This is a story of mean girls and worthless, self-absorbed parents. Kim and Jeff have 2 kids, and Hannah is turning 16. They allow her to have friends over for a party. At the party, Hannah and her friends drink and do drugs. One girl, Ronni, gets seriously injured. The girls had invited guys too, and they brought drugs, but left without the parents knowing they were there.
Ronni's mother decides to sue the family, and all sorts of dirty laundry gets laid bare.
There is not one person in this story to like. They are all self-absorbed and loathsome people. ( )

Family Drama

This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

Many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!



THE PARTY is a roller coaster, unputdownable book where all the characters are despicable. It’s the story of a sweet 16 birthday party gone horribly wrong, with consequences that will last a lifetime. Hannah, the daughter, is just trying to be more popular. Kim and Jeff are her parents, with the trope of “strict goody two shoes mom” plus “emasculated father trying to be cool”. The events of the fateful night are told over flashbacks, over the course of the story; which kept me interested and hungry for more detail.

The complex and turbulent relationships between the characters are drawn well and evoke a great deal of emotion. Everyone is manipulating – or manipulated by- someone else. There are multi layered agendas. There are mean girls. There is isolation, greed, and shallowness.

I literally could not wait to get back to the book, and thought about it while I wasn’t able to read; I just had to see what was happening next. It’s the kind of book you read with incredulity, wondering if there is going to be a happily ever after despite knowing another crash is coming.

The author exposes the ugly side of relationships with adeptness, even glee (if you read between the lines). Just when you almost start feeling sorry for someone, they expose their seamy side and you go right back to sneering at them. Delicious!

Do people really behave this way now, or is it just something that takes place in fiction? I am glad I don’t have to navigate the treachery of high school, where Facebook posts are created to hurt, and cliques do a lot more than name calling.

No one escapes unscathed from THE PARTY – it’s the kind of story that you will think about for days after you finish the book, considering all the wrong choices every character made and how it affected their lives. ( )

Really 3 1/2 stars. I bought this book in the grocery store waiting for a prescription to be filled so my expectations were not terribly high but it turned out to be a perfect trashy read. Certainly better suited for the beach or on a plane, but still.
Take a bunch of douchebag, narcissistic, rich San Francisco parents and add in their entitled even worse behaving kids and you have the cast of this book.
Kim and Jeff host a party for their insecure 16 year old daughter, but forget to ever look in on them during the party. Surprise things go bad.
This allows everyone involved to be even bigger douchebags.
I would have given it more stars but the author thought taking the high road for everyone involved was the way to end the story. This was so completely out of character for everyone in the book that it become a truly lazy ending. ( )

"The police looked into it and cleared us"

Jeff and Kim Sanders are a not so happily married couple. Kim is more concerned with putting on the appearance of being a happy family than with actually bothering to make it so. Jeff avoids her when he can, with long work hours and working out afterwards, and making a series of poor decisions.

The 13 year old son doesn't seem to have much to do with the story line other than bringing attention to Kim's lackadaisical parenting style when she can't be bothered to explain to him that it's time to start using deodorant because "That's a father's job" This is at odds with what seems to be her control freak style. Daughter Hannah is the good girl starting to go bad so she can be one of the popular kids.

As for the so called popular kids, they could have all used a swift kick in the behind.

This was a quick and compelling read, even though I could not really connect with any of the characters.


I received an advance copy for review. ( )