Title: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father
Author: Jessica Brody
ISBN: 9780374323035
Publishing Company: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
Copyright Year: 2012
Publishing City: New York
Reading Level: Grade 7 and up
Themes: father-daughter relationship, affluence, children of the wealthy, romance, values, morals, teens, wealth, heiress, affect of money, hard work
Thumbs Up or Down?: Up, but not to high.
Book Trailer:
My Summary: This is a story of wealthy rich girl who seems to lack a purpose in life or any respect for the working class of people. She is obsessed with the money her family has and buying expensive things and having a mere material existence. Her father wanting her to have more out of life decides to postpone the disbursement of her trust fund and arrange for her to work 52 different jobs over the year. In her quest to appease her father and collect her trust fund she learns responsibility, morality and that love isn't about dollar signs!
My Review: I
was first attracted to this book by the cover which I guess is the goal
of any book jacket artist. I didn't think the story line was going to
be the Cinderella story in reverse but it was. Though this is an
overdone plot that has been done so many times before this one was still
pretty good. I did like the character of Lexington Larrabee though in
the beginning she comes off as the totally arrogant, spoiled princess
that she is. The character does have some nice moments of catharsis as
she is completing her jobs through the 52 weeks. In the end of course
she learns money isn't everything. There are a lot of great comedic
moments in the book. I really appreciate the perspective the author
offered as she went from job to job. My undergraduate experience was
much like this in that we had to participate in all aspects of the
theatre even if we were not interested in them to gain insight and
appreciation for the people working around us I think the main character
gets this insight for the people that contribute to her privileged life
on a daily basis. In spite of the title I don't think the main
character ever actually hates her father, but more resents him for
making her do all of the jobs. This doesn't last to long as she sees the
value in the tasks that her father assigned her. Overall a nice quick
escapist entertainment book. Don't know that'd I'd run and tell my
friends about it but I enjoyed it.
