Enjoyable story of the Stockton family, old money New Yorkers and the trials and tribulations of its female members. Funny and well observed.

Thanks #Netgalley for my E-arc copy of #PineappleStreet in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately this book didn’t hit the mark for me and I was unable to finish the novel. Not meaning it was a bad book it just wasn’t one for me.

I was hoping/ expecting a story of a rich family, and for it to be exploring wealth and class and how this worked within a rich family environment.
Unfortunately I isn’t come across much of this.
I did however find there to be humour but not enough to keep me hooked and not much happened at all and so I had to list this one as a Did Not Finish (DNF)

Rich people with rich people problems might sum up Pineapple Street at first glance, but it isn't the upper class drag that you may assume.

Following the lives of sisters Darley and Georgiana, as well as their sister-in-law Sasha, you become immersed in their very different (and not particularly relatable) problems. Darley has shunned her inheritance for her banker husband, and they're doing financially well - for the time being. Georgiana always falls for the wrong guy, and the hopeless romantic in her might just be losing her hope. And Sasha is feeling more and more left out of her husbands uber wealthy, New York royalty family, but her husband just doesn't quite see it. Posh Brooklyn Heights has never felt posher.

Ultimately, the drama and action is low in Pineapple Street, but the characters are well-written and it's a thoroughly enjoyable, easy read. The writing is witty, light, and the plot stays interesting enough throughout. I really enjoyed reading it and whizzed through it happily! But ask me if I remember it in six months time.

Pineapple Street is a very observant and rather kind look at the lives of old-money wealthy New Yorkers.
The Stockton Family is WASP through and through: direct descendants of The Mayflower.
They don't talk openly about feelings, so that crises arrive in Pineapple Street, they entertainingly explode.
I loved the Edith Wharton like view on manners and etiquette amongst the rich, and the people they feel comfortable with. Ie: the other people. The matriarch character, Tilda, was especially well illustrated and very funnily depicted.

I always like looking forward to a story following three women - and that's exactly what I thought this was.

Sasha loves Cord; unlike her, he comes from money and when she married him, she married into the wealthy Stockton family. She is used to earning her own living and loves her flat. However, it's obvious that they need more space and, hey presto, the issue is solved just like that when his parents move on from the family home, giving it to Cord and Sasha. Far from the home she imagined, the Stockton seniors have moved out but left everything else behind. The other siblings still have 'their' rooms and Sasha is thwarted at every turn when she tries to make changes. The whole family is quite at home in Pineapple Street - everyone, that is, except Sasha!

There is a lot going on in this novel. My sympathy was absolutely and wholly with Sasha all the way, but then things changed, turning it into more of a social commentary than a family saga, and a lot of my enjoyment went right out of the window. It's an okay read, just not the one I was expecting. For me, four stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Set in Brooklyn Heights, this novel follows the fortunes of the Stockton family who are old money and have plenty of it to cause all sorts of issues within the family.
The three siblings: Darley, Georgiana and Cord have each chosen their own path through life. Their parents, Chip and Tilda, have enormous expectations of them. Marriage, prenups, the old family home, children and old money snobbery are all big themes in this novel.
I loved the family dynamics in this book. The humour is clever and very dry! Chip and Tilda are so recognisable – and not in a good way. I felt huge compassion for Sasha and all that she married into – her marital home had been ‘gifted’ by the family, but this was rather like a museum of the siblingss’ childhood which Sasha was powerless to change. Her mother-in-law has never really left the house and spends a large part of the book telling Sasha how to run the old family home.
All of the characters develop through the narrative, but, possibly, Georgiana’s transformation surprised me the most. She is not a very nice person for a large part of the novel and a tragedy in her life did not elicit all that much sympathy from me – however, this is the catalyst to create the most amazing changes in her attitude to life.
Witty with lots of unexpected plot developments, this is definitely a book not to miss this summer. The characters are not always worthy or likeable but they are thoroughly entertaining!

I love a good Rich People Problems book and this is exactly that. I read this in 24 hours - and if I hadn’t had to work it would have been less! This would make perfect sun lounger reading - it’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you roll your eyes and by the end you’ll have a lot more sympathy than you were expecting for Georgiana and Darley (you’re rooting for Sasha from the start). I could happily have spent even longer with them all - but the epilogue is a glorious touch and a great way to send them all off. So good

I really enjoyed this. The daughters and the daughter-in-law are at the center of this story of an ultra wealthy family who are, indeed, different. It’s enjoyable, but light. The best bit is the daughter in law’s and son in law’s running joke of NMF, not my family, when the parents and adult children do or say something that is strange to them, the outsiders. Overall a great read, would recommend.

