THE LUXE

Author: Anna Godbersen

Age: Teen

I have seen this in bookstores a million times but only just got around to reading it, so I apologize if I’m very much late to the party with this one. If you are the type to spend much time in the YA section, I am sure you’ve seen it too—the striking cover features a young woman in an enormous pink ballgown, and it is supposed to be the turn-of-the-century (the nineteenth century) answer to Gossip Girl. I have tried multiple times to get into Gossip Girl (is it embarrassing to admit that?), always without success, so maybe that’s why I was slow to read this. However, I found it to be a quick, enjoyable, and reasonably clever read.

The Luxe is set among the high society of 1899, a strict culture of rules to be followed and appearances to be maintained. Our story opens with the funeral of 18-year-old society belle Elizabeth Holland, who was last seen falling into the Hudson River (body never found). Following the prologue, we rewind to one month prior to the accident and are introduced to each of five protagonists: Elizabeth herself; her younger sister, Diana; her best friend/frenemy, Penelope Hayes; Elizabeth’s fiancé, Henry Schoonmaker; and her lady’s maid, Lina Broud. As the story of the next month unfolds, the chapters alternate among the point of view of each of these five teens. (The narration remains in the third person throughout, which is a relief, because unless well-done—e.g. The Poisonwood Bible—switching first-person narration can quickly become confusing.)

What I found most intriguing about the format was that when we are introduced to Diana, Penelope, Henry, and Lina, each has a clear motive for Elizabeth’s murder. (What a group of friends!) Diana feels stifled by her family’s expectations and irritated by her sister’s “perfection.” The nouveau riche Penelope resents the fact that old money Elizabeth moves more easily through old society. Henry’s thoroughly enjoyable playboy existence is threatened by his father’s insistence that he settle down with a respectable bride. And Lina is growing increasingly bitter about the limited life of a servant and the fact that the man she loves seems infatuated with their mistress. As the plot progresses, none of them can be ruled out as suspects—in fact, each character’s motive is only strengthened by the passage of time and further interaction with Elizabeth. Not only that, but Elizabeth’s own potential motive for suicide is developed as well. I am a sucker for a good whodunit, and the addition of historical atmosphere, illicit romance, family secrets, and money troubles only made this book more fun.

The Luxe does have multiple sequels, which I am excited to read, but it was also fairly self-contained. This sort of thing is important to me, since my primary reading time is between about 11 pm and 2 am, and I hate hate HATE to stay up that late to finish a book only to have it end on a cliffhanger.

You may also enjoy: Downton Abbey, the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, The Sweet Far Thing), the Time Travelers quartet by Caroline B. Cooney (Both Sides of Time, Out of Time, Prisoner of Time, For All Time), Agatha Christie