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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
A quick and fun read, that felt very current. (But I couldn't help but wonder if many of the references might be too quickly dated because of this?) Since Shafrir is a writer for a similar pub as the reporter character, many of those details, as well as the tech startup-related details felt spot-on. I'd check this out if you're curious about what it's like to be in a modern "newsroom" in the day and age of social media and web publishing or if you're curious about what it's really like behind the scenes at a startup run by a young, overconfident leader. I've definitely been on both sides and found this super relevant for me personally.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a quick and easy read. It's amusing and the characters are interesting enough to keep you invested in the outcome. The characters don't have quite as much depth as I would have liked and the parody of the tech world is almost overdone at points. Katya screams "I'm Not Like Other Girls" in a too obvious way. I found certain twists a bit predictable. But overall it's enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Feel free to skip this one. This book was terribly uninteresting. Unless you’re looking for a novel about bros in the startup world and how people twist things to both create and cover up scandals. This is the sort of book where you don’t root for any of the characters.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Favorite Quote:
"Life was short. Why waste it on something that made you feel like you had to explain yourself?"
Why I Decided to Read This:
I'm doing this Book of the Month challenge by @marensreads and this was a BOTM. I also enjoy reading business books, so I thought a fictional book about a startup company would be interesting to read.
Plot:
There are two companies. One is a startup company (TakeOff) and the other is basically a news company focusing on sharing through social media. When a journalist comes across something that's considered sexual harassment, she starts digging into the startup company to find out what's going on. The plot of this book wasn't bad. I actually wasn't really expecting the book to be about that, which kind of threw me off. I thought the book would be more focused on the company than on the workers lives.
Brief Thoughts:
I did like this book; however, I felt like I was left with way too many questions at the end of the book. It is very business heavy and focuses a lot on social media stories as well as workers lives.
Characters:
There were a lot of main characters in this book. You have Dan and Sabrina who are married, but each work for one of the different companies. Then you have Isabel, who is the one being sexually harassed at the workplace by Mack, TakeOff's owner. Finally, you have Katya, who is a journalist that works for Dan.
Writing Style:
This was written in third person and switched between following all five characters I mentioned above. It was overall a fairly fast read.
Likes:
- Startup: Previously having a startup company myself, I felt like this was a great read for that. I enjoyed reading about a company who was just starting off as well as its workplace and culture.
- The Message: I felt like the message behind the story, about women in the workplace, was good. I felt like the "men" were basically the bad guys, and the women were just trying to get by.
- Realism: I honestly felt like this was a realistic representation of workers. First you have Sabrina who is a mom and trying to get out of debt from her spending problem. I honestly can relate to her, but I'm not in debt thankfully. I am a mom and do have a spending problem on books (not clothes like Sabrina). I liked how Katya was trying to make a name for herself, but still had to deal with inappropriate things from Dan. She also had relationship issues of her own.
Dislikes:
- The Ending: That was just too abrupt and left me with so many questions. I just wish there was an epilogue so I know what happens. Like...give me SOME answers please!
- Too Many Characters: The story followed too many characters, and it was honestly a little hard to get them all straight until about half-way through the story.
- The Story: I understand why the book had to go into some background and lead up to the events that took place, but I just thought it took way too long for the actual story to take place. It didn't really pick up until about halfway through for me.
- Millennials vs Gen X: This book compared millennials to generation x consistently. BUT I honestly could not relate to the millennials in this book, and I don't understand why the author kept bring up the comparison, especially since I could not relate to it at all.
Recommendation:
I only recommend this book to people who like business/workplace books. If you are looking for a book that is very business heavy, but also fictional, then this is the book for you. If you do not want to read a ton of business and workplace jargon, then I cannot recommend this book to you. It's honestly written for a very specific niche, and if you are not like me who actually enjoys reading business books, then you will not like this book.
What’s in This Book & Trigger Warnings:
- Sexual Harassment
- Nude Photos
- Workplace
- Startup Company
- Business Jargon
- Social Media
- New York
"Life was short. Why waste it on something that made you feel like you had to explain yourself?"
Why I Decided to Read This:
I'm doing this Book of the Month challenge by @marensreads and this was a BOTM. I also enjoy reading business books, so I thought a fictional book about a startup company would be interesting to read.
Plot:
There are two companies. One is a startup company (TakeOff) and the other is basically a news company focusing on sharing through social media. When a journalist comes across something that's considered sexual harassment, she starts digging into the startup company to find out what's going on. The plot of this book wasn't bad. I actually wasn't really expecting the book to be about that, which kind of threw me off. I thought the book would be more focused on the company than on the workers lives.
Brief Thoughts:
I did like this book; however, I felt like I was left with way too many questions at the end of the book. It is very business heavy and focuses a lot on social media stories as well as workers lives.
Characters:
There were a lot of main characters in this book. You have Dan and Sabrina who are married, but each work for one of the different companies. Then you have Isabel, who is the one being sexually harassed at the workplace by Mack, TakeOff's owner. Finally, you have Katya, who is a journalist that works for Dan.
Writing Style:
This was written in third person and switched between following all five characters I mentioned above. It was overall a fairly fast read.
Likes:
- Startup: Previously having a startup company myself, I felt like this was a great read for that. I enjoyed reading about a company who was just starting off as well as its workplace and culture.
- The Message: I felt like the message behind the story, about women in the workplace, was good. I felt like the "men" were basically the bad guys, and the women were just trying to get by.
- Realism: I honestly felt like this was a realistic representation of workers. First you have Sabrina who is a mom and trying to get out of debt from her spending problem. I honestly can relate to her, but I'm not in debt thankfully. I am a mom and do have a spending problem on books (not clothes like Sabrina). I liked how Katya was trying to make a name for herself, but still had to deal with inappropriate things from Dan. She also had relationship issues of her own.
Dislikes:
- The Ending: That was just too abrupt and left me with so many questions. I just wish there was an epilogue so I know what happens. Like...give me SOME answers please!
- Too Many Characters: The story followed too many characters, and it was honestly a little hard to get them all straight until about half-way through the story.
- The Story: I understand why the book had to go into some background and lead up to the events that took place, but I just thought it took way too long for the actual story to take place. It didn't really pick up until about halfway through for me.
- Millennials vs Gen X: This book compared millennials to generation x consistently. BUT I honestly could not relate to the millennials in this book, and I don't understand why the author kept bring up the comparison, especially since I could not relate to it at all.
Recommendation:
I only recommend this book to people who like business/workplace books. If you are looking for a book that is very business heavy, but also fictional, then this is the book for you. If you do not want to read a ton of business and workplace jargon, then I cannot recommend this book to you. It's honestly written for a very specific niche, and if you are not like me who actually enjoys reading business books, then you will not like this book.
What’s in This Book & Trigger Warnings:
- Sexual Harassment
- Nude Photos
- Workplace
- Startup Company
- Business Jargon
- Social Media
- New York
This book has some interesting takes on start-up/tech culture that make it an easy read, but the lack of character development and the rushing of the plot made it one I stopped enjoying halfway through. .
Spoiler
Sabrina, Katya, and DEFINITELY Isabel deserved more substance, and the substance of Mack wasn't satisfying either. I'll give Shafrir her nuances here and there, but overall this was a book that fell short of indicting what I wanted it to indict.
I did not understand this book. It started out lovely, but then just petered out. Did the author get tired? It has a bit of an unfinished feel about it.
Scathing takedown of startup and tech culture- if any book could capture 2017/2018, this is a shoe-in.
fast-paced