I have seen a lot if good reviews for this book, and I was looking forward to reading it.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't really enjoy it. I found it very lacking in an actual plot, it was mainly a family drama that was easy enough to read, albeit a little bit boring, and for me, easy to forget.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this advance read.

In one word, this book is absorbing. And that's what I want from a book, to be absorbed, to escape life, by reading about someone else's. I like that it made me think about family relationships and our society.

I particularly liked the ending, and even though I didn’t wan the book to finish I enjoyed the direction the story took. I would recommend this, especially if you're looking for something to get you out of a reading rut.

Absolutely adored this book. Wasn't sure what I was getting into at first but was swept into the story and the characters and really championed their journey to redemption. Fun, thoughtful, delicious.

Pineapple Street is a tricky review to write. I think it’s mainly because the book falls into the ‘nice’ category. It isn’t one I’d rave about, but is an enjoyable read where the characters have their eyes opened about what is important in life. It’s hard to express how it made me feel as it didn’t spark any true emotion either way.

It’s a gentle story of acceptance and wealth. I found it difficult to relate to the characters because they are all born of privilege, and seemingly unaware of it. They’re used to money, and their learning curve is understanding that not everyone has it as good as they do. While it is well-written, I think the current climate of the world and the worry over expenses etc made it harder to connect than if, say, it was released a few years ago.

That being said, it is an enjoyable read. All the characters are flawed and determined in their own right. They learn things about themselves, and realise that who they are is not necessarily the person they thought they were. Unwelcome truths come to light and the characters must each go on their individual journey to decide if they are content with things remaining the way they are. These arcs are possibly ones we can all identify with, to a lesser degree.

The writing is strong and it works well for the genre. The changing of narration balances how you feel about the characters: what may seem outrageous from one point of view becomes understandable when you see it from another. The narration also gives the book a forward momentum: each character’s chapter doesn’t progress as such, but the book as a whole certainly moves from point A to point B.

Pineapple Street is a book about privilege. I felt there was a sense of ‘how the other half live’ throughout, especially given the grandparents and their attitudes towards money. Despite the themes, I enjoyed it and remained engrossed throughout. The characters are both annoying and charming at the same time and I wanted to see their stories through.

It's hard working out what else to say. None of these ‘journeys’ involve anything profound, even if one character has the ability to change thousands of lives by the end. Being a better wife, friend and person encompass all of the growth in the book.

If you’re looking for a book to curl up with on an afternoon that won’t provide anything taxing but a bit of escapism into realities where the only issues are whether the table centres match the theme of the party, then I recommend this book. It’s well-written, with developing characters and a clear story-arc. But if you’re looking for something that feels poignant and meaningful, this possibly isn’t the one for you.

I’m going to be keeping my eyes open for more from this author as I liked the style of this book. A recommendation providing you don’t set your sights too high.

As a British reader, it was interesting to read a story on the themes of class and wealth from an American perspective. The novel centres around three female family members - Darley, the eldest, who by refusing to ask her husband to sign a pre-nup, has no access to the family’s wealth; Georgina, the youngest, who is in love with a married colleague and struggling with her sense of privilege and Sasha, who is married to their brother, is living in the inherited family home and feeling judged for being from a different “class”. After a bit of a slow start, due to the family coming across as rather unpleasant, I then started to understand and enjoy their motivations and anxieties. The novel is highly perceptive, acerbic and, on the whole, enjoyable.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Jenny Jackson. It was a pleasant change from my usual fiction choices of girl meets boy = happy endings. The family at the centre of this book consists of the parents and their 3 adult children and their significant others. Each couple/single is handling their place in their privileged world very differently. There's a lot of believable relationships and descriptions of attitudes contained within these pages and I found it an easy, quick read.

It’s hard to believe this witty, incisive, unputdownable novel is Jenny Jackson’s debut. Pineapple Street follows three women in an old Brooklyn Heights clan: one who was born with money, one who married into it, and one who wants to give it all away.

Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected, carefully-guarded Stockton family, has never had to worry about money. Darley followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood, sacrificing more of herself than she ever intended. Sasha, Darley’s new sister-in-law, has come from more humble origins, and her hesitancy about signing a prenup has everyone worried about her intentions. And Georgiana, the baby of the family, has fallen in love with someone she can’t (and really shouldn’t) have, and must confront the kind of person she wants to be.


