Summary

Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected, old money Stockton family, followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood but giving up far too much in the process; Sasha, a middle-class New England girl, has married into the Brooklyn Heights family, and finds herself cast as the arriviste outsider; and Georgiana, the baby of the family, has fallen in love with someone she can’t have and must decide what kind of person she wants to be. 

Rife with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s 1-percenters, Pineapple Street is an addictive, escapist novel that sparkles with wit. Full of recognizable, loveable – if fallible – characters, it’s about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, the miles between the haves and have-nots, and the insanity of first love – all wrapped in a deliciously funny, sharply observed debut of family, love and class. 

Why I chose to read this book

I found this discounted book in a pharmacy while on a road trip to a friend’s wedding with my husband and daughter. The colorful cover and vibrant synopsis reeled me in. I immediately ditched my current read (sorry!) to enjoy the adventures on Pineapple Street.

Thoughts & Opinions

This was a quick and easy read. Pineapple Street follows the lives of 3 women; 2 sisters and their sister-in-law. Each chapter is from one of their POVs. The sisters, Darley and Georgiana are rich 1-percenters and you get a glimpse of what their lives are like. Sasha, the sister-in-law, married into the family and feels like an outsider. 

Darley was the most relatable for me. If you want to feel good about your parenting, read this book! In all seriousness, it demonstrates that none of us are perfect parents but we are trying our best.

Georgiana seemed and acted way younger than her age – but eventually showed some kind of growth when she struggled between her rich kid identity (i.e. spoiled) and wanting to be a good person.

Sasha… what can I say… sometimes I hated her, other times I thought she was sympathetic/empathetic and trying her best to integrate the family yet she still did things that were completely unreasonable. Definitely a nuanced character.

I enjoyed the beginning but the more I read the more I started to wonder if anything would actually happen, and when it did, it was pretty unpleasant. It’s not a scenario I would have chosen as a big plot line for this book. 

I was rooting for the women’s happiness because it felt like friends talking about their daily lives with all the issues that come with it.  

Pineapple Street felt akin to voyeurism into family secrets and their juicy gossip however I had higher expectations from this book and unfortunately it fell flat for me.