Book Club: City of Girls

I know they always say that you should never judge a book by it’s cover, but if that cover is beautiful and bold and has Elizabeth Gilbert written anywhere on it, my advice is judge away. Meaning, you should know that the book will be amazing, as I found the book City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert to be. At this point, I may have developed my initial appreciation for Gilbert as an author through reading her book Eat, Pray, Love, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading that book, as well as watching Julia Roberts’ portrayal of Gilbert in the movie version.

So when I came across City of Girls in my search for new books, I felt I had developed enough of a trust and appreciation for Gilbert, that in combination with falling in love with the cover of the book, I knew that I had to give it a read. I am always a sucker for a good love story, especially when it involves a young, naive girl living in the seemingly glamorous theater district in 1940’s New York City. With the world and all of the opportunities society can off at her fingertips, Vivian Morris finds herself kicked out of school and sent by her parents to live with her aunt in New York City. Desperate to make herself useful and find her way in the world, she gets sucked into the theater world with which her Aunt lives and breathes. Finding herself amidst a scandal, yet again, Vivian struggles with finding her way in the world, her place in society, and herself.

With an array of colorful characters, a beautiful backdrop, and an intriguingly complicated script, City of Girls was an entertaining read from start to finish. And I’m not just talking about the plays that they put on throughout the story. It’s a good reminder that life doesn’t alway turn out the way you planned or expected, but as long as you’re living by your rules and on your terms, you shouldn’t have any regrets. The moment that other people’s expectations become more important than your own, that’s when you begin living your life for other people, instead of for yourself. You don’t want to look back on your life in 10, 20, or even 50 years and wonder how you got to where you are. To me, it will be a success if when I look back over the course of my life, I won’t see that everything always went as expected or planned, but I made the best decisions along the way with only my expectations in mind.

If you haven’t already, I would definitely recommend adding City of Girls and Eat, Pray, Love to your reading list. Big Magic is another book by Elizabeth Gilbert that is on my list of upcoming reads as well. Head on over to my Book Club to see what else I have on my reading list.