Meet The Benedettos: A Novel by Katie Cotungo
Book Rating: 3.5 / 5 ~ A fun read with a few misgivings.
Meet the Benedettos by Kate Cotungo paints itself as a romantic comedy that loosely takes from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Centering on the Benedetto sister: Lily, of the reality TV family the Benedetto’s where three seasons of prime-time television has caused the now-defunct family to be famous for being famous. Consider them a fictional edition of our beloved Kardashian clan. However, years later, the current family is beginning to stretch thin as their money begins to dwindle, and the veil of L.A glamor has long worn off. Lily, our heroine, is a spunky, hot-headed brunette who aspires to be a writer. She drives a beater car, portrays herself as the most grounded of her four sisters, and successfully navigates the L.A scene. She gets who she wants, she has no fucks to give, and is very protective of her family despite their flaws. Then we meet Will Darcy, our suave romantic interest, who has come to L.A from New York for an acting job. Small hints of a darker past and mental health crises are littered in most of the novel for Will. He is nonchalant, very forward, a bit sarcastic, and apparently very handsome.
I call a novel like this a “fun book.” It is not serious, not dark, and not introspective. Its simply meant to be a nice read where you can escape to silly antics and first-world problems. The kind of book you bring with you on vacation. Personally, I enjoy reading a quick light-hearted book such as this. I recently completed the Lord of the Rings novels, and I must say this book was a nice change from the long-winded, mystical writing that is Tolkien. While I may pit Tolkien’s works as some of my absolute favorites, sometimes it can be a bit much to read.
I think the characters are fleshed out fairly well. The main cast consists of Lilly and her four sisters: June, Olivia, Kit, and Mari. Their parents: Dominic and Cinta. And Will’s clan of people: Georgia (his sister), Caroline (his manager/situationship), and Charlie Bingley (his movie star best friend). I think I say “fairly” well because the sisters all sound like one another, except Kit, the one who elects not to speak and is considered the “kooky” sister. June is supposed to be our “Jane" and is considered a pretty and kind blonde who suffers throughout the novel with disordered eating. Olivia is the younger scrappier sister, she curses, parties, and eventually runs off to hook up with Lily’s old flame Nick (who, of course, is not a decent guy in the slightest). Cinta (their mother) is reputation-driven throughout the book and remains in a floaty denial about their financial circumstances. Insisting that they maintain the cost of living like a reality television family. We only get a glimpse into her mind towards the end, where our author finally gives us some depth to Cinta and expands on why she insists on pretending like her household isn’t going broke and falling apart. Dominic (their father) I’d say, is not given much character, as he isn’t focused on all too much, and doesn’t take up many pages. What I can recall of him is that he works out for hours each day and seems to be the only one stressed about the household finances, yet indulges his daughters’ expensive demands anyway.
Going back to my use of the wording “fairly well,” I say this because the Benedettos and even Will Darcy and his people tend to have this habit of making hyper-specific references and witty one-liners in conversation. On one page, you’ll see Lilly make a connection between how someone’s bad behaviors make her recall Paris Hilton’s disastrous birthday at Nobu, and on the next page, Will Darcy’s manager/situationship Caroline will make a comment about how the traffic in L.A is just as bad as the lines in Erewhon. I know they are talking about different topics, but the delivery and pattern of the witty comment paired with a remark towards something about L.A fame and lifestyle jump to each character. At first, I thought this comparison-banter would be one of Lily’s characteristics to show she’s “unique,” but then all the characters began to do it. I just guess everyone in the novel enjoys making exasperated comments about being famous in L.A? At one point, it just felt like our author was making the characters say these things about L.A and being famous to directly prove that she knew how to make them sound famous and how much she knew about L.A culture. However, this emphasis on their involvement in fame and notoriety comes at the expense of the characters all talking the same.
Another thing I had noticed was how quickly the novel wraps everything up in a nice bow. From spending the whole novel with Will and Lilly at odds, then flirting, then at odds again, to the financial and social troubles of the family. The ending, where everything suddenly picks up, is within the last 30 pages. Lilly’s first book is getting published, Olivia’s “tape” kickstarts an online career for advertising adult products, the silent sister was secretly investing in stock and manages to save the family from ruin, and Will Darcy shows up at Lilly Benedetto’s door to apologize before he is whisked off to New York. All is well in the final hour.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a happy ending; in fact, I prefer them. But I feel that a part of me was nearing the last pages of this book, confused as to how everything was going to wrap up in 10 pages. Instead of a staggered solution to the several key issues, the author almost speeds through how each one is suddenly magically resolved in such a whirlwind of an ending. I’m happy that all is well in the end for our characters, yet I feel like the ending could have been stretched further so that all the loose ends aren’t tied up at once. Perhaps Olivia’s issue with Nick could have been the first to be solved, with her flipping the narrative and giving Nick (who disappears at this point) some rightful punishment, which could then jog an interest among the media in June and her budding romance with the movie star Charlie Bingley. Because of that, June finally runs out of momentum with her issues and looks to her family for support, where she is then admitted to the program she attends at the end of the story, with Charlie still visiting her. Will and Lilly, throughout this, would be crossing paths as usual, and slowly but surely come to rekindle their connection. The family financials could then be resolved through multiple avenues, with Olivia’s new wave of internet fame, the quiet sisters’ reveal of her investments, Lilly’s book deal, and even an admission from Will about his feelings for Lilly before they fly off to New York hand in hand. All of this could have been fluffed up for a longer, more well-paced ending.
Overall, I liked this book. As I said earlier, it’s a vacation read. Something to crack open when you want an escape where there’s no real stakes, some drama, and a smidge of spice. The two key issues I had don’t diminish the enjoyment of the book; in fact, the issue about pacing speaks to the fact that I didn’t want the book to end as fast as it did. I recommend this book for those who want a quick, light, non-commital read. If you enjoy reality tv or pop culture, perhaps scoffing at the lunacy of L.A fame, and enjoy glimpses of Jane Austen, you may just like this novel.
