The Carrie Diaries | B+

Heads up lovers of Sex and the City: Carrie Bradshaw's got some new material on the shelves, but you won't find her band of beauties in this one.

The Carrie Diaries(April 2010) is the brain child of the fabulous Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City and the Lipstick Jungle series. After SATC spawned a hit TV series and two box-office-breaking movies, Bushnell has finally returned to writing about Carrie, filling us in on what our favorite New York City columnist was like before she met Mr. Big.

The year is 1982 and 17-year-old Carrie is living in Castlebury, Conn. As a senior at Castlebury High School, Carrie's life revolves around her aspiring dreams to become a writer. She's been told all her life she's not cut out for it and that she should be a scientist instead. But when she decides that a real story needs to be uncovered about Castlebury High's most notorious valley girl, the characters change their minds very quickly about Carrie's career choices and her will to get what she wants.

Carrie surrounds herself with a group of teens that can only be described as the quintessential '80s group of friends. First there's "The Mouse," who, as the smartest girl at Castlebury High, is the only one to play it safe. She confides only in Carrie, even with one of her darkest secrets. Then there's Walt and Maggie, a couple of teenagers in love--Carrie follows them through their ups and downs. Finally there's Carrie's best friend, Lali. Lali would do anything for Carrie, but Carrie questions how far Lali would go to get what she wants, even if it means hurting Carrie.

Besides her friends, Carrie's story follows a love saga of her own when transfer student Sebastian falls back into Carrie's life. Once friends with nerdy 13-year-old Carrie, Sebastian barely recognizes her in high school, but it doesn't take long for him to fall in love. However, he's not the only one. Carrie meets George at a Brown interview and doesn't give him a second thought. But when he tracks her down to ask her on a date, things get a little foggy in her love life.

Between the fashion, the trends and the younger drinking age of 18, it is fun to see how Carrie grew up and how Castlebury changed her into Manhattan's favorite mistress of the mattress.

But if you're into Bushnell's raunchier tales, reread your old favorites and skip this one. The Carrie Diaries is entertaining, but it's also squeaky clean — a stark change from the blunt, lewd and crude style of Sex and the City and Lipstick Jungle.