I found myself relating deeply to each character as they navigate difficult life choices about how they want to show up for their families and communities. Full of recognisable, loveable – if fallible – characters (and a few appalling ones!), Pineapple Street is about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, the miles between the haves and have-nots, and everything in between.

Rife with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s one-percenters – glittering parties, weekend homes and hungover brunches – Pineapple Street is a scintillating, escapist novel that sparkles with wit and wry humour. But alongside the fun escapism of this ultra-wealthy setting, with the glitzy tennis club meetups and the didn’t-need-to-check-the-price-tag fashion ensembles, there is also a satisfying layer of social conscience. Couched within an engaging romp, Jackson asks us to consider pertinent questions about today’s society: how do wealth, capitalism, race and privilege shape our experiences, and what can we do to change it?

Pineapple Street is the perfect book to curl up with when you feel the need to inject a micro-vacation into your Saturday afternoon. I tore through it in a weekend, with a smile on my face and a renewed appreciation for tablescapes.

This book is not my cup of tea. I felt it was weak and facile and I have no interest in the society of WASPish Americans. I was interested in the buzz surrounding this book but should have paid more attention to the blurb as this is a type of book I wouldn't normally pick up. DNF'd after about 10%.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Darley, Cord and Georgiana are the highly privileged offspring of Tilda and Chip. Scions of a family who made their money in New York property, their lives revolve around the fruit streets in Brooklyn, particularly the grand family home in Pineapple Street. The novel moves between the POVs of Darley, Georgiana and Sasha, who has recently married Cord. Sasha doesn’t come from the same sort of background and struggles to fit in with the lifestyle she has married into, particularly when she and Cord are gifted the family home to live in.
Pineapple Street is a highly entertaining read and beautifully written, with clever and amusing insights into the highest levels of New York Society. However, there is a lack of driving narrative, more an exploration of the women’s lives. At times I just wanted something more dramatic to happen, or the satire to reach a higher level. It’s all a bit underplayed which is a shame as it has huge amount of promise in the first few chapters. The male characters are rather undeveloped, we see them purely from the point of view of the three women. The end also ties everything up too neatly.
I think Jenny Jackson is going to produce something really fantastic in the future as she writes brilliantly but Pineapple Street wasn’t quite there.

Whilst I enjoyed reading this story, I don't think there was much of an actual story. There wasn't much of anything going on in my opinion.

This is a great book, witty and entertaining. We follow three different female narratives, each a member of the Stockton family, two by birth and one by marriage. Through them we also get to know many other family members and friends of this super wealthy world.
It’s an observation on class, money, moral responsibility, acceptance and equality. Sounds heavy, but it really isn’t. The writing is sharp and moving between the three characters keeps a good pace and the story fresh. There’s both their lives as individuals and how they relate to one another. It’s a good lesson in what money can buy you (rather a lot actually), but crucially that it doesn’t guarantee happiness or save you from hurt. There’s plenty of humour and Tilda Stockton in particular is good value, in the sense she really doesn’t have a clue beyond the bubble she has lived in so long.
I loved the New York setting and all that went with it.
I’d definitely read this author again, I thought it was a brilliant read and I flew through it.

This book takes its reader into the world of prenups, elite tennis and golf clubs, yachts and exclusive dinner parties. The story revolves around the Stockton’s, who live in Brooklyn Heights. They come from old money and are into large scale investments in real estate – a tight knit family that looks after their own.

For a large part of the book, I felt quite uninvested in their story, I found them well and truly banal and far removed from anything I am normally interested in. However, the banality of their lives reveals some note-worthy culture clashes between the Have-It-All and the not quite as well off in society, between white and non-white and between male and female. These clashes don’t reveal themselves with a big bang but in rather subtler ways that lay bare the strict and unspoken rules which make it so impossible to penetrate the inner circle of the super-rich. Clashes like these exist throughout the class system within any society, but when played out on the green and well-kept lawns of the super-rich they seem to be more covert, not quite as obvious but in their effect as crass as anywhere else.

At the end of the day, this is the story of the Stockton family who grapple with the same issues any other family faces: sibling rivalry, dependencies, child-parent relationships, overbearing mother in laws etc. It is well told, entertaining and quite funny in places, but I do think that the Stockton’s place in society give this book the quality of a soap opera, like an episode out of Dynasty. If you are into this, you are going to like it.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Hutchinson Heinemann / Penguin Random Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.