Rating: 
Summary: overrated
Review: I read the first story and did not feel like reading any more. Writing is decent, but be forwarned it is (unnecessarily) gory (broken neck and bones sticking out)
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: I really liked "Pilgrims." There is true grit and substance in that story. But "Notes to Sixth Grade Self" is far too derivative of Lorrie Moore, and too shallow for my taste. (Junot Diaz' riff off Lorrie Moore in "How to Date a Blackgirl" is far more original, and takes up far more dangerous questions of race, class, etc.) I can't remember the other stories distinctly enough, and this underscores the biggest problem with the book: its repetitiveness. Not enough range, not enough originality, not enough distinction, either in subject or style. Everything is polished, smart, tasteful . . . but safe.
Rating: 
Summary: Breathtakingly Beautiful
Review: If your book group is looking to delve into more than the same old same old, Jullie Orringer's "How to Breathe Underwater" is a must. The opening "Pilgrims" describes an unusual Thanksgiving dinner from the point of view of the children; the ending is shocking. The second story, "When She Is Old and I Am Famous" has a lighter touch, a first person account of the jealousy the protagonist feels toward her beautiful cousin. Nine exquisitely written, thought provoking stories that explore loss, love, relationships, rivalry, disappointments, triumphs with eloquence, depth, sadness, humor.
Rating:
Summary: Just Say "NO" to 'Chick Lit'!
Review: It is getting difficult to find modern fiction that deals with life from a woman's or girl's point of view without resorting to cliche. The newest onslaught of Prada-obsessed shopping women who are clumsy and care only about getting a man to match their lattes are so annoying in the bestsellers list. Do publishing companies honestly think that chick lit=vapid, dumb privilaged women? When I heard that this was supposed to be a stunning collection of stories from a female's perspective, I was nervous but have turned out to be a big fan of Julie Orringer's work. I would say next to ZZ Packer's Drinking Coffe Elsewhere and Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen, this is one of the best short story collections that deserves the critical acclaim it has received.
The quality of writing goes smoothly like a vanilla milkshake, but with the complexity of a vintage wine. The girls in these stories know more than their parents and peers would have you believe they do. To other reviewers who were grossed out by some of the events, I can assure that most girl's lives are not dancing to pop idols and aspiring to be Barbie; these girls lead lives that make them deal with their mother's dying of cancer, with persistant stoned teenage males, with religious adults who constrict young girl's lives and independence, and unfortunately the competition with other girls. Far from romanticising the very real "catfights" or complex drama girls interact with one another, often competing with one another for boys and attention or with the fact they are a not model and they do have to wear glasses. Orringer gives her female protoganists an urgent agency that most fiction (and media) has taken away from them, showing that girls are indeed human beings and not sexualized wanna-be women a la Lolita.
Take a chance from the books that have covers of "cute" blondes wearing designer clothes thinking about some bland businessman while getting drunk on martinis and reclaim female literature as intelligent, warm, entertaining, and above all, real.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: Julie Orringer is the real deal, a gifted writer whose work is a pleasure to read. I felt as though I had discovered a young Kaye Gibbons or Barbara Kingsolver. These are moving and insightful stories, and this is a book that, when you finish it, you hug it for a moment before you put it away.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't finish the book
Review: Let me say right off that the first story, "Pilgrims," is terrific. I flipped through the first few pages and decided to buy the book based on how good they were. Unfortunately, nothing else in the book matches its level of writing. The other stories are skillful but safe, repetitive, always told from the point of view of a privileged young woman, and bourgeois in a way that doesn't question its bourgeois status. I can't finish the book. And "Notes to Sixth Grade Self" is [bad]. ... But despite all this, she has talent and hopefully her next book will be as good as that first story.
Rating:
Summary: Writing from experience
Review: Many years ago I went to high school with Julie (although I'm sure she wouldn't remember me.) She was writing short stories even then. A lot happened to all of us during her senior year. I think some of it was paid homage to in her book. She has become a beautiful writer and someone who we will continue to hear from in the years to come. Great job, Julie. (Go River Rats!!!)
Rating:
Summary: wonderfully, hauntingly beautiful
Review: One of the most hauntingly beautiful, poignant, moving books I have ever read. Short stories often leave me wanting more, but each story in this collection was incredibly fulfilling in its own right. Sad, mesmerizing and amazingly, touchingly human, these stories tug at the heart and stay with the soul. I so want her next book...
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely incredible...
Review: Orringer creates amazing worlds and has an incredible eye for detail physical and emotional - the plastic seats at disneyland and the power of a mean childhood friend. Can't wait for more, a beautiful, beautiful debut.
Rating: 
Summary: Keeps you going
Review: Orringer's writing style is excellent, as far as the flow and the ability to lead the reader on and on. I'm writing because of the disturbing story titled 'Stars of Motown Shining Bright'. Although the end was not tragic afterall, and although I realize that teenagers handle guns everyday, and although the author might have felt some drive, need, or responsibility to write on the topic, I hate the idea that a young girl or boy could, by reading this story, feel justified in pointing a gun at another young girl or boy, particularly ones she/he knew very well. In my opinion, the story does not emphasize the result as much as it does the girl's fondness of the gun, to possess it, to touch it, to feel it against her skin. Sounds like I'm the biggest fan for gun control, but I'm not. I'm also not a member of the NRA. Please, Ms. Orringer, think about reader responses to your stories. On a more positive note: My favorite story was 'The Isabel Fish', about a brother and sister working through the aftermath of a tragedy.
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