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Summary: Perfect gift for insomniacs
Review: Why anyone would be interested in reading about people like these is beyond my comprehension. They are completely pathetic.I didn't find anything amusing or charming about the story or the characters. A big B-O-R-E
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down...
Review: Candace Bushnell's latest is her very best yet. Trading Up picks up where Four Blondes left off in the life of Janey Wilcox, "Actress/Model/Whatever." I can't decide whether to hate Janey or admire her tenacity and ability to play the high society game, but either way, the adventures of Janey will keep you reading and wanting more. This novel has much more depth than Four Blondes. One can't help but wonder if certain names and titles are thinly veiled references to power players in the entertainment biz, and this puzzle makes the book only that much more entertaining. And just when you think Janey is going to lose it all, she somehow manages to know the right person to get her out of trouble. Hers is a vicious cycle that is complicated by a plethora of characters and posh surroundings. It's always entertaining to read about how the other half lives, and Trading Up does not disappoint in that arena. Added to this is a great story about an unforgettable character straight out of the tabloid mold.
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Summary: Throwing Up
Review: I am terribly sorry, but the new trend of nine cent novels by vapid celebrities is enough to make one queasy. Comparisons of Bushnell to Wharton and Austin are at best ludicrous and at worst, totally insane. Spend your money on bobby pins, they are more substantial and interesting.
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Summary: New Millenium Scarlett O'Hara
Review: Janey Wilcox is the best female character since Scarlett O'Hara. She is the "anti heroine" we haven't had since "Gone with the Wind". I bet Hollywould actresses will get crazy to play her role. We love her and we hate her, she is totally focused on her goals, selfish and shallow, and at the same time she is naive and quite stupid sometimes.
I can't wait to read the next book, as I am sure Candace Bushnell has more in store for us!!
Rating: 
Summary: Mean spirited and no fun at all
Review: I bought Trading Up hoping for an intelligent beach read, having preceded it with the amusing but ultimately middling The Devil Wears Prada. Instead, I was disappointed in both the quality of the writing and the tone of the book. I found her characters to be incredibly mean-spirited, and the whole story distasteful. I did not read Four Blondes, but I did read Sex and the City, and found her observations of life in New York to be well-drawn, if slightly depressing. I think this book had the potential to be much, much better. Usually authors improve with each succeeding book. In this case, I just sense that Candace Bushnell was really ticked off about something and took it out on her characters, none of whom I had any sympathy for whatsoever.
Rating:
Summary: "Sexy and Fun"
Review: I am a huge fan of Candace Bushnell and have been since Sex in the City-- If you haven't had a chance to read any of her fun novels TRADING UP is the perfect book to start with! The story is sexy and fun and will entertain the reader for hours on end! Take a bow Candace you have certainly earned it with this exciting page-turner! (Highly Recommended Story!)
Rating: 
Summary: Janey Wilcox as Undine Spragg
Review: Halfway through the novel I realized it actually WAS "The Custom of the Country" reinterpreted by Candace Bushnell. Janey Wilcox is certainly the modern version of Wharton's character, Undine Spragg. Both women are beautiful, ruthlessly self-indulgent and so self-focused that they easily rationalize their destructive behaviour towards others. And Bushnell's characters such as Seldon Rose, his mother, George Paxton, Comstock Dibble, and others clearly mirror Wharton's. Trading Up is probably the first of a trilogy. Wharton's character marries "up" three times in her novel set primarily at the turn of the century (20th) in New York. After decimating her first husband and her position in New York, Undine Spragg sets out for France and husband number two, (she snares her third one when she returns to New York). Similarly, at the end of Bushnell's book, Janey Wilcox sets out for LA after destroying both her husband and her own reputation in nice society. It can be assumed that her story continues along the same lines as Undine's in a next sequel. Bushnell does a nice job with contemporary New York society both in the city and in the Hamptons - it's a superficial stab at a highly shallow world, but she gets the whole 'successful man and hostess wife' partnership down. Unlike Wharton, she's not a true insider so she doesn't go too deep, which would have been more entertaining. As I loved The Custom of the Country, I am interested in Trading Up and would definitely read a continuation. But I agree with some previous reviews that parts of it ramble on a bit. The only moment I found completely incongruous was when Janey Wilcox mentions Wharton's novel to another character at dinner. This part was unbelievable as Wilcox was supposed to be smarter than she looked and even she couldn't have failed to see the parallels between herself and Undine Spragg...
Rating:
Summary: nothing new
Review: All I have to say is Edith Wharton is most definitely rolling over in her grave. If you would like to read the original classic, go get The House of Mirth.
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Summary: The most annoying protaganist ever
Review: Halfway into the book, I completely lost interest in what happened to Janey Wilcox. It is not giving anything away to say that this character does not grow or change as a result of the events of the book, and is the most self absorbed human being on the planet. (Most of the other characters are equally repugnant.) I, too, am disappointed that I spend the money on the hardback edition.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT A LET-DOWN ... UTTERLY BORING
Review: I was truly disappointed in Candace Buschnell this time around. Third time was not the charm. Her characters were absolute sketches, and I found it difficult to make it through each page. As a former New Yorker, who used to graze through these Hamptons parties...I couldn't believe that Ms. Buschnell was unable to breathe more life into these characters and situations. Save your cash...it's not even worth the gas money for a trip to the library.
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