Finally Candace Bushnell answers the questions that have plagued diehard Sex in the City fans ever since Carrie Bradshaw sipped her first pink cosmo: How did Carrie hit the big time as a newspaper columnist in New York City? What spurred her fascination with bad boys and high fashion? And most importantly – how did she meet her fabulous trio of gal pals?

Considering this book is classified as young adult, many Sex in the City fans will dismiss it as a dumbed-down “little Carrie” story filled with high school hijinks and insipid mean-girl melodrama. But don’t be fooled, this book runs much deeper than – gasp! – the plotlines in the TV series and the movies.

Before donning Monolos and hobnobbing with A-listers at trendy Manhattan hotspots, Carrie Bradshaw was a small town girl who dreamed of being a writer and jumping on a train toward the bright lights of Manhattan.  Detailing  the hardships young Carrie encountered after her mother’s death – a back-story barely touched upon in the series – Bushnell reveals  how the insecure teen depended more on her friends than her widowed father to maneuver her way through the emotional minefield of adolescence.

In this much-anticipated prequel, Bushnell offers a glimpse into  the origins of Carrie’s outlandish fashion sense and penchant for tall, dark and dangerous men. Sebastian Kydd, a James Dean kind of bad boy, most certainly foreshadows Carrie’s rocky road ahead with the notorious Mr. Big.

A refreshing departure  from shallow plotlines surrounding  product placement, over-the-top weddings and decadent trips to Abu Dhabi, “The Carrie Diaries” offers a coming-of-age story that gives “our girl” a bit more substance. Fans in need of a Sex in the City fix will love seeing Carrie evolve from an awkward teen into a quick-witted, insightful writer.

Although I was hoping Bushnell would give readers a taste of Carrie’s early beginnings with Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, she does reveal the young fashonista’s road to New York City and serendipitous encounter with a certain PR bad girl. Oh Candace, please tell me you’re writing a sequal!