Reading Challenge 2023: It’s Up to You, New York by Tess Daly

This post is about a book I read called “It’s Up to You, New York” by Tess Daly. In a previous post, I discussed the novel from a graphic design perspective. I discussed my initial thoughts on the novel based on the book’s cover design. In this post, I will discuss my thoughts on the book itself.

A few years ago, I visited New York and had a good time. I live in London, England and New York is similar in many ways. It’s a big city with people from all over the world. But it’s also very different. There’s a magical feeling about the place. It’s funny because when I was there, everything felt so familiar despite the fact that it was my first time visiting the city. This is because of all the movies and series I watched growing up, that took place in The Big Apple. One thing is for certain, there’s never a boring day in this unique city.

The reading challenge I chose to do was to read “a book set in another country”. I chose the US, specifically New York. I searched online for novels set in New York, created a short list and then went to my local library to borrow them. “It’s Up to You, New York” was one of them.

Above: Image of the book “It’s Up to You, New York”.

I didn’t have any expectations. I only wanted to feel the magic of the city and relive some of my own memories through the story, characters and places. Nothing too heavy. Just a casual read.

The story revolves around a young woman who works at a call centre. The young woman, Holly, has a lovely boyfriend named James and they both live in London. Life is pretty good…apart from the fact she doesn’t really like her job. Then one day, an opportunity arises to join a television show seeking the UK’s next supermodel. After much deliberation, Holly decides to join the show.

This is where the story really starts to take off. She enters into a completely different world from her own. This world involves luxury, celebrities, premieres, the spotlight and of course, New York! But above all, life changing experiences.

I think that the short chapters help create the sense of a fast paced world. Things happen so quickly in the life of Holly that, as the reader, you feel it too. It was really nice to read about locations that I visited, such as 5th Avenue, Little Italy, Chinatown, The Empire State Building and the Museum of Modern Art.

There were a few things that surprised me. Firstly, the book was set in London. I assumed that it would be set entirely in New York, however it was nice to start things off in London. I live there so I could relate to the things mentioned in the novel. Secondly, the fashion reality show is only part of the story. Many things happen outside the show that contribute to the story. For example, there is an incident that happens with her boyfriend which actually catapults her into New York, but then comes full circle towards the end of the story.

The characters were also interesting. There were many questions and thoughts going through my mind such as the motives of the characters including: Max (the billionaire host of the show, who is nothing but nice to her…but why?). Zane (who speaks so much slang, is he really saying anything?). Sasha (her friendly supervisor on the show, but then becomes frosty for some reason). Joe (a journalist, but can he be trusted?) and Moet (a foe on the show but then shows a sudden change of heart).

There are other more poignant moments such as her younger sister who is diagnosed with a condition that makes it difficult to walk and her child-like nature to trust people who eventually let her down. But also elements where she surprises herself with her bravery and courage, to overcome situations and figure things out.

I predicted a few things correctly during the course of the book, however, the big twist at the end had me shocked. I did not see it coming!

Conclusion

It took just under 2 weeks to read the novel. That is very quick for me. It can take me a while to read because I can be inconsistent, but I made a real effort to read on a daily basis.

The book is a love story to New York. There are romantic moments, but also very funny moments. It all made for a good read. I really enjoyed it.

This is part of a reading challenge I am doing inspired by popsugar. Click here to read other posts related to reading. I’m looking forward to reading other books as part of this challenge. So watch this space.

Reading Challenge: The Lord of the Rings

I have finally managed to finish the novel The Lord of the Rings which means the Reading Challenge is up and running! The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was a rather enjoyable book. That ticks off three challenges from the list in one go: A book with magic in it, A book that became a movie and A book with nonhuman characters.

It’s taken a good few months for me to finally finish this book. Like I mentioned in my reading book challenge post, I wanted to get back into reading so I decided to read books that have been adapted into films, this way it keeps me motivated. I actually started reading the book towards the end of last year after reading The Hobbit, but then restarted because of this challenge.

It took months simply because I didn’t read everyday. It was more of a spontaneous act; A page or two here and there and other times it was a chapter or two. However, I realised as I got more into the novel the pace increased and I really started enjoying it, although it was still pretty sporadic in terms of when I read, sometimes it would be several weeks without touching the book. I read The Hobbit before delving into this book so I recognised a few characters such as Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Gloin and the lands such as The Shire and Moria. I was really happy to find that Bilbo Baggins was involved in the novel as he is one of my favourite characters in The Hobbit. The same goes for Legolas and Gandalf with whom I really liked in the Hobbit franchise. I would say that the Lord of the Rings is a lot slower than The Hobbit in terms of the pace of the adventure but I am not surprised considering that there are three novels compared to The Hobbit’s one. I found it interesting that The Ring was passed down to Frodo, Bilbo’s nephew, and that the creator Sauron was after it. He was the same nuisance who had been imprisoned in the Hobbit films, I think he was classed as The Necromancer.

My J.R.R. Tolkien Collection

Rivendell, the household of Elrond, is such a lovely place. The description in the novel gives a pleasant image in one’s mind. An image of a magnificent dwelling place. That was one of my favourite parts of the novel, finally they had escaped the wrath of The Black Riders. This was the very place were Frodo saw Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins again so it was a poignant moment. I smiled as Bilbo Baggins was revealed. This is where the adventure really kicks into another gear for me as they decide to take the ring to Mordor in order to destroy it once and for all. So a company of nine are on the quest. Which is actually really cool.

I like the fact that Frodo wasn’t alone, as a reader I found each character interesting and unique in their own way. Along the journey I learnt about their personal motives. traits and more. There were a few things that surprised me such as Gandalf being seized by a Balrog and presumed dead, that was a pretty sad moment for me in the novel but for some reason I don’t think he’s dead. (Well, we’ll find out in Part 2!) Saruman betraying Gandalf was another as his greed and anxiety turned towards the ring, Boromir in a desperate act trying to persuade Frodo in giving him the ring and using it against The Dark Lord.

I have to say however, that my favourite character in the novel is Strider. His other name is Aragorn. At first he appeared rather suspicious after being introduced as Strider in the land of Bree where Frodo, Merry, Sam and Pippin stayed for a night or two but the more I read the more he grew on me. I like his character, a lonesome ranger filled with integrity and honour. I like the character Sam a lot too, although he may seem feeble, his determination to follow and help Frodo any way he can is admirable. His love for all things Elves is awesome too! I am now looking forward to Part 2 of the franchise, especially because of how Part 1 ended. It ended with the company divided, Frodo and Sam heading to Mordor by themselves.

It’s left me with a few questions on my mind: What is going to happen when Frodo and Sam reach Mordor? What is Aragorn and co going to do once they find out they have left? Where is Gandalf? Part 2 is going to be a very interesting read.

What next in the Reading Challenge? Well, first things first, I shall watch the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a reward. I’m going to purchase it but a colleague of mine has kindly said that he will lend me the Blu-ray version. I’ve also just ordered a few books. One being The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers of course but the other two are pretty different. A classic in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. That way the classic novel and non-fiction challenges will be fulfilled. So alas ladies and gents, ’til the next post. It’s a ciao for now.