From Booklist
Teenager Pille (who grew up in Paris' wealthy sixteenth arrondissement, referenced in the title) chronicles the lives of trust-fund kids who go clubbing all night, sleep all day, and wake up in time to do it all over again. Hell (nee Ella) narrates this bleak little tale, which begins with her declaration "I'm a bitch" and continues with her exploits snorting endless lines of cocaine. Hell gets a reprieve when she falls in love with the mysterious Andrea, with whom she spends a blissful six months--until it ends for reasons hard to fathom. There's a lot of blather about how meaningless life is and how all these kids want is true connection and love from their parents, and on and on. The novel was well received in France and may create something of a stir here, too, based on shock value alone. Pille is not without talent as a writer, but she never convincingly answers the question that hovers over her precocious debut: Why should we care about the suffering of such insufferable people?
Beth LeistensniderCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
