Wednesday 24 July 2013

Review: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody


Title: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Square Fish
Release Date: 3rd July 2012
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description: Being America’s favorite heiress is a dirty job…but someone’s gotta do it.

Lexington Larrabee has never had to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand-new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Boulevard either.

Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteenth birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her.


52 Reasons to Hate My Father is just a fun book. It will make you smile and laugh and take you on a journey that is out and out entertaining.

Lexington Larrabee is a spoiled, bratty socialite from a very wealthy family. She has a knack for causing trouble and ending up in the tabloids. When she crashes her car into a shop, her entire world is turned upside down. As a consequence her father decides to take away her trust fund until she undertakes 52 different low wage jobs.  52 reasons is a story that has been done in various mediums over the years, where the rich spoiled princess ultimately learns about not taking money or people for granted. Despite the predictable plot, what make this fare compelling are the complex characters, witty observations and a heartfelt message about family and love.

Jessica Brody has a great fresh voice with clever dialogue thats sure to make you laugh.  This book is entirely character driven, and showcases great character development. Lexi is not a perfect character but one with many flaws. She is bratty, throws tantrums, has a quick temper and no regard for other people’s feelings.  She has a difficult personality that takes time to understand. Despite all her faults Lexi is more than she superficially appears to be.  She has a certain vulnerability and loneliness about her that makes her relatable and likeable despite her actions. She is a very engaging character that you want to support.

As Lexi undertakes different jobs (some of which are as a waitress, dishwasher and maid) she learns many lessons whilst discovering many things about herself and her family.  She learns about hard work, the value of people and ultimately what she wants to do in the future. The changes in her are gradual and depicted in her actions as she begins to be more considerate. The status reports she sends to her father’s intern Luke provide a window into how her various jobs are going and what she has been learning from them.  The reports are also quite amusing.

There is a cast of great supporting characters. The Larrabee media staff were quite entertaining in their eagerness to do Richard Larrabee's bidding. Luke was a good love interest. He was the complete opposite of Lexi. These two didn’t like each other in the beginning but as they got to know each other they developed a sweet relationship. The romance in this book is very light with the focus being on Lexi and her family. Richard Larrabee was also a character with flaws. He was portrayed as being indifferent towards his family, but at the same time he believed he had his family’s best interests at heart.

52 Reasons to Hate My Father was a great entertaining read with complex characters and a heartfelt story. A definite must read.

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