Rachel Vail: Lucky, Gorgeous, Brilliant

 *** SPOILER ALERT***

The most interesting thing about this series of three books (Lucky, Gorgeous, Brilliant) was watching the same stories unfold from three different points of view. Three very different points of view, in fact--major events from one story don't even appear in the others. Also each one covers a slightly different block of time, which makes everything even more complicated and compelling.

That said, the girls are going through life events that I probably don't have as much sympathy for as I should. And I don't think that's my fault. They're portrayed as poor little rich girls who are losing some of their privilege because of a family financial crisis. They are incredibly spoiled and unaware of it. And they behave badly, acting out in trite, self-endangering ways that just made me want to slap them. Really, you go get drunk at a stupid party to get back at your parents?

I don't really know that the author realizes how unsympathetic extreme privilege is, especially when it is completely unappreciated by the characters. I'm guessing 99% of the readers are not as privileged as these girls. When their problems had to do with normal life stuff, like a teacher being unfair or wanting to write a good paper or having trouble studying, it was fine, but when your major life crisis is that your Steinway grand piano got taken away, well, boo-hoo. It's so over the top that it's ludicrous and I lost any connection I had with that girl. They have *another piano.* And it's not like we ever saw her playing it, or loving it, or connecting with it in any way. No, we *hear* that she played it a lot and then we see that she's sad when it's gone. That feels like she's sad because she doesn't have her huge status symbol anymore.

A lot of YA does this and I wish it wouldn't. There are so many common experiences at that age. Why focus on privilege, which is infinitely less common? This is why I like Sarah Dessen's books--the girls work, the guys work, they have exceedingly crappy cars if at all, and those cars need gas, which costs money. People have to do homework. There are chores. There are real problems, like in Lock and Key. You don't find characters whining about losing their Steinway.

Of course losing something you consider yours and care a lot about really matters, but it can be something less blatantly a symbol of egregious wealth. The porch swing. The hammock on the tree out back. The tree itself--that's something that you can't take with you when you go. See what I mean? It can be relatable. It can be something other than a Steinway grand.

Overall the series was fascinating because of the multiple points of view, and because of the characters finding their own identities (the most common YA trope) but the overwhelming emphasis on privilege and the selfish lack of perspective or sense of humor in the characters kind of left me cold. They seem like mean, cold, selfish girls who only care about themselves and their status and how they "perform" in their designated roles.