I have been feeling some type of way lately. I feel lost, confused, self-conscious, and filled with so much doubt. I don't know what I want out of life, what I'm working toward, or how to come into my own. Life feels really confusing and overwhelming right now and I need some guidance.

Because of that, I've been nose deep in every self-help, empowering book I could find and this was one of them. "Girl on Fire" is included in Kindle Unlimited and is by an author that I've followed on and off for years. Cara Alwill Leyba wrote "Girl Code" back in the day and the book was everywhere. She became an inspirational, women empowerment icon and has written several other books based on that messaging. 

"Girl on Fire" is her latest, published in 2019 and it is a short, empowering book full of exactly the words you want to hear. I devoured the book within a few days and highlighted so many paragraphs and nuggets of wisdom that I wanted to come back to in the future. 

I have never listened to The Ladygang podcast before I read their book but I was still intrigued. It seemed like the kind of 'adult' guide that I could get behind. It seemed no-nonsense, straight to the point, and funny book that I would love.

Publisher's Summary

My Thoughts

There was no post yesterday because I chose to honor 9/11 in silence. I've done so many posts in the past about that day, where I was and how I remember it. This year, I just wanted to take the day to reflect without a blog post. It's always a sad, somber day traveling on the NYC subway and just being a New Yorker but goddamit, I love my city more than anything.

Now, onto the book review...  

I've suffered from a quarter-life crisis since I turned 21 years old so I knew once I turned 25, it would only get worse. I've talked your ear off about it for years so you know exactly what I'm talking about.

It just so happens that instead of me purchasing it, my sister saw it in my Amazon cart and gave it to me as a birthday gift.

That book is '20 Something, 20 Everything' by Christine Hassler.



You've probably seen the somber blue cover with the woman looking into the water somewhere on the Internet; I know I definitely have! This book usually pops up on a lot of 'Books for 20 Somethings' lists, or anything related to adulting.

Because it's become such a classic in the world of millennials going through a quarter-life crisis, I was expecting a lot. I don't know what I was expecting but I know I wanted to be wowed.

I was definitely not wowed.

Why I Didn't Like It

1. The book felt a little outdated which it should because it's was published in 2005. It has since been updated to include social media, but if it wasn't published within the last year, it still would feel outdated.

2. It was very long and I felt a lot of it was unnecessary. It felt very wordy and drawn out for no reason. Because of that, it took me close to 8 months to finish. I just couldn't get into it because it was so slow.

3. Part of the beauty of this book was that it gave you interactive activities and prompts to do in every chapter. I am just not that type of person to stop reading, grab a pen and paper and jot down notes. I like to read because I want to escape, even if it is a self-help book. I think not taking advantage of those prompts defeats the purpose of the book and I wasn't able to fully enjoy it.

Why I Did Like It

Verdict

Is anyone else excited to see something else besides a thriller being reviewed on the blog? I am and I'm the one writing/reading!

I've been out on my audiobook game for a while and whatever was being reviewed over the past few months were books I finished a while ago. I've heavily been into the podcast game on my commute but I haven't let my actual reading game slip.

I bought this book on a whim a few months ago and finished it a few weeks back. It was a super quick read but really informative.

"The Glitter Plan" follows the journey of Pam & Gela, the creators of Juicy Couture, the fashion house we all wore in the early 2000s and loved dearly. I was really interested in seeing how the business started and get any advice I could from the founders of one of the biggest companies to splash onto the scene.



The book follows how Pam and Gela met, and how they started out together in business with a maternity line (!!!) and then wanted to find the perfect t-shirt. That is how Juicy was born.

It takes you along for the ride and really shows you how the ladies started the business from the ground up; they brought their kids and dogs to work, modeled the clothes on themselves, and were even dying and cutting up t-shirts on their own. It was so interesting to read about their humble beginnings, and all throughout the book, you can tell that they kept themselves grounded.

The beginning was a bit slow and boring but only because I was ready to get to when they named their brand 'Juicy Couture' and when they started making sweatsuits.

I will not tell a lie, when they talked about how the velour sweatsuit came to be (right after the terrycloth sweatsuits which I had no idea, I always assumed velour came first) I got the chills up and down my body. I legit almost teared up because it was this 'ah-ha' moment of when P&G's lives changed and when they made their mark in the fashion industry.

The book takes you straight through the rise and fall of Juicy Couture; they tell you all about how they sold the business to Liz Clairborne and how they knew it was time to leave.

It was so interesting to see their journey and how much they loved their business, and how hard it was for them to leave it.

At the end of each chapter, there was a summary of business tips that directly correlate to the what the chapter was about.

The book was part business manual, part memoir and I thought that it fit really well. It wasn't overly businessy and serious but more fun and quirky, just what you would expect from the ladies that brought you hot pink velour sweatsuits.

I thought as a business manual, it was quite useful. It shows how hard success is to come by but how you can really do it if you're down to get dirty. As a memoir, I thought it was equally great; you got an inside look at how they rose to the top and how it affected their lives.

If you're someone who is really into business/self-help books and someone who LOVES fashion, I HIGHLY recommend this! You have nothing to lose by reading it but everything to gain!

xoxo
B