What do readers think of Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford? Write your own review.

This is between average and good. Evelyn is a very entertaining character who makes some poor decisions and pays the price. The story is about class, upward mobility and friendship. It was a little overdone in the middle. And did remind me of Bonfire of the Vanities.

This is a quick read about social climbing by a New York Times award winning writer who clearly know the territory. Evelyn Bergen, the protagonist, has learned from her mother the ambition to fit "in with the upper class. Reminiscent of Edith Wharton and more recently Amor Towles's Rules of Civility, this debut novel takes you inside this moneyed world. Evelyn's journey becomes more tense and painful as her little lies become bigger as she claws her way up the social ladder. While few of the characters were likeable, they were believable. Their search for an identity was something I could relate to.

"Everybody Rise" is compulsively readable, though the main character is unlikable. Evelyn is her parents' daughter and yet she criticizes them for their social climbing and crass (criminal) ways. Clifford's writing is sharp and quick paced and she captures NYC 2006 well, punctuating the pages with designer bags, dresses and society parties. Evelyn will do anything to fit in. It's painful to be in her mind as she lies her way to the top. Strangely, I enjoyed reading this book, but I was so turned off by Evelyn, that I was cheerfully rooting for a cab to run her over.

Evelyn never captured my heart, and so my perception of the book is that it ran a bit shallow. For me, it read like a series of shenanigans that got progressively difficult to witness. The writing, however, is crisp and literate. Clifford has a terrific ear for dialogue as well. For readers who enjoy voyeuristic glimpses into elite social circles, this novel fits the bill.

The reviews on the covers of the book comparing this author to Edith Wharton overshadowed my opinion from the very beginning. The story is humorous at times. Descriptions of the Adirondacks are well done. The characters are underdeveloped, come across as vacuous and difficult to imagine as believable. Ms Clifford is not in a league with Wharton or Wolfe. This book might appeal to non-serious readers.

I liked this book, but I was hoping for something a little bit better. It was a book I could pick up and put down. Not really a page turner for me. It was fun reading about the different social groups and how people get sucked in. All in all it was okay. Would be a good beach read for the summer.

I was excited to receive this book but truly from the first page I knew it was not the book I was hoping it would be. The characters were unlikeable and barely developed, the language was flat (i.e. I did not re-read a single sentence or word for want of experiencing the wit or sharpness of it again), the story presented nothing that had not been told before, the ending was roughly as expected and I sincerely found the story lines rather depressing. I believe had I not read the cover reviews that promised hilarity, gorgeous language, glamorous inhabitants and an Edith Wharton 19th century like novel I may have liked it a touch more but still only a touch. There are far, far better books of this genre.

Perhaps my lukewarm response to this book is due to the fact that I do not know any people like the ones portrayed in the story. I am sure they do exist, but I found them all so unappealing that I could not bring myself to care about any of them. Adding that to a fairly predictable story line, left me disappointed with this debut novel.