Rating: 
Summary: [money] better spent on another book.
Review: One star is too high a rating but there wasn't anything lower. Don't spend [money] on this. Buy a different book, one with some redeeming quality. This book will be extremely offensive to Christian readers because of the all-too-frequent taking of the Lord's name in vain; the excessive profanity that the author tries to excuse by saying it's necessary to adequately convey her emotions at the time; and the brazen flaunting of her questionable morality. The author shares waaaaaaay too much information about her sex life, the details of her bikini wax, and comes across as shallow and self-absorbed. Guys will likely take offense at the callous and shallow way she seems to think of them, as meal tickets. I don't blame them if they do. There's a lot of unnecessary filler, emails, copies of credit card statements, way too many blog excerpts. If you earn your [money] the way I do, by working for it, do yourself a favor and spend it on book that with leave you with the feeling you've learned something useful or at least had a good time. SaveKaryn isn't going to fit that bill (Pun intended.)
Rating: 
Summary: ALMOST AS BORING AS THE MOVIE "GIGLI"!!! Save your money.
Review: No wonder why the stores aren't displaying this book! I had to search high and low for a copy. It was tucked away in the self-help section of the store. Where it should have STAYED! Being a fan of SaveKaryn.com I was excited to read her book! I found her writing to be less than superior and her story was, oh what's the word... BORING? "Save money by coloring your hair yourself." THANK YOU KARYN for that "expert" advice. I give it two stars. One Star for the idea of making the website. The second would go to Karyn's acting ability. She must have sold someone who was lacking intelligence to actually publish this book. How about a sequel "Fifteen Minutes Of Fame For Dummies!" That may actually sell!
Rating: 
Summary: New twist on Been there...done that
Review: This book is absolutely fabulous. Karyn takes a subject that we all go through...racking up debt...and makes it funny. People may be saying "stop rewarding this IDIOCY" but I think some of the people in Karyn's book are right...they are just jealous they didn't think of it first. First off, if you like "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan" this book goes steps further. Through Karyn's eyes, you get to shop and eat in the best stores and eateries in NYC, go on dates and have a blast. This is not just a book about shopping though. In the heart of defeat she takes a deep breath and thinks of an ingenious way to fight her debt. The work she put in to create this idea is well worth the money she received and continues to receive. I don't know if I would have been one of those people to give her a dollar after seeing her website but I would DEFINITELY buy this book again. I have NEVER written a book review about any book but I thought this book deserved another positive review. Karyn makes you laugh, cry and fear with her in this book. She gives you great tidbits on life that you probably never slowed down to think about. Her twists on everyday happenings make this book well worth it. After reading the daily buck I will never think of myself as not having enough money ever again! Well worth your time to read!
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Others Recovering from Credit Card Debt
Review: "Save Karyn" is based on the popular website of the same. The story follows Karyn Bosnak who moves to New York and acrues a large amount of credit card debt. This story is great for young people in their late teens, early twenties and thirties who usually have problems with credit cards. It is very easy for this group to using credit cards, and having the usage get out of control. It also is easy to relate to when the author describes her depression and despair of letting the credit cards take over life. Debt makes you feel worthless, and Ms. Bosnak definately makes you have hope that you can get out of the situation. This book is a good read, especially for people who don't know what to do about overwhelming credit card debt.
Rating:
Summary: Save Karyn might save others
Review: Although the book did lack literary refinement, get real, it not claiming to be a work of art. It's just an account of a 20-something girl who screwed up royally with her credit spending. (The repeat phrases are emulating real life - that really is how people talk.) I think Save Karyn should be required reading for every jr. high school student (by then they are old enough to understand about money, and young enough to possibly save themselves from a few mis-steps!). I do hope that the movie deal goes through - I can so see Dakota Fanning playing Karyn (but we'll have to wait a few years!).
Rating:
Summary: Karyn needs counseling, not your money.
