A small town girl becomes a hip hop diva. It's "Glitter" in novel form.
Critic Reviews
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Favorable
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Booklist Vanessa Bush
Kennedy, a fashion and entertainment writer, has a strong feel for character, dialogue, and the pulsing life of the hip-hop music scene. [15 May 2004, p. 1580]
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Favorable
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The Independent Kevin Le Gendre
Kennedy, whose insider knowledge is endorsed by a career as a Vibe and In Style scribe, is a punchy storyteller who unfurls her satirical narrative like an epic gossip column, letting all the industry sugar sparkle and rot in equal measure.
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Favorable
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The New Yorker
In this gleeful satire of the hip-hop glitterati, a girl from the sticks comes to New York to make it big and risks losing her soul along the way
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Mixed
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USA Today
Although somewhat juvenile in tone, Kennedy's narrative moves swiftly and is filled with memorable characters
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Mixed
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The New York Times Book Review Sia Michel
Though it's often funny, ''Bling'' is wildly overlong at 509 pages. Mimi doesn't hit enough lows to earn her happy ending. The implicit critique of mainstream hip-hop culture -- that all anyone cares about is money, fame and looking hot -- is old news, the complaint of rappers who don't sell records. And it's undermined by the lavish descriptions of parties and couture clothes.
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Mixed
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Library Journal Nancy Pearl
It's no surprise that reading Kennedy's oversized first novel is akin to reading Us Weekly and In Style, since she writes about entertainment and Fashion for both magazines. [July 2004, p. 71]
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Mixed
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Publishers Weekly
A firmer editorial hand could have chopped out a couple hundred pages and made the tale sleeker and just as lip-smacking.
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Mixed
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Boston Globe Joanne A. Skerrett
Bling is pure voyeurism, and it's easy to become engaged by this hip-hop version of the classic rags-to-riches story. It has hubris, tragedy, and comedy, but it lacks the depth that would make for more than a snappy summer read.
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Unfavorable
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Daily Telegraph Helen Brown
Hip-hop has always been about selling a fictionalised black urban experience for some serious dollars, and Kennedy has done just that. But I'd rather spend my holiday this year jumping around to some hot, phat beats than wading through the predictable plot and lukewarm prose of this unpackably fat book.
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Unfavorable
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Kirkus Reviews
Bling is just plain bland.
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