Beach Lane

i first read something by de la Cruz six years ago and liked what i read so i found more things written by her and decided to give them a try. i am so glad i did this was good book funny, spirited, and sassy. It was about teenage girls having fun and doing not always the rigth thing but the thing that makes sense when you are a teenager.

We are first starting on this series so we will see what the girls have to say.

Great read. Read the entire series. Really enjoyed the books.

This book may start off a little slow but quickly goes into action with the many party's the girls went to and the relationships you will be routing for through the whole book. Overall a great book and is a series.can't wait to read them all!

It was in perfect condition. I loved it.

I chose to read this book during my summer holiday. I wanted something light and easy to read. This definitely fit that need. I've read other books by De La Cruz and enjoyed them. I did enjoy this one too although not as much as I thought. The plot and storyline were a bit obvious and one could guess where things would go with each character. Yes, the characters were quite shallow and as another reviewer said, I had to keep reminding myself that these girls were only 16/17 (with all the sleeping around, alcohol and drugs I just kept thinking they were older). I know I'm probably showing my own age by admitting that, but I am not naïve enough to think it doesn't happen.Again, I wasn't expecting a novel, just a fun summer read which is what this book was. I will say that despite the shallow characters and obvious storyline, I still enjoyed the book... seeing what it's like to be a teenager running wild in the Hamptons. Some things I still question and wonder if that is TRULY what it's like to be a millionaire having all these people work for you and raising/ or thinking that you are raising your children. The amount of time the Au Pairs spent with the children in this books was miniscule... I kept thinking... who is watching those kids?..certainly not au pairs or the parents. Granted, it IS just a story, but it still made me wonder (especially after reading stories like The Nanny Diaries, Gossip Girls, and some other stories about the rich and elite).I liked the ending and the way De La Cruz wrapped up the story, while still allowing room for sequels later on. That being said there was an excerpt of the next book and frankly I was a little surprised and what was coming. Something about that except turned me off. Now, I am going to read the next book because I am very curious, but I was truly hoping the girls learned their lessons from their summer adventures, but apparently not.Overall, I'd give this book 3 to 3 1/2 stars. It was a nice easy read, but this is not a book that would be one I'd read again.

The "Au pairs" by Melissia de la Cruz was pretty good, but only for a lazy summer day. It definitly wasn't a novel that I would have read otherwise. It might have been better if books like Gossip Girl and the A-list weren't so good. The story revoles around three girls with totally different personalities, working as au pairs in the Hamptons. Mara, the goody-goody, is working there beacuse she needs the money for college, Eliza, the riches to rags girl, is there to regain her name and pretend that she's still rich. Last but not least there's Jauqui, the sexy Brazilian who men can't get enough of. She is there to find an American boy name luke who she had met the summer befroe and had fallen in love with.The book, all in all, was pretty predictable. It was obvious that Mara and Ryan would become more than friends from the start. It was also obvious that Eliza would realize that money and rich friends wasn't everything. And, in the end, makes real friends who don't care if she has money or not. And Jauqui's outcome was so perdictable when Luke started taking her to ratty restaurnats in the East Hamptons.So if your looking for a good beach read, then this is the book for you. Also, this book is going to be part of a whole series of au pair books, so it may get better:)

I didn't expect a lot out of this book (I mean, look at the cover), so I guess it really didn't disappoint. I just found it annoying. Basically, everyone in the book is "cool" because they wear the "right" clothes, know the "right" people, smoke and do drugs and seem to have limitless access to alcohol regardless of how underage they are. Even though the author tries to separate the three nannies from the rest of the frivolity, they don't prove to be much different. They all have shallow relationships yet seem to be shocked when things go awry (hello! like we can't tell that a relationship based on nothing more than looks and accessibity isn't meant to last, despite the fact that they're all only 16!).And these girls are NOT nannies. The author paints a rediculous portrait of au pairs in which they do nothing, are hardly ever around and yet the kids always fall in line. The nannies refer to the kids as monsters and brats, but the kids are practically angelic when you consider that they never get in any trouble even though that have almost no supervision. Reality check, please.If all you're looking for is a light (read: shallow), "beach" read perhaps this is the book you're searching for. Cruz doesn't even portray the cliched snobbishness in a clever way; the writing and plot are completely expected and droll. But if you want to read about relationships as told by someone who writes well, check out Sarah Dessen or Deb Caletti. This book is as bad, if not worse, than the gossip girl series.