How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, by Zoey Dean

So, after finishing Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child, I picked up How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls by Zoey Dean.  I started reading this on December 26, and finished it on January 1, 2015.  The husband and I were down in Southern California for the holidays, and when we got to my parents' house, inevitably we looked through their ever-growing "we're-done-reading-these-books-so-they're-free-for-the-taking" pile.  There were all kinds of books in that pile, some that have been there for a while, and some new ones.  My eye was drawn to the cover of this book.  I've picked it up on other occasions when I've been home, but Sally gave it only a lukewarm review, so I never committed to reading it.  But, for some reason, this time I did.

the cast of the TV Show
"Privileged"

After only a few pages, something about the book sounded vaguely familiar.  As soon as I got to the place in the book where Zoey Dean introduced one of the characters, Laurel Limoges, I remembered that this book used to be a TV series called "Privileged" and was on the CW in 2008/9.  It didn't last long, but I remember watching it on occasion and having a sort of love-hate relationship with it.  Regardless, I got into the book and enjoyed reading it.

In a nutshell, this book is about a young journalist, Megan, who is down in the dumps - she has a job she's not particularly good at, her apartment in NYC has just burned down, she has no money, and sadly loses the job she has but can't stand.  Her boss who fires her recommends her for another seemingly unrelated job (as a tutor) - a job and an opportunity Megan just can't pass up.

"A leap of faith.  I wasn't really a leap-of-faith kind of girl.  Watch carefully from the side and suss it out - yes.  Big leap - no.  But what were my options, really?  And even if she had just fired me, for some reason, I didn't want to let Debra down.  Weirdly, I still liked her.  "Okay, I'll do it." ...As I shook her hand and then left her office for the last time, I felt like Alice heading toward that damned rabbit hole."

So, off she goes to Palm Beach, Florida to be the tutor to two high-school-aged twin sisters whose parents died when they were younger, and are currently being "raised" by their workaholic absentee grandmother, the head of a cosmetics empire which the twins will inherit.  Megan was thrown into a world full of money and riches the like she's never experienced before.  And, of course there is a developing love interest.

Megan's main job is to help the twins (Sage and Rose) get better grades, do well on the SATs, and get into Duke, their college legacy.  Sage and Rose are set to inherit a gagillion dollars on their 18th birthdays, or so they think.  They are less than receptive to the idea of working with Megan.

     "What do we care?" Sage asked, although she clearly wasn't looking for an answer.  "We're already rich and we're almost famous.  Come on, Rose."  She got to her feet.  "We're out of here."
     Laurel shrugged again.  "Depart if you want.  But understand this, Sage: You are not rich."
     Sage sighed wearily.  "Yet.  We aren't rich yet.  But we will be next month, on our eighteenth birthday.  Eighty-four million dollars rich.  That's what the trust says."
     "No, that's what the trust used to say," Laurel corrected.  "It was revised this morning."
     Sage's pale face drained of what color it had.  I watched her reflection in the silver tea set across the room.  "What are you talking about?" she managed.

This was a cute book, book candy, book fluff - nothing too serious, nothing too heavy, nothing too complex - but entertaining.  There were a few things that made me cringe, however.  Typos, including once where the author referred to one of the main characters, Laurel, as Lauren (the editor AND author should have caught that one), and a few other generic typos and grammatical errors.  That kind of stuff drives me a little insane.  I know, I know - no one is perfect, but when a publisher is paying an editor to edit a book, these things just shouldn't happen, especially referring to a character by an incorrect name.  I guess I don't expect too much from an author whose "about the author" sentence on Amazon is:  "ZOEY DEAN is the author of the New York Times bestselling A-LIST series. She grew up in Beverly Hills and now lives in Palm Beach, where she is working on her next novel and dreaming of a Pulitzer--Lilly Pulitzer, that is."  She is correct though, if all of her books are similar to this one, she's destined to a world of Lilly Pulitzer. 

A cute read, but no need to drop everything and run to the bookstore.