I loved this witty and worldly wise book! The characters are brilliant and I loved the writing style! Who wouldn’t want to read this book!

An easy read, but a forgettable one. The plot is quite loose, following the lives of three über wealthy women in New York (two by birth, one by marriage) navigating family dynamics, their social environment and many quintessentially first world problems. It was hard to warm up to any of the characters, not because they were annoyingly out of touch with the real world and egocentric (there are plenty of novels with similar casts of characters that do this excellently or, let's say, Gossip Girl), but because they are hastily written - like a faint outline of how a specific type of person would be. The writer tells us how we should perceive the character based on their family members characterization of them and reminds us when a specific behavior is WASPy (show, don't tell!)..

An enjoyable read told through three women from the same uber wealthy New York family. Not a huge storyline or plot going on but an interesting read nonetheless as they face their First World problems.

An interesting book about wealthy families in Brooklyn, with lots of information about the history of the area which I really enjoyed. Tilda and Clay have three children. The book tells us about the children and partners and their relationships and families as they grow up, and learn to appreciate how lucky they are, and consider their places in the world. The characters are well-written, the two daughters can be spoilt madams, and are mean to their brother's wife who is from a poorer background, but they also have their own problems, so you do feel sympathy towards them. A warm book, it feels like the writer really cares about her characters, with a lovely ending. Highly recommended.

So I'll start by saying this book is really well written, and an easy read. However, I found myself confused as to what it was trying to be - it's not quite a family saga, because it doesn't run long enough for that, but it could have been because the characters were well observed and there would have been plenty more material to flesh out their lives. I suppose it's mainly a treatise on wealth and how difficult having money can be - but that feels uncomfortable and almost crass to read in current times, when there's a cost of living crisis, rocketing energy bills and global financial uncertainty. Had there been more focus on the relationships, even as affected by wealth, and less direct focus on the money itself, I think this would have felt a more satisfying read. As it was, there was something which felt almost shallow about it, so it didn't quite hit the mark for me. Readable, but not ultimately satisfying.

I absolutely adored this family saga of the New York Stockton family who have wealth beyond the imagination of most of us. The novel is told from the viewpoints of two of the Stockton siblings- Darley and Georgiana and their sister in law Sasha, who is married to their brother Cord.
Apart from Sasha the family is pretty spoilt and unlikeable, but as we follow the sisters on their own journeys of different kinds of loss, I felt empathy and some understanding of their behaviour.
This reminded me of novels by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Emma Straub and it’s a beautifully written character driven novel that I was completely drawn into and raced through over a 24 hour period. I loved the descriptions of the Stockton family home, the character dissections and the insight into upper class New York life.
I was completely bereft when I finished this gorgeous novel and would love to be back in the world of Pineapple Street.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I've been waiting to read PINEAPPLE STREET since I first saw it announced - and it did not disappoint! A wildly entertaining peak inside an extraordinarily privileged family. I was gripped.

3.5 stars from me for this title - I found the book very engaging and easy to read. I didn't particularly warm to any of the characters, but I found their growth throughout the book interesting. I would read future titles by this author, as I loved the way she wrote the title characters here.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars!)

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This is a sharp, witty, clipped account of one wealthy family in New York and their associates. The Stockton family consists of Darley, who has given up her career and her trust fund for her husband Malcolm and their two children; Georgiana, the younger daughter who struggles to reconcile who she thinks she is with her questionable actions; parents Tilda & Chip, who oversee their adult children in between playing tennis and throwing dinner parties for their equally rich friends; and son Cord, who shocked them all by marrying middle-class Sasha, who struggles to see how she can penetrate this close-knit & old-money family.

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What I liked about this book is that nothing really happens. We follow the family through the point of view of Darley, Georgiana, and Sasha and experience their different perspectives on the family dramas and relationships. Each goes through their own developmental arc but in a contained way - from losing jobs to discovering you may be alarmingly similar to those you despise. These are small familial dramas that would barely cause a ripple to those outside the unit. This is a fast paced and engaging read, but one that doesn’t feel the need to insert plot twists in every chapter.

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Another strength of this book is how it reads like clips from a gossip magazine. Although we are given slightly more emotional commentary than one would expect from a magazine article, you are held at an arm’s length from what the characters are really thinking. Details between events are cut out or passed over in brief, with the clipped paragraphs solidifying the episodic feel. We receive bite-sized nuggets that allow us to hear about the characters’ lives and emotions without truly feeling them - we cannot penetrate the impenetrable barrier between us and them.

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A fun, fast book that gives you a snapshot of a family unit with both real & rich people problems. The writing is easily consumable and littered with a millennial humour which manages to land without cringe. Very enjoyable and it doesn’t need to be anything more!

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Thanks to Net Galley & Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC of this book!

I devoured this novel and really enjoyed the study of the family dynamics. Overall it was interesting but it did feel as though none of them faced any real jeopardy.

I did enjoy the glimpse into another world.

It was really well written and a nice light novel, it would be a perfect holiday read.

I don’t like giving negative reviews, so I’ll focus on the positives. Pineapple Street is well written, interesting story and good characters, it just wasn’t for me. I read about 75% of it but I simply didn’t connect with the characters and that’s an important part for me. For lovers of a family saga read this is an ideal book but not my favourite genre.

An interesting book… tells the story of three siblings from an old money family- each one faces challenges and makes them question themselves. In parts amusing, and in others sad - as the siblings don’t treat each other very well - and the parents are full of disdain. this book got me thinking about how we treat others and whether we respect our siblings or not. They are so worried about what other people think about their situation that they don’t stop to think about what is the best thing to do. On one level this is a very straightforward, simple book about 3 rich kids but with deeper elements. When I finished I thought it was a 3* but on reflection it’s creeping up to a 4* as there’s so many more layers to it than first appears.

Set in a posh area of New York, this is essentially a family saga. The main family is a self entitled group of financiers who tend to look down on any additions to their family who do not have a similar privileged background. That makes thing difficult for a man and a woman who marry into this family. One daughter, Georgiana, has a troubled history and decides to overcome it by parting with her inherited wealth for charitable purposes. That causes shudders in the family! The struggle between inherited wealth and mixing with ‘ordinary’ people is well handled in the book. This is not a book that will have the reader on edge wondering what happens next but it is an interesting read. I recommend it.

A story about a privilaged family in New York.

Easy to read escapism. interesting it took me a while to get into.

Enjoyable

A fantastic read from Jenny Jackson about a privileged family in New York told from 3 different family members. Each deals with their wealth differently and to be honest I loved the characters. Great unputdownable page turned loved it

Keenly Observed…
Keenly observed familial drama of one New York family enmeshed, one way or another, by money. A well crafted and character driven expose of each family member in all their messy, unfettered glory and the relationships within the unit. It’s highly enjoyable, shrewd and sharp and edged with a wry humour. Pure escapism.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson is about a privileged family told from three perspectives and their relationship with money, how it defines them and their relationships.

I loved this book! A sharply observant, witty and perceptive look at the wealthy in New York, it centres on the close-knit Stockton family, who live a life of prestigious jobs, gourmet dinners, networking and tennis at the club. Daughter Darley gave up her career to care for her two children and now wonders if she is wasting her life, Georgiana’s forbidden love affair leads to her questioning how she wants to live, and son Chip marries outsider Sasha (called the GD- Gold Digger- by his sisters), who grew up very differently and struggles to fit in with the family’s lifestyle and expectations. I was totally absorbed in their dramas and particularly enjoyed the scenes featuring the hilarious Stockton matriarch, who sends her housekeeper to help Darley when she gets a vomiting bug and organises ridiculous themed parties. There is also some thought-provoking issue-raising about money- how it doesnt buy happiness but certainly helps, how one can put it to better use by helping others, globally and at home, how catastrophic losing it can seem when it threatens to change your lifestyle. A complete pleasure to read from start to finish.

Absolutely inhaled this book, a really great combination of lighthearted easy reading, whilst also looking at a more difficult topics.

An interesting story about social acceptability when it comes to the world of money. An enjoyable story.