Review: In Karyn's defense, she does seem like a genuinely sweet person and I have to give her credit for showing a lot of ingenuity when it came to paying down her debt. As a whole though, the book was extremely unsatisfying- I was hoping she would explore more of the emotional reasons why she overspent to such an extreme and also include therapy sessions in her new lifestyle but she skimmed over the darker aspects of her behavior and focused instead on the "fun" stuff- the acquisition. If you want to shop vicariously through Karyn then this book is for you. If you're looking for more of an in-depth exploration of why this young lady felt compelled to spend to such a ridiculous degree and how our culture supports such irresponsibility, you'll be disappointed. Also, be prepared for a writing style that will take you back to the days when you and your best friend in the sixth grade would exchange notes. Instead of being charming, her style only succeeds in highlighting the overall shallowness of her book. It is also extremely hard to feel any connection or sympathy for someone who considers an average middle-class lifestyle to be a major downgrade. Karyn's book will entertain you for ten minutes, at best, and irritate you for much longer (and you'll be even more irritated if you spent money on it so visit your local library).
Rating:
Summary: Honesty is the best policy
Review: Karyn Bosnak moved to New York City from Chicago due to a job transfer. Alone in New York City, she needed a friend. The friend she needed became shopping. Soon after discovering all the shops that surrounded her, every cute new pair of shoes she saw was just another excuse to use her credit card on "emergencies". She even came up with a "system" in her charging abilities without getting caught that she is over her limit. She needed shopping as a release from the stressful workday. With her charging more than she has, she quickly falls under debt. Karyn has to move into a smaller apartment, cut back on the shopping sprees, the 100-dollar manicures and pedicures, and the designer purses. The cut backs on those items still leave her with debt. Her solution? Make a website begging strangers to give her money to help her undo her mistake. And many people did. Yet, many people criticized her at the same time. She didn't care though because five months after creating the website, she was able to get out of debt all by the kind acts of strangers.
Save Karyn was enjoyable because she is so honest and recall every detail. By her being honest, one was made to feel they could relate to her. She did not blame her bad habit on anyone else and with that, I gained respect for her. She may have done something irresponsible, but she wasn't about to just sit around and let it eat her away. She asked for help, which again helped me respect her more because she is recognizing to others that yes, she has failed, but she wants to do something about it.
I had never heard of the website before I read Save Karyn. In the book, she put excerpts from what she wrote on her website day to day. When I finished the book, I was left feeling empty. The ending of the book was not satisfying because it was so vague. What happened to Karyn now? I became intrigued with Karyn. I wanted to learn more about her so I went to her website, where you can actually access all of the features she had on her old site.
I think that this book would be most enjoyable to those who love to shop. If you don't like to shop and you read this book, you will not understand where Karyn is coming from. Yet, it can also be enjoyable to anyone who appreciates some good ole honesty once in a while. I think it was an excellent book full of good vocabulary and strong sentences. For her first book, Bosnak didn't do too bad.
Rating:
Summary: I did not make this up - this is "real" savekaryn style
Review: <i> "May 2004 I'm in London right now and holy smokes this city is great! I'll update soon! Go Chelsea Football Club!" </i> so our all-time favorite (favourite by G.B. spelling) "author" got to visit London at last. Not a moment too soon. The above quote is from her Web-site, http://www.savekaryn.com
her very own immortal words. This is all she managed to come up related to her book signing, London, 2004 May (all-expenses-paid, of course) trip. You have to admire her. Anything that helps to fatten her bank account is good. For her.
Rating:
Summary: It's not the heat...
Review: I don't really have any feelings one way or the other about what Karyn did to get into or out of debt. What I do have strong feelings about is her complete inability to construct thoughtful sentences. I made it through the first couple of chapters, and while the story itself was mildly interesting, the deadly thud of the repetitive sentences just made my head ache far too much to continue. Subject verb direct object. Subject verb prepositional phrase. Good lord, woman, no wonder you're a television producer. Thank the various deities that I got this from the library. You should do the same.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting...
Review: ...but still lacking. It seems as though everyone either adores or abhors this woman, and I find myself, strangely, in both camps. I admire her ingenuity, sympathise with the ease of building debt, and she does seem like a nice person. That said, it's hard to build empathy for a chick who demonstrates her new grounding in reality by telling us how she's now a 'drugstore' girl, willing to suffer the pains of Pantene. Honey? Welcome to a world where loads of people *aspire* to Pantene. My main concern with the book is more the quality. She spends so much time telling us what a darn nice girl she is, how everyone loves her, and most irritatingly, how very funny she is. Funny? Not so much. It feels more like a weblog than a book, which may be her goal, but I found myself cringing at endless repetition and mismatched numbers from page to page. I've looked at her site since, and the book feels increasingly like just an attempt to capitalize on that, with the same format and tone. Overall, it's shallow and sort of pointless if you can just as easily check out her site.
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