Kay is a junior copywriter with New York City’s hippest ad agency who feels oppressed by the boy’s club vibe of the advertising world. She’s also desperately in love with Ben, her partner/roommate/oldest friend. Can Kay break through the glass ceiling and show Ben what he means to her?
Maybe Kay would have more success if she could treat anybody she meets like a person instead of a stereotype. She has a negative opinion of every single woman in the book, including her mother, future sister-in-law, and coworkers. Over and over, the other women prove themselves to be much more than Kay initially assessed them to be – Peyton, aka “Queen Slut” as she’s described in the third chapter, who helps with a project and becomes someone Kay “really does love” or “all the chicks who’ve always been on my team, even when I was too daft to know it.” – but Kay still expresses that she’s not like other girls, because they’re slutty drunks, I guess? The men don’t fare much better, unanimously pigeonholed within a sentence or two, but the women have to work for their redemption, while the men just benefit when Kay starts talking to her coworkers like they’re people instead of inconveniences. The love interest who eventually replaces Ben (who double-crosses her on an important pitch, naturally, but is still forgiven because??? good feelings?) doesn’t even get a name; he’s referred to as Suit throughout the whole book. Even after the big finale kiss. Because the fact that he was wearing a suit the first time he’s introduced tells us every single thing we might need to know about his character.
Kay is universally shitty towards every person she meets, except for Ben and an overseas friend who speaks in excruciating Franglish (because she’s cool and hip!!! Not because English isn’t her first language or because she struggles with her vocabulary) and then acts surprised when people don’t fawn over her. She declines invitations to the bar over and over, then gets upset when she finds out people had a good time without her. She’s exhausting and frankly irritating. The blurb bills the book as “Mad Men meets Devils Wears Prada” and I can sort of see how that fits, given that Kay exhibits most of Miranda Priestly and Don Draper’s worst qualities but is even less self-aware. Do yourself a favour and sit down with delightful Meryl Streep, or one of Peggy Olson’s awesome moments instead of spending any time with this sad version of a “girl power” success story.
It sounds awful. I hope your next book is a better read.
Blech. I really hate that dumb thing where authors think they are making their woman characters more relatable or something by making them so judgey of other women. I think it says a lot more about the authors’ own inner monologue than they’d like to admit, frankly.
Love your post title, tho!
authors think they are making their woman characters more relatable or something by making them so judgey of other women.
Yes this is the WOOOOORST! I know that so many of us (women) don’t feel like we are the “stereotypical woman,” but that’s because that woman is actually fiction and all of us are more complex than that. The solution isn’t to have your female character shit on all other women and assume that your readers will go “YAH! I am ALSO not like other women!” Because what actually happens is I think “This girl would judge ME immediately as a woman, so screw her.”
Mini rant over!
Just FYI, this review is going to be featured in tomorrow’s Pajiba Love.
Ironic that the reviewer complains about women judging other women, in a piece equally judgy, aimed soley at girl bashing the authors.
No. She’s critiquing a book and giving reasons why she has only given it one star. Identifying and giving examples of the main character’s behavior is not the same as engaging in that behavior herself.
My reading of this review was that the reviewer was judging the characterization of the female protagonist and explaining to others, via example, why she chose her rating. At no point did I see her bashing the authors.