#mitchellkriegman

I received this Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from Netgalley.

I've been an obsessed Audrey Hepburn fan since high school.  I was lured in with Breakfast at Tiffany's, seduced with Roman Holiday, and swept off my feet by Charade.  It was during the time of my life when I was mystified by the Golden Age of Hollywood:  the cinematic period where celebrities were fawned over but not dissected like they are today due to modern technology.  Women had curves, the men wore suits, and it was still socially acceptable to smoke absolutely everywhere.  Cancer be damned, am I right?

When I first saw this ARC, I knew I had to read it because it has Audrey Hepburn in the title.  I also found out that the author, Mitchell Kriegman, created Clarissa Explains It All, one of my favorite tv shows as a kid.  Combine an Audrey Hepburn fan with the voice of Clarissa Darling, and I knew this book would be fun!

Lisbeth is a 19 year old girl from Montclair, NJ who is an obsessed Audrey Hepburn fan.  She has seen every movie and has memorized almost every line.  She pretty much lives her life with the mantra "What Would Audrey Do?" and she does it.  When she is caught wearing Audrey's iconic Givenchy dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's, her world goes into a tailspin and she is soon mingling with the high society of New York's richest and elite.  She pretends to be a socialite amongst these celebrities and trust fund kids, excited to have a taste of the glamorous lifestyle we've all been curious about.

I really enjoyed this book. I like that it takes place in New Jersey and that Lisbeth mentions everything from the PATH train at Grove Street to Hoboken, Jersey City, and the Jersey Shore.  I must admit that even though I was excited by the NJ references at first, sometimes I got annoyed by it, like Kriegman wanted to really prove that he knows New Jersey.  I get it, people from this state love to tan and we get the fistpump jokes.  I think the constant NJ references were unnecessary and after some time, tiring. 

I like Lisbeth's relationship with her best friend Jess, who is the creative fashionista who makes all the fabulous clothing that Lisbeth wears to mingle with the rich.  However, Lisbeth's interactions with her family are easily pushed to the sidelines, which seemed unrealistic to me, especially towards the end of the book when the family storyline was resolved within a few sentences.  And while her budding romance isn't the focus of the plot, it really upset me that she realizes that the reason she was escaping into Being Audrey was to run away from a guy.  I mean, come on Kriegman.  He spends most of the book portraying Lisbeth as a lost young woman trying to find herself and by becoming Audrey Hepburn, she's able to do things that she has never been able to do and develop a sense of self.  Making the story be about a man completely negates all of the growth and development Lisbeth has made.