Pineapple Street: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick
“A vibrant and hilarious debut…Pineapple Street is riveting, timely, hugely entertaining and brimming with truth.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest
“A delicious new Gilded Age family drama… a guilty pleasure that also feels like a sociological text.” —Vogue
A deliciously funny, sharply observed debut of family, love, and class, this zeitgeisty novel follows three women in one wealthy Brooklyn clan
Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected old money Stockton family, followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood but giving up far too much in the process; Sasha, a middle-class New England girl, has married into the Brooklyn Heights family, and finds herself cast as the arriviste outsider; and Georgiana, the baby of the family, has fallen in love with someone she can’t have, and must decide what kind of person she wants to be.
Rife with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s one-percenters, Pineapple Street is a smart, escapist novel that sparkles with wit. Full of recognizable, loveable—if fallible—characters, it’s about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, the miles between the haves and have-nots, and the insanity of first love—all wrapped in a story that is a sheer delight.
From the Publisher
ASIN : B0B3HPSFJ7
Publisher : Pamela Dorman Books
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : March 7, 2023
Language : English
File size : 4.3 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 315 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0593490709
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #14,029 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #69 in Romance Literary Fiction #155 in Women’s Literary Fiction #156 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars (29,936) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
$1,217.07
Book Club Member –
Adult Children Stuck in Their Wealthy Childhood Struggle to Establish Their Own Identities
“Pineapple Street,” by Jenny Jackson followed the lives of the uber wealthy Stockton Family, most of whose fortune was inherited and that they continued to grow as real estate moguls. Chip and Tilda were the parents in their 70s, and their adult children were Cord, Georgiana, and Darley. All the accoutrements of wealth were present in every chapter. For the children, whose points of view varied widely and changed throughout the book, their privilege might have been either a blessing or a curse which commanded certain standards of conduct and carried obligations. Caught up in lavish social events and the most expensive of homes, apartments, private schools, and colleges, the Stockton children were forced to navigate sensitive prenups and have financial experts manage their trust funds. Sasha, who married Cord, and Malcolm, who married Darley, were outsiders living in the Stocktons’ world, accepted only superficially. The book was interesting in that it revealed the self indulgences of the upper crust families who occupied Brooklyn Heights within a world of servants and nannies. No clothes were too expensive to attend an endless stream of extravagantly themed parties. Secrets ruled the day as Malcolm hid his unemployment and Georgianna hid her extramarital affair. The book evoked a range of emotions for me, as I felt disdain for the super-rich who squandered their funds on personal gratification, and I felt sorry for the those who married into the family, having to sacrifice a lot of their own family connections. It was more rewarding to read about the redemption of certain characters as they experienced personal growth and sought to establish their own identities. By the book’s end, the emergence of two philanthropists was unexpected and satisfying.
Carpool Book Club –
Refreshing!
What a refreshing read! The writing is fabulous and the story is unique and interesting with no hint of a formula in the plot .Sometimes good writing inhibits readability with verbose descriptions and evasive subtlety. Not the case here! The writing compliments this easy-to-read story that covers a host of topics: including marriage, social classes in America, money and family secrets.On the whole, I found it thought-provoking and nuanced. Even the title, which seemingly refers to an established Brooklyn Heights fruit street, has a layered meaning that ties back to the plot.I recommend to anyone looking for an easy read with some depth.
BB –
Funny but Typical
I thought this book was a fun read but there’s no depth to it. It’s about the typical wealthy, socially disconnected white family with some very forced self realization added. It falls flat after the first 3/4 like the author was trying to wrap it up before she lost all creativity. I think if you need something mindless to read that makes you smile this is the perfect book; especially if you can relate to the gentrification that is Brooklyn.
LindaL –
Millennials and a Brooklyn Heights family
Pineapple Street is a fascinating look at the upper-crust Stockton family. Their money is old money. They are self-pronounced typical WASPs and are not quite ready for their millennial children to question their values and long-proven lifestyle choices.Tilda and Chip Stockton are the parents of Darley, Cord, and Georgiana. Cord and his wife Sasha live in the family home in Brooklyn Heights in the prestigious fruit streets on Pineapple Street. Since Sasha is of middle-class roots and has far less status than the Stocktons, she is supposed to feel honored to keep everything decorated in the old classic way and maintain the childhood rooms of Cord’s siblings precisely as they left them.Darley is married to Malcolm, an Asian. Darley is confident in her husband’s ability to provide for her and has therefore chosen to forego a career and her family inheritance since she didn’t want to require Malcolm to sign a prenuptial agreement, which is commonplace and routine when someone marries into the Stockton family. She seems surprised that her children are targets of subtle Asian discrimination, even from her family.Georgiana is the youngest and much younger than her siblings. She works at a nonprofit and realizes her values do not mesh with her family’s. She is also uniquely sensitive to the subtle and overt biases inherent in many wealthy one-percenters. Georgiana grows influenced by some other millennials unwilling to perpetuate some cultural systems that have allowed families such as hers to enjoy their wealth.The author masterfully creates an easy-to-read story that delves into American social classes, the politics of MONEY, and family secrets. Contemporary societal issues are addressed through the novel’s events and dialog. It is thought-provoking, and its contents are many-layered. Even the title, although seemingly innocuously referring to an established fruit street in Brooklyn Heights, should give us pause. The book’s text is, “Did you know that the pineapple symbolizes welcome and hospitality?” This follows: “We think of pineapples as this whimsical fruit, but they’re actually a symbol of colonialism and imperialism.”
selda –
Ich liebe einfach Bücher, die vorwiegend charaktergetrieben sind. “Pineapple Street” fällt genau in diese Kategorie. (Also definitiv nichts für Leser, die ganz viel Tempo und Handlung brauchen)Die Stockton Familie ist steinreich. Man könnte sich fragen, was interessieren mich die Luxusprobleme dieser Familie.Es lohnt sich unbedingt, dieses Buch zu lesen, wenn man klug beobachtete Familiendynamiken mag. Sie haben alles und sind trotzdem nicht glücklich und machen sich gegenseitig das Leben schwer. Ich fand es spannend und sehr unterhaltsam, hinter die Fassade der Superreichen zu schauen. Es macht Spaß in diese Welt einzutauchen. Mit feinem Humor erzählt Jenny Jackson das Miteinander dieser ungleichen Charaktere, lässt sie wachsen und sich entwickeln und am Ende liebt man sie alle doch ein ganz kleines bisschen.Bitte mehr davon Jenny Jackson.
Lourdes Carregha –
It could have been a great book.. but the author keeps it light and shallow
Rachel –
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson was a really interesting read . The book centres around the very ( old money) wealthy Stockton family who live in New York and the younger generation having some strong realisations about their privilege. They explanation makes the book sound dull but it’s anything but ! I really enjoyed the story and loved all the characters , flaws and all !
hema –
its the novel about the rich American family. Author has keen observational eye . the four female characters are rounded and well developed. characters are vivid and relatable. the story makes reader invest in the lives of the characters. There is attention to details that bring settings to life. the vivid picture allows readers to immerse in the story’s environment. the book is quite engaging.
The Devil in the Dust –
An interesting book. It took awhile to really get into the story but it gets really interesting following the,dilemmas of a rich family. My favourite character was Belgians the youngest sibling.