Diary of a South Beach Party Girl is a bit of an odd duck. It says "a novel" right there on the cover, but the similarities between the main character of Rachel Baum and the author, Gwen Cooper, are so extensive as to make you wonder. I appreciate that often is the case with a firsst novel, but Diary of a South Beach Party Girl seems much more autobiographical than most.
When Rachel moves in with her friend Amy in Miami's South Beach, she finds herself launched into a world more decadent than she ever imagined. With almost constant partying, cocaine use and with a thing for a local career criminal, Rachel's life seems out of control, but it's not, not really. In fact she loves her life, loves the South Beach scene and, following a huge falling out with the treacherous Amy, loves her new "family" of gay best friends. So what's the problem? Well - and this is really the problem with the book - there isn't one.
