It is spring in 2006. Evelyn Beegan is 26 and is treading the same
waters that most recent college grads have to brave: the first real job. Evelyn is the
newly minted director of membership for People
Like Us, a new social networking site.
Think Facebook for the society
set complete with invite-only membership.
As a teen, Evelyn attended Sheffield Academy- an exclusive eastern
boarding school. Now, we find our main
character returned to her alma mater for the annual Sheffield-Enfield lacrosse
match in order to do a little networking.
The book begins with Evelyn’s obsession to sign up all of the “right” people
for the website but before we know it, she is desperately attempting to sprint
to the top of New York City’s social hierarchy.
Several reviews have
likened Clifford’s Everybody Rise to
an Edith Wharton novel set in the 21st century. This is an apt description, but Evelyn’s
evolution throughout the book seems a much more positive one than any of
Wharton’s female characters. Evelyn must
learn how to be a self-sufficient adult in a world outside that which her
parents have always wanted her to find.
And more than that, to find a purpose in life.
Everybody Rise is
available August 18th. Check
out a copy now.
