Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi

I remember when this book was first released, but book snob that I was am, I refused to read it. A few weeks ago I finally decided to take the plunge and revisit the book, mainly out of curiosity. Final verdict: It's...meh. "Vapid" and "confusing" are the words that came most frequently to my mind. To be honest, I couldn't finish it, because the staccato nature of the writing grated on my nerves, among other things. But at the same time, I also wouldn't place it in the Fifty Shades of Gray show more category (shudders.) Some books just exist for reasons we can't and won't understand; at best, this one serves as an interesting snapshot of certain moments in popular culture. And I'm still happy to wear the label of "book snob" with pride. So that's that. show less

Also reiewed here: http://porcelainulairi.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/review-a-shore-thing/

Let me start by giving you a little synopsis of the “novel” before diving into my thoughts on the whole thing. Giovanna “Gia” Spumanti travels to the Jersey Shore with her cousin Isabella “Bella” Rizzoli for the summer. They plan on having a great time getting drunk and looking for “hot guidos.” Things don’t start out that wonderful, but soon Gia finds a job at the tanning salon, invents show more the hottest fad of the summer, rescues a landlocked shark, and meets firefighter Frank Rossi. Bella also lands a great job at the gym, teaching “Beat up the Beat” classes, and falls for her boss, Tony “Trouble” Troublino. But what happens when it’s time to leave the shore?

And no, I am not lying… those are the names in the book.

There really isn’t much to this book. You could consider it chick-lit; one with no taste or class (not that I was expecting either). The show was a guilty pleasure for awhile, but it has since lost it’s appeal for me. This book fills the same kind of role. I laughed out loud during some parts, but mostly at the expense of the author. It is obviously terribly written, and whoever was helping her ghost write it needs to be fired immediately. There is nothing worse than a book with typos. Except maybe THIS book with typos.

Clearly, Gia is Snooki and Bella is JWoWW. The first paragraph she starts talking about Gia’s “poof” and every so often she said “waa,” that annoying noise she used to make on the show. But more than this, it is the Italian element that is played up. In case you didn’t know, Snooki is not Italian (she was adopted by an Italian family), but she often pretends that she is. Throughout the book she is constantly throwing it in your face how Italian Gia and Bella are (and obviously the love interests) by using slang or just referencing this fact. I don’t know why this bothered me so much. Maybe it is because I actually know some New York Italians; my fiance comes from one such family. Let’s just say, there was very little tact used when referencing heritage.

All of the characters are poorly developed, especially the love interests. I think the development was given as much thought as their names were. The “plot” makes no real sense, how could it when the heroine saves a shark by stumbling over it. Although, I guess neither does the author’s fame, so I will let that one go. I find myself running out of things to say about the book the more I think about it. The entire thing is a bad episode or two of MTV’s reality show.

My co-workers and I would quote lines at work while we were reading it, since it was so ridiculous. I often said I could feel my brain cells crying out in pain and dying a slow, horrible death. I cannot condone anyone buying this book. I am a little sad that I put money into this sham. show less

Giovani is snooki zapped into fiction. You will quickly soak up this book with lots of booze, surprises and sparkle. This is basically jersey shore in a book. So if you are looking for some characters to drink with and feel like you are crazy partying while reading this book is for you!

I'm a huge fan of Jersey Shore, so when I heard about this book I immediately contacted the publisher's to see about reviewing Snooki's book. I honestly thought it would be a memoir, and I was completely wrong!
I will admit, at times while reading this book, it felt like I was watching a season of Jersey Shore, but in reality you don't have to know a thing about Jersey Shore to enjoy the book. You just have to be a fan of contemporary fiction really.
I thought it was a great read! I flew show more through each page, laughing along in all the right spots!
There is some sex and language in the book, so be warned.
A surprisingly huge recommendation for the reading list! show less