could almost hear Sarah Jessica Parker's voice speaking to the audience, and pondering questions about life and relationships as she did on the popular HBO show and movies. There was only one chapter near the end that felt a bit disjointed with the other chapters. It contains fragmented sentences and is inconsistent with the format of the rest of the book. I felt like it was Bushnell's attempt to actually write a chapter in diary format, but when the rest of the chapters aren't written this way, it makes reading it very jarring.Yes, there are some story elements and "facts" that don't coincide with what we know about Carrie from the TV series character and, while it doesn't detract from the content of the book, I can see where it could be disappointing to some diehard SATC fans. However, I didn't let it bother my enjoyment of the book (or Carrie). Granted, Bushnell should have followed the history and facts presented in the TV show (which was much more popular -- and far more superior in quality -- than her original novel), because it's not like the show was adapted from a series of books (like Harry Potter). But "The Carrie Diaries" still reads well as a stand-alone young adult/teen novel, although it reads just as well for the adult reader.I'd give the book 4 1/2 stars, but because Amazon doesn't offer these, I'm rounding up to five stars for "The Carrie Diaries" and looking forward to the next installment.

I'm not a big fan of Sex and the City; I've only ever seen a couple of episodes, and I fell asleep halfway through the first film. Despite my ignorance, I do know the general story of the four New York socialites, though my knowledge is hazy at best. When I first heard about The Carrie Diaries, I had no interest in it at all. Then I read a few reviews, and thought it sounded a bit like Gossip Girl. That was enough to make me want to read it, and I'm so glad I did.Teenage Carrie Bradshaw is a driven, ambitious girl who has her head screwed on tightly. She doesn't let anyone, whether it be friends or boys, push her around, and she does what she wants to do. She's faced with all the usual teenage grievances, including bad boyfriends, high school back-stabbing and the constant pressure to lose her virginity. She doesn't let peer pressure sway her decisions, and for that I absolutely admired her strength of character. Her interest in writing is an outlet of sorts, and proves to be a very worthwhile hobby that, thankfully, she pursues.In addition to Carrie, this book also has some fantastic secondary characters. Walt and The Mouse are my favourites, and I like to think they stay in touch with Carrie in the future, as they really are the best kind of friends a girl could have. Bad boy Sebastian and nice, normal George provide the romantic element of the story and, though I preferred Sebastian (don't ask me why I go for the bad ones, 'cause I don't know), George is definitely the more reliable of the two. As Greenday once said: nice guys finish last. But hey, at least they try.Things get a little too convenient for Carrie every now and then, and that's my only real criticism of the story. One of the plot threads involves an article in a school newspaper, and I think if that particular scenario had happened in reality, it would have been dealt with a lot more severely, rather than being condoned.The Carrie Diaries is pure chick-litty goodness. It's got romance, gossip, high school banter and a feisty female heroine. It's a journey of self-discovery, as well as a no holds barred look at the obstacles that can stand in the way of family, friends and dreams. I really hope Bushnell continues Carrie's YA story, as I want to read more!

I bought this book on the back of being a huge fan of The Carrie Diaries TV show, I have never watched an episode of Sex & The City in my life so I can't comment on things on that front but I absolutely love this book, its obviously set in the 80s so it is social media free (very refreshing!), its full of boys, teen troubles, friendship and shows Carrie heading off towards her dream writing career. The ending of the book would probably interest fans of Sex & The City into picking up the next one.

As a fan of Sex and the City, I was very excited at first about reading about Carrie before 'Sex and the City' however I was a little disappointed in The Carrie Diaries. It had a bit of a slow start and has got a 'High School Musical' without the 'Sex and the City' glam NYC feel to the writing style, however the story's flow is excellent and you will definitely have flash backs to your school days while reading. I enjoyed the book but it was just ok for me and I will recommend it as a light, easy read.

So teen-girly, loved every word of the book at times tho I did feel like it was a bit slow but I couldn't put it down. A little bit different from the TV show (TV: Carries dad left when she was 5 no siblings BOOK: Her mom passed away leaving her dad & 2 sisters behind) I didn't really like that it did not match the show but it was still good. 100% for teen girls 13-21 I'm 16 x

Initially I found this book hard to get into, it is aimed at teenagers so it is written quite young. However as you progress through the book you learn alot about Carrie's life before sex and the city. I would recommend it for any woman who is a fan of sex and the city as it does give you quite a bit of insight into Carrie starting her writing career. I'm about to start Summer in the city now.