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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I ended up liking this so much more than I thought I would. Imogene is super likable and I’m glad that us 40 somethings aren’t going the way of the dinosaurs just yet.
I both loved and hated this book. Overall - it was a cute, fun read. I would highly recommend it as a quick beach read. It's classic chick lit fluff - totally along the same lines as Helen Fielding, Marian Keyes or Jane Green (before she tried to get serious).
Imogen Tate is a super-successful editor in chief of a glossy women's fashion magazine named, approriately (if unimaginatively) enough, Glossy. She takes a 6 month medical leave to deal with breast cancer and returns to find her former assistant Eve has been rehired and promoted to... something kind of like her boss? But not? It's fuzzy. Anyway, Eve's directing all the online content for Glossy, which has, in 6 months, decided to stop printing and go totally online/be app-based. Also, Eve's basically a psychopath.
The whole book is like a fashion mag remake of the classic movie All About Eve but it still feels original.
Now, for the part I HATED. We're supposed to somehow believe that during the 6 months Imogen was out on leave, the world became super high tech. And poor, poor Imogen just can't keep up with any of it. Seriously? This woman is supposed to be like 5 years older than me and she can barely figure out how to send a text. How does that work? I mean, I know us Gen X'rs can't really compete with Millenials when it comes to staying up on the absolute latest tech trends (I say that as someone who just refuses to sign up for Snapchat. I just can't you guys. It's just too much) but for goodness sake, we were the original online generation. How is Imogen supposed to be believable at all?! I feel like she should have either been made to be 20 years older (or even 30 - seriously, this chick is less tech-literate than my mom and believe me, that's saying something) or maybe spent a few years out of the office instead of a few months (iPhones, Twitter and Instagram didn't just spring up overnight y'all) or even just had her be a little less helpless in the face of change. Her inability to figure out simple things that the rest of us have adapted to as they came on is infuriating and one wonders how someone so out of the loop in all things tech can possibly be believable as someone who can keep up with the ever changing world of fashion. It doesn't make any sense.
Still, if you can get past the whole "Imogen is super stunted when it comes to those newfangled computin' machines" thing, it really is a great read. I might even buy this one to re-read when I need a fluffy little palate cleanser.
Imogen Tate is a super-successful editor in chief of a glossy women's fashion magazine named, approriately (if unimaginatively) enough, Glossy. She takes a 6 month medical leave to deal with breast cancer and returns to find her former assistant Eve has been rehired and promoted to... something kind of like her boss? But not? It's fuzzy. Anyway, Eve's directing all the online content for Glossy, which has, in 6 months, decided to stop printing and go totally online/be app-based. Also, Eve's basically a psychopath.
The whole book is like a fashion mag remake of the classic movie All About Eve but it still feels original.
Now, for the part I HATED. We're supposed to somehow believe that during the 6 months Imogen was out on leave, the world became super high tech. And poor, poor Imogen just can't keep up with any of it. Seriously? This woman is supposed to be like 5 years older than me and she can barely figure out how to send a text. How does that work? I mean, I know us Gen X'rs can't really compete with Millenials when it comes to staying up on the absolute latest tech trends (I say that as someone who just refuses to sign up for Snapchat. I just can't you guys. It's just too much) but for goodness sake, we were the original online generation. How is Imogen supposed to be believable at all?! I feel like she should have either been made to be 20 years older (or even 30 - seriously, this chick is less tech-literate than my mom and believe me, that's saying something) or maybe spent a few years out of the office instead of a few months (iPhones, Twitter and Instagram didn't just spring up overnight y'all) or even just had her be a little less helpless in the face of change. Her inability to figure out simple things that the rest of us have adapted to as they came on is infuriating and one wonders how someone so out of the loop in all things tech can possibly be believable as someone who can keep up with the ever changing world of fashion. It doesn't make any sense.
Still, if you can get past the whole "Imogen is super stunted when it comes to those newfangled computin' machines" thing, it really is a great read. I might even buy this one to re-read when I need a fluffy little palate cleanser.
