There’s nothing bad about Pineapple Street. But… there’s nothing great about it, either.
My book review today is for a novel that was getting all the buzz when it came out in 2023. Pineapple Street was a GMA Book Club Pick, and it was nominated for not one, but two Goodreads Choice Awards: Readers’ Favorite Fiction and Readers’ Favorite Debut Novel.
After such illustrious praise, I cracked open Jenny Jackson’s debut novel with great excitement.
Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last long.
What’s Pineapple Street about?
Pineapple Street is about rich people. That’s pretty much it. Rich people who are born into extremely wealthy families, as well as the few lucky sods who marry into those families.
The novel focuses on three women in the Stockton family. Two of them are sisters, the darling daughters of rich parents, and the third is the daughter-in-law from a “normal” financial background. It’s a character-driven story that focuses on sibling drama, multigenerational family drama, and navigating life as a “have” or “have not.”
What I didn’t like about Pineapple Street
Soooo… I’m not really sure what the point of Pineapple Street is. That’s because nothing much happens in this novel. Well, I mean stuff happens, but there’s nothing that really makes the story exciting or interesting or unique. It’s a novel about people who have too much money and the problems that come with that.
From all the publicity and Bookstagram buzz surrounding this book, I expected Pineapple Street to be full of witty banter, loveable-if-flawed characters, and quirky relatives who just completely take the cake.
Instead, everything is very bland. Mediocre. Beige. The most colorful thing about Pineapple Street is its (freaking gorgeous) book cover. The Stockton family are your stereotypical WASPs with too much money, and while some characters try to better themselves, there’s nothing appealing enough about those characters and their “emotional arcs” to make them stand out.
Pineapple Street almost ended up on my DNF list a few times, but I pushed myself to keep reading. It was mostly to find out if something interesting ever actually happens. And, while there were a few unexpected plot twists, nothing of note really happened. It all just sort of fizzled toward an end…
Should you read Pineapple Street?
I’m not personally recommending that anyone read Pineapple Street. As far as debut novels go, I’m not impressed. The story was good – decent writing, decent plotline, decent characters – but I don’t understand what all the fuss was about. Part of me wonders if all the hype was because the author, Jenny Jackson, is an editor at a very major traditional publishing house. 
However, I acknowledge I may not be the target audience for this book. Pineapple Street reminded me a lot of The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney and The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Grinder. Also, of anything by Emma Straub. If you enjoyed any of these books/authors (which I did not), then you’ll probably like Pineapple Street more than I did.
Redirect: if you’re looking for a good story about “the haves” and “have-nots” + eccentric family members + over-the-top family drama, skip on over to Crazy Rich Asians, which is fantastic.
What’s the book-inspired recipe for Pineapple Street?
Check back in for my book-inspired recipe: Cinnamon Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.
