06/21/2021
In this colorful debut, Bleidner recounts growing up in the L.A. suburb of Calabasas in the late 2010s, where the thrills include making unauthorized visits to the Kardashians’ mansions. After transferring from Catholic middle school to Calabasas High for the theater classes, Bleidner began recording the social foibles of her privileged milieu, making for an evocative snapshot of young lives lived mostly online with the occasional beaming back down to Earth. Physical reality, in the author’s life, meant mourning the breakup of boy bands, smelling mango Juul vape, driving through a cemetery, eating strip mall salads, and worrying about how many carbs she had at breakfast. Timeless observations about the “whole Southern California shtick” abound: despite the prevalence of CBD-therapy oil, skincare treatments, and endless Grubhub orders, there’s still a vast sense of emptiness. “To live in LA is to experience a unique sort of isolation,” writes Bleidner. While the frequent cultural references (the ubiquity of lip injections, Brandy Melville shirts, and American Apparel tennis skirts) may slide past older readers, the switched-on social set will find this full of charm. Readers will be eager to see where Bleidner goes next. (Aug.)