This was pretty typical "chick lit", but that's not a bad thing. I read a lot of heavy stuff so this was a nice light, easy read. While the plot was somewhat predictable, the characters weren't cardboard cutouts which kept them from being annoying. As a child, I used to dream of being in fashion so that aspect was fun. Somewhat reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada, but in reverse.
What a great vacation read! Behind the scenes look at fashion industry and the digital changes happenings. I read it on vacation in a day.
What if Miranda Priestly was nice, but also had to deal with a changing media landscape and an upstart editor who thinks she's future of fashion media? That's the general premise of The Knockoff. Imogen Tate is the Editor in Chief of Glossy magazine, a fashion mag that's supposed to be similar in status to Vogue. Imogen is returning to work after a 6-month sabbatical during which she underwent cancer treatment. She comes back expecting the status quo, but is surprised to find her former assistant Eve, now a graduate of the Harvard Business School, sitting behind her desk. Because now apparently they don't really "do" desks as Glossy, because Eve has been appointed as head of digital media and has decided to turn Glossy into Buzzfeed, complete with all-night hackathons and choreographed dances that get shared on the company's social media.
What happens next is a power struggle between Imogen - the veteran with all the fashion connections and expertise, but a Luddite when it comes to technology - and Eve, who has a severe case of Main Character Syndrome with a dash of Single White Female thrown in, just for fun. Honestly, the part of the book that's the most fun is watching Eve's increasingly unhinged behavior. Whether it is putting her hand over the mouth of a Diane von Furstenberg-like character to shush them and "close the deal" (which doesn't work, obviously), dating and becoming engaged to Imogen's WASP-y drug-addicted politician ex, or trying to turn her wedding into the society and fashion event of the season, Eve's insane behavior is hilarious, mortifying, and infuriating all at the same time.
This is not a deep read. Imogen is likable, but completely unrealistic as a Gen Xer who doesn't understand how email works. Eve is a hilariously over-the-top villain, but also unbelievable as person who's risen so high in the media world, even accounting for the Peter principle. (Where you're promoted to the level of your own incompetence.) But the scenes in the fashion world are fun, Imogen is a fun character to root for, and the book goes by quickly and enjoyably. It's no Devil Wears Prada, but it is fun.
What happens next is a power struggle between Imogen - the veteran with all the fashion connections and expertise, but a Luddite when it comes to technology - and Eve, who has a severe case of Main Character Syndrome with a dash of Single White Female thrown in, just for fun. Honestly, the part of the book that's the most fun is watching Eve's increasingly unhinged behavior. Whether it is putting her hand over the mouth of a Diane von Furstenberg-like character to shush them and "close the deal" (which doesn't work, obviously), dating and becoming engaged to Imogen's WASP-y drug-addicted politician ex, or trying to turn her wedding into the society and fashion event of the season, Eve's insane behavior is hilarious, mortifying, and infuriating all at the same time.
This is not a deep read. Imogen is likable, but completely unrealistic as a Gen Xer who doesn't understand how email works. Eve is a hilariously over-the-top villain, but also unbelievable as person who's risen so high in the media world, even accounting for the Peter principle. (Where you're promoted to the level of your own incompetence.) But the scenes in the fashion world are fun, Imogen is a fun character to root for, and the book goes by quickly and enjoyably. It's no Devil Wears Prada, but it is fun.
Many reviews call the characters "stereotypical," but I'm pretty confident the authors were going for over-the-top satire. Imogen was intriguing, but about as blah as vanilla ice cream.
I have to admit, I worried a bit when I started this book. I felt like a lot of information was packed into the first chapter. But this ended up being my favorite book that I've read thus far this year. The characters are so well-written, especially Imogen. It's a great, fun read that I didn't want to put down.
i thought my friends were being hysterical when they referred to new orleans' neighborhood, the bywater, as brooklyn, but this book sent a shiver down my spine. yankee go home! but srsly, you cannot send your kid to public school here. i swear.
Perfect easy read in one day when home sick with the flu.