THE AU PAIRS #2: SKINNY-DIPPING
Melissa de la Cruz
Simon & Schuster
Fiction
ISBN: 1416903828
304 pages

• Read an Excerpt
• Author Interview -- July 20, 2005

SKINNY-DIPPING brings poor Mara, rich then poor Eliza, and Brazilian Jacqui back to the Hamptons for another summer of adventures. Fans of last year's THE AU PAIRS have been waiting for the hinted-at sequel where Mara, Eliza and Jacqui were supposed to go on a tropical winter break with the Perry family. For some reason, that idea was abandoned, and there is only brief mention of Eliza and Jacqui's winter with the Perrys, where Eliza and Ryan Perry were up to no good while Mara was away. That's just the beginning of the changes for this summer.

Eliza gets a job with a hot club instead of working with the Perry children, and a new au pair, Philippe, moves into the quarters with Mara and Jacqui. Philippe is as handsome as he is mysterious, and Jacqui tries to overcome an attraction to him.

Mara is still recovering from breaking up with Ryan by partying too much and dating Mr. Shallow and Wrong. She loves all the attention her uber-it self is getting from photographers and designers, but Eliza and Jacqui are growing tired of her.

Eliza never sees Jeremy while he is busy at his finance job, and ends up spending too much time with Ryan again. Her job is hard work --- catering to spoiled Hamptonites is not the glamorous status return she was hoping for.

Readers will enjoy the references to the latest designer duds and party trends, but the Hamptons is a small place and it will be interesting to see in future books what changes await these girls after they are college-bound and on breaks.

   --- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

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