Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

It makes no sense

Why is the nook version higher than the paperback version. This makes no sense at all! The cost of publishing ebooks is so much less than for publishing traditional hardback and paperback books. Ridiculous, Barnes and Noble, just ridiculous!

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A Must Read-Great Themes, and Intriguing Story

Some Girls-My Life in a Harem Some Girls-My Life in a Harem, written by Jillian Lauren is a provocative, thought-provoking story of how an average, adopted teenage girl from the suburbs of New Jersey ends up in the exotic country of Brunei, in the harem of the Sultan's manipulative brother. The story begins with Jillian recalling her memories of the day she left for Brunei, and her visit to her ill father in the hospital. Overridden with guilt for leaving her family, Jillian, an NYU theater dropout leaves for Brunei, on an "acting job," and becomes hopelessly intertwined in Prince Jefri's harem. Quickly, Jillian finds herself becoming one of the prince's favorite girlfriends, and begins to spiral into a deep obsession with her own perfection, and the disgusting amount of riches she was gaining in such an immoral way. This depression leads Jillian back to New York, and to a healthier state of mind, which brings her to find her birth mother and adopt her own child. Many different themes, that all reflect on the dark side of human nature are portrayed in this intriguing biography. One of the major themes displayed in this story is how much of a price you will pay for your own wealth, and how your conscience can be so easily ignored in the face of great wealth and security. Another theme that this provocative tale examines is how easily the human heart can become desperate for affection, even if it is false love. All of the themes shown in this raw biography lead us to examine our ethics and consciences if we were to be put in Jillian's situation. One of the best aspects of this biography is the way that Jillian Lauren intertwines her wisdom and faults of her tainted past in Brunei, and her much healthier and loving present. Lauren reflects on her mistakes and experiences not with a hint of regret, but with a sense of progression and learning. Another great aspect of this biography was Lauren's ability to make the reader believe what Lauren felt about the Prince and the harem. The only true flaw that Lauren has in Some Girls is her brief description of her departure of Brunei, and what she was feeling exactly in the events preceding it. I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone I know, as it is an interesting story, that forces you to examine your faults, and ethics, and consider what you would do in a compromising situation. I find this biography to be a great story that keeps you interested from start to finish, while giving you time to reflect upon your beliefs and values, and how to forgive yourself and progress from your mistakes from the past. Jillian Lauren currently does not have any other books published, but after reading Some Girls, I would be intrigued to read anything else about her complex life. As a whole, I would give Some Girls four out of five stars, as it is an intriguing, exotic story, that you can still relate to, no matter how unorthodox Lauren's story becomes.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Couldn't put it down!

I'm a big historical fiction fan and rarely read biographies, but this book was quite fascinating. Jillina Lauren spins a story that draws in the reader from the beginning. It seems as if she is sitting beside you, casually recounting her life story. Who wouldn't love to know what goes on in a modern-day harem! We get a glimpse of what happens when male Muslims are fantastically wealthy, and how their lifestyles affect the young women they so thoughtlessly, casually discard.

What a story!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not as Advertised

I wish I'd read reviews first, usually try to...just finished this book and am disappointed. From the title AND description, I was looking for a story about the harem. Some of that is there, but there is a lot about this woman's upbringing, life, friends, family, etc. that I just didn't care about. So beware...I found myself skipping full pages just to get to an interesting part.

So - So

Not Enough About The Harem & Too Vague!! I Wish It Had MORE Insight! Alot Of Boring Details About The Author!

Good writing; boring story

Jillian Lauren is quite a good writer however, the story itself is lacking........

Not as exciting as I thought

I was disappointed, the front page says my life in a harem,but only short parts were really about the harem, it should have been an autobiography bc it discusses more about things that happened to the author before the harem and after, instead of during. I actually lost interest and it took me another week to read the last 30 or so pages. I do not recommend to buy this,especially on nook,wait until someone else you know buys it in paperback and borrow it, or look in the thrift stores bc it will be there soon!

Recommended!

From the beginning, I was entranced by what Lauren wrote of her life and her time within the harem. Not at all what I had imagined. Just from people that I had spoke to who had worked for the Sultan or his brothers, I had learned a lot. I learned even more from Jillian Lauren. Interested, fast read! I wished at times she had enclosed more detail.

Highly Readable

I recommend this book. First, for learning about a modern day harem. Secondly, for understanding modern young adult women and how they get to the places they do. There are adult scenes in this book and I woulnd't let my daughter read it, but the author wisely included sex scenes that were important to the plot. It wasn't a story of sex, but rather a story about a girl's life. An easy, interesting read and a statement on today's society.

highly recommend

Great easy read good vacation on a beach book ! Crazy story cant believe its true !!

This took guts!

I picked up this book having never heard of Jillian Lauren before and I couldn't put it down. I really think this took some guts for her to lay everything out like she did. She is a great storyteller!

gripping tale of personal growth

A fascinating view of how our choices can lead us in directions that we never imagined and which most people would find hard to believe even exist, and would find all but impossible to refuse

Interesting reading!

I really enjoyed this book. Something very different!

Good Book

Thanks for letting me borrow this book Patsy! It was really good!! :)

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not Nearly as Intriguing as the cover or title

To put it bluntly, I was bored. And I didn't care or relate to/for any of the characters in the book.

Fascinating, I Loved It

This book was incredibly interesting to me. Life in a Harem was obviously a complete mystery, so it is just incredible to get a look inside. The author is completely honest, and answers many of the questions I have along the way. And I really "get" how she turned from a suburban girl into a prostitute. Somehow she managed to convince me that this could happen to anyone. And I do not think less of her for it. You can see the growth/change of the character, particularly when she got the first tattoo. However, I wonder how she spent all of that cash so fast! I hope to read more by this author.

So So

The topic was intresting. I enjoyed reading about everything she went through in Brunei. But everything else was boring. I was constantly skimming & skipping pages. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Underwhelming

It had a premise that couldn't go wrong, and yet I felt that there was no real message to be gained from reading this book. The author felt a bit whiny and overwhelmingly uninvolved in her own life. Perhaps this is due to the lack of direction in her life at the time, but there was no real conflict that was immediately apparent that drove her to this lifestyle, or any real reason why she left.

It is an easy read, and you can get a vivid picture of life as a competitive "girlfriend", but overall, I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone.

An OK Read, But Nothing Wonderful

I read this book after seeing an MSN article about the author. The book was interesting, certaintly the world of strippers, escorts, and harems was not one I was familiar with, but it wasn't all that engaging. For the most part I found the narrator to be whiny and annoying and I didn't especially care what happened to her.

Boring

I came across this book because of Barnes and Noble's Deal of The Day. It sounded interesting. I never expected it to be deep, but I thought it would be a fun read. It didn't even hold my attention. I read 100 pages (skipping a few) then decided to skip to the end and I even found the end boring. Waste of money (even as a Deal of The Day).