Jimmy Gleacher's Silly Little Rich Girl ~ Reviewed

Silly Little Rich Girl
by Jimmy Gleacher
Publisher: Casperian Books LLC
Pub. Date: April 2009
ISBN-13: 9781934081174
144pp

Book Description:

Liza Davis is looking for something. Looking for hope, for meaning. For her sister, or her best friend. Maybe she's even looking for herself.

In Silly Little Rich Girl, Jimmy Gleacher introduces a fascinating and contradictory heroine. Privileged, famous, beautiful...Liza seems destined for a successful career on Wall Street until a series of events loosens her grip on reality and sends her on a cross-country quest. From New York to Florida to Seattle, she visits the fringes of the underworld, gets an hour's worth of fifteen minutes of fame, falls in love for the first time, and believes her obsession with finding her sibling is sisterly love.

Liza's journey is a classic road trip with a postmodern spin. Through Liza, Gleacher takes on American popular culture, from the sacred to the profane. Reality television, politicians, and evangelical Christians are just a few of Gleacher's targets in this incisive sophomore novel.

Review:

Silly Little Rich Girls is a short, short novel that packs a lot of story. Taut writing and interesting characters take readers for a walk on the wild side with Liza who sets out cross country to find her missing sister and takes her bipolar-pocked mind along for the ride. An ironic look at American culture and obsessions and a fascinating peek into mental illness, Silly Little Rich Girls is satisfying on several levels and horrifying on a few, too. R-rated with a scene of disturbing sexuality and several references to the same scene, and a smattering of F-Bombs, I’d recommend that those looking for uplifting family entertainment look elsewhere. But for those of you who find character studies and mental illness fascinating, Silly Little Rich Girls could be just the summer read you’re looking for.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer