Pineapple Street is Jenny Jackson's debut, and I really look forward to reading more from this author.

Pineapple Street is in Brooklyn Heights, one of New York City's most exclusive and desirable residences. Home to the Stockton family, the story centres around three siblings, Darley, Cord and Georgiana.

Darley the eldest of the Stockton’s, has never had to worry about money. In fact she gives away her fortune when she marries for love, rather than status.

Cord, the goofball (as the Americans would affectionately call him) is the carefree member of the family, he loves life and he loves his wife. Sasha.

Sasha for her part feels ostracised from the family. Labelled a gold digger by Cord's sisters, she struggles to fit in with their privileged ways, even though she couldn't care less how much money they have.

Georgiana is the youngest of the Stockton siblings, and hers is the story that I think I most identify with, (not that I've ever been wealthy!!) I think her personal journey through self discovery and heartbreak is perhaps something that we can all identify with.

Whilst their parents Tilda and Chip are obsessed with their wealth, class and status, in their own ways their children are all desperate to escape the privilege they've been born in to, even if they don't realise it themselves yet...

Loved this book! I couldn’t put it down! Will definitely recommend to friends and family. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this title in exchange for a review.

Pineapple Street is a house in the wealthy part of Brooklyn. The novel concentrates on the lives of 3 women (2 sisters and their sister-in-law) and how they manage with work, family, relationships and life after coming from the such a privileged, sheltered background.

Based on what I’d heard about this novel prior to reading it I was anticipating a really exciting read, but I’m afraid it didn’t appeal to me at all. I found the characters weak and lacking depth and personality. Consequently, I struggled to finish the novel.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone & NetGalley UK for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel.

The blurbs written for the book make it sound like a brilliant read – it’s not!

Oh dear, dare I vent my frustration after choosing a book to read based on the blurbs written? I thought it would be an exciting book – similar to Jane Austen – oh no, it’s not.

I wasted several hours trying to find something nice to say about this wealthy family and their dramas. Unfortunately, I can’t.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

A great character driven read.
I wasn't sure if a book about a priviledged wealthy family from Brooklyn Heights would be my kind of a read. I was wrong and I really enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to each of the three siblings and their spouses.
Once you got beyond the wealth and luxurious lifestyle their personalities shone through and you started to care about their dilemmas and interactions. By far the most sympathetic character was Sasha and it was good that the book gave the reader a relatable character from the beginning before developing the more acceptable side of the rest of the family.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book having received an advance copy via net galley.

This book is like a people watching/ fly on the wall insight into someone else’s life.
It’s so cutting, funny and compelling.

Highly recommend

I’m afraid I just didn’t get this book at all. There’s no plot and although I kept going in the hope that something, anything, would happen, nothing really does.

It’s certainly descriptive and the writing style is decent, I’m afraid I just struggled with it.

If you enjoy reading about the entitled lifestyle of a New York family, this is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

This story takes you to New York, to spy on the lives of the very rich. They don't actually do much, and its hard to feel remotely sorry for them when anything happens as I'm afraid the characters remained very one dimensional for me. Even late in the book I was having to remind myself who was married to whom or child of whoever, as none had become live, a real person in my imagination.

It concerns the three children of the Stockton family - Darley married to an Asian guy with a good job, who has a family; the son (who's name I've already forgotten - Chip, or Chet or Chad or some such) who marries an ordinary girl (Sasha) who struggles to feel included in this tight family unit and the youngest daughter, Georgiana, who is happily carrying on with a married man in her quest to find happiness. Over them all presides a matriarch with standards and values they are required to uphold.

The story meanders along, and is mildly entertaining, but I didn't really feel invested in it.

Thank you to NetGalley, RandomHouse UK and Cornerstone for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn't dream of being super rich! Life would be so easy when everything is within your grasp at any time wouldn't it? Maybe in the past but not in modern times when people start to open their eyes to the real world and can see the unfairness of their cushy life. This is the story of such a family. Born into immense wealth, the Stockton family are beginning to change. When Sasha marries into the family she is quickly labelled a good digger and struggles to integrate, while Georgiana, the baby of the family, has a tragic relationship and begins to see the unfairness around her. There are no gasps of surprise with this book but it's certainly a riveting read

This novel stands out because of its fascinating characters and the remarkable writing of the author. The writing is well-structured, enthralling and concluded as a fast read for me.

The storyline focuses on the journey of three female members of a substantially affluent family and examines the role of money in their lives and the choices they make. When I encountered the concept, it held me captivated. I was eager to explore the different points of view and experiences of immense wealth in a real and favourable way.

This writing is truly remarkable and the characters are full of life, creating an effortless and captivating read.

I will not be hesitating to read future works by this author!

I didn't enjoy this book at all. We have a bunch of unlikeable, selfish characters that have no empathy for others and I just felt that most of the plot could have been avoided if they had just bothered to talk to each other.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This definitely feels like a “holiday read” and although there were parts of this book that I really liked I did find some parts a struggle. This book certainly isn’t too deep but is quite enjoyable and would make a great beach read this summer

Set in New York, the story follows a super rich family who made their fortune in property development. At 5he start, I wasn't sure if I would like this tale as it was full of how they filled their lives and maintaining a front seemed the most important thing.
Then as the story evolved, and the perfect life seemed to unravel more, the characters had to be more honest with each other.
If you are looking for a bit of froth for a beach read, this would work but substantial but don't expect thought provoking.

Written by a publishing exec, Pineapple Street is one of those books that has been marketed heavily for months now. But is it actually any good?

It’s the story of the Stockton family, a very wealthy family living in Brooklyn Heights whose generational wealth was acquired through property.

We meet Tilda and Chip, the mother and father, their children Cord (short for Cordington), Darley and Georgiana. Cord has married beneath him to Rhode Island graphic designer Sasha. Darley married her true love Malcolm, a wealthy investment banker of Korean heritage. Georgiana is working for a non-profit and going through a quarter-life crisis.

I was expecting something witty, biting, clever, ironic - rich people swiping and sniping - but Pineapple Street was none of these things - I found the book pretty facile.

The writing is good/perfunctory, but there’s an absence of plot, a lack of depth to the characters, and a heavy-handed approach to social issues like racism, classism, gentrification - I actually winced reading some of the statistics blatantly dropped in at times without a hint of irony.

Sure, it’s an easy read but it’s as dull as dishwater, riddled with stereotypes and that abrupt ending and weird epilogue read like a pointless afterthought. Top marks for marketing what is a passable novel. There are many better books out there this year that haven’t received a fraction of the hype this one is getting. 2/5⭐️

*Many thanks to the publisher for the arc via @netgalley. Pineapple Street was published on 13 April. As always, this is an honest review.

This was a lovely read and I loved the history of the environment the story is based in. Basic premise is three daughters from a very wealthy family begin to understand that money impacts on all that they do both positive and negative. Has a hint of ‘Little Women’ with the different characters of the sisters.
I enjoyed it and think it will be very popular.
Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#PineappleStreet #NetGalley

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson is a character-driven novel about class in New York. It follows the siblings of the old-money Stockton family and their spouses through various challenges and changes in circumstances. I love the depth of the characters, the details of their lives and those of their acquaintances - a rare glimpse into the wealth and privilege of the New York world of one percenters.
This is a great escapist beach or holiday read and one I'll recommend on. With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. Really easy read with a message. I didn’t particularly like the characters but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment; in fact, it added to it. Thoroughly recommended.

A rich, detailed family saga ideal for readers who enjoyed writers like Johnathan Franzen and Curtis Sittenfeld. An incredible debut, with so much depth.

“On good days, Sasha could acknowledge how incredibly lucky she was to live in her house. It was a four-story Brooklyn limestone, a massive, formal palace that could have held ten of the one-bedroom apartments Sasha had lived in before. But on bad days, Sasha felt she was living in a time capsule, the home her husband had grown up in and never left..”

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone Hutchinson Heinemann for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Pineapple Street’ by Jenny Jackson.

This is the kind of comedy of manners written in the spirit of Henry James and Edith Wharton. It addresses themes of class, money and love among the ultra wealthy of New York City.

Pineapple Street in Brooklyn Heights is one of New York City's most desirable addresses. It is home to the well-connected Stockton family, who are definitely old money WASPs having made their fortune in real estate. Their palatial family home is stuffed to the rafters with furniture and the family’s keepsakes.

The elder generation, Tilda and Chip, have moved out to a luxury condo in nearby Orange Street while their son, Cord, and his new wife, Sasha, are now living in the Pineapple Street house.

The story is told from the perspectives of three Stockton women. There is Darley, the eldest daughter, who when she married Malcolm, a second generation Korean-American, declined to have him sign a prenup. In doing so she forfeited her inheritance, though it passes in trust to her children when they are adults. Later, she gave up her career in finance to raise their two children. Darley now wonders if she has sacrificed more of herself than she had ever intended.

Then there is Sasha mentioned above. Having married into the family she feels the perpetual outsider. She is desperate to fit in, including constantly seeking her new mother-in-law’s approval. Behind her back her sisters-in-law have nicknamed her ‘the Gold-digger’. Ouch - especially when she finds out. 

Finally Georgiana is the youngest sibling and is quite Bohemian in her dress. She works for a medical aid charity and finds herself falling in love with someone she really shouldn’t. During the course of the novel Georgiana confronts the kind of person that she is and looks to change herself into the person she wants to be.

Amidst the lavish parties and excesses, ‘Pineapple Street’ is a subtle satire critical of the one percenters. While the elder generation are definitely old school and protective of their status, all three of their children have stepped outside of the perceived expectations of their social class.

Georgina is the most vocal about this. She may have been raised as a member of the elite but increasingly questions her privilege. She reflects at one point that she couldn’t seek to fight inequality in the world while preserving it in her own family.

Given its subject matter, ‘Pineapple Street’ is the kind of novel that could be adapted as a glitzy television series highlighting the lives of the one percenters. That in itself could be controversial if not handled in the right way, especially if its criticisms about privilege became lost among the posh frocks and houses.

Overall, I found ‘Pineapple Street’ an accessible read and likely the kind of novel that will prove a popular beach read.

✨Book Review✨

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A story telling of an ‘Old Money’ family in New York, the narrative switches between the perspectives of 3 female characters,L - two daughters in the family, Darley and Sasha, and a daughter in law who married into the family, Sasha.

This book is a nice, easy read, a story of love, money and class divide. I fell in love with Sasha from the beginning but truly loved how each of the characters came to explore their relationship with their family and their wealth.

I loved the authors style of writing and really enjoyed this book. I feel like I’ll spend the rest of the week thinking about the characters as if I know them!

Thank you to @penguinbooks and @netgalley for the ARC.