Nicolaia Rips

"They were like balloons that had escaped a child's grasp - pointlessly floating. "Focus!" I would plead with my mother. And my father was forever being diverted." Allow us to introduce you to the Rips family: Michael, Sheila and daughter Nicolaia, the last denizens of New York's famous Chelsea Hotel. Better yet, allow Nicolaia to introduce them since it's her earnest, wry, occasionally wicked, but always affectionate observations that you'll find in her memoir, Trying to Float. Not only a coming-of-age story set in an enigmatic New York landmark, this is also the clever love story of a family, navigating the curiosities of their home.

Chronicles of a Girl in the Chelsea Hotel

Trying to Float

Jeannette Ordas

Uh, bullshit wrapped in more bullshit. I admit to liking the first few chapters and then everything started feeling like a well curated droll snapshot. It starts out about growing up in the Chelsea Hotel but then the rest of the book is just about the author's life. Partially shaped by her father and mostly made up and/or exaggerated, I wished she had posted the last bit at the very opening of the book so I'd know going in what was going on. Ugh.

Caroline Lewicki

I found "Trying to Float" so entertaining. Nicolaia Rips' recounting of living in the Chelsea Hotel is a hilarious and heartwarming story similar to a demented Eloise. Her stories are unique to New York City in some ways, but not at all unique to the trials and tribulations of growing up. I recognized a lot of her sentiments and really enjoyed reading this book. She reads the audiobook version and is a delight to hear.

Trying to Float Chronicles of a Girl in the Chelsea Hotel

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