The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

www.candacebushnell.com

Released: April 2010

The Carrie Diaries is the prelude to Bushnell's infamous Sex and the City, which, as you know (unless you spent the last 15 years in a bomb shelter), was made into a successful and widely-popular HBO television series years ago.



I've been a major fan of Bushnell since I read Sex and the City months before it premiered on HBO, and have read all of her novels with the exception of Summer and the City, which is the sequel to The Carrie Diaries. I decided to read this novel prior to the release of the new Carrie Diaries television series on the CW, which aired just a little under a week ago.

The Carrie Diaries takes us back to Carrie Bradshaw's senior year of high school in the fictional town of Castlebury, Connecticut. There, she lives with her two younger sisters and a hardworking single father (Carrie's mother had passed away years earlier). When a delectable hottie from Carrie's past named Sebastian Kydd begins attending her high school, Carrie's world turns upside down (of course) and she vies for Sebastian's attention along with several other girls. Outside of spending time chasing after Sebastian, Carrie focuses largely on her other passion: writing, which ultimately lands her a spot in a summer writing seminar in New York City by the end of The Carrie Diaries.

This coming-of-age novel is fun and hilarious through and through, and gives us an intimate glimpse into Carrie's life before her Manhattan-Sex-and-the-City era. Fans of both the novel and the television series will devour this one, especially since the former mediums failed to ever divulge much into Carrie's background and family.



The young side of Carrie is just as fresh, unique, and creative as her adult self, which makes for a very rousing and inspiring reading experience. Better yet, the 1980s pop-culture incorporated throughout The Carrie Diaries will leave most feeling nostalgic and wistful for those peaceful times in the past.

Readers who typically enjoy the young adult (YA) genre will appreciate this novel's high school setting abundant with cliques, first loves, virginity, and new friends. Adults familiar with Sex and the City will also find this one quite endearing.

Other novels by Candace Bushnell include Four Blondes, Lipstick Jungle, One Fifth Avenue, and Summer and the City.

Click on any of the images of the books below to review them in more detail on Amazon.com.



Have you read or seen Sex and the City or The Carrie Diaries (books and/or television series)? If so, what did you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.