Scan barcode
bioteacherbooknerd's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book examined so many topics that are so important, such a sexism in the workplace, abuse of power, body positivity and so much more. I really enjoyed this one!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
eloharay's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Valley Verified combines fashion and tech with a splash of mystery and a whole lotta drama. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was a decently quick read for me. Once I got into the story, I didn't want to put it down, despite being in a weird mood at the time.
There was a slight romance element to the story, but it is primarily about Zoe's journey from working in fashion publishing before working as the marketing director for a fashion-based software startup company in Silicon Valley. Without giving too much away, Zoe finds herself not fitting in with her new tech company and feeling isolated because fashion is so important to her. There's a character who you're almost immediately suspicious of, and for good reason. I feel that Kyla Zhao does an incredible job of portraying the inherent misogyny in male dominated industries, and showing how a woman fighting against these systems can feel like there aren't a lot of options for them. I also enjoyed the peek behind the curtain of fashion journalism and absolutely loved the concept of the app portrayed in the book.
Zoe has a good heart, is sometimes too naive for her own good, and really believes fashion should be inclusive. She has incredible ideas and thinks she can truly make a difference. She makes mistakes along the way, but that makes her a well-rounded character IMO.
Valley Verified gets my seal of approval with 4.5. stars (I wish more places would let you choose half-stars). So why not five stars? I'm not sure how much staying power this will have with me, and even a few days after reading it, I had to look up some details and character names. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a female-centric story where any hint of a romance is far down the list of attributes. Sometimes, you just want a feel-good "girl power" story, and this is a realistic version of that.
There was a slight romance element to the story, but it is primarily about Zoe's journey from working in fashion publishing before working as the marketing director for a fashion-based software startup company in Silicon Valley. Without giving too much away, Zoe finds herself not fitting in with her new tech company and feeling isolated because fashion is so important to her. There's a character who you're almost immediately suspicious of, and for good reason. I feel that Kyla Zhao does an incredible job of portraying the inherent misogyny in male dominated industries, and showing how a woman fighting against these systems can feel like there aren't a lot of options for them. I also enjoyed the peek behind the curtain of fashion journalism and absolutely loved the concept of the app portrayed in the book.
Zoe has a good heart, is sometimes too naive for her own good, and really believes fashion should be inclusive. She has incredible ideas and thinks she can truly make a difference. She makes mistakes along the way, but that makes her a well-rounded character IMO.
Valley Verified gets my seal of approval with 4.5. stars (I wish more places would let you choose half-stars). So why not five stars? I'm not sure how much staying power this will have with me, and even a few days after reading it, I had to look up some details and character names. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a female-centric story where any hint of a romance is far down the list of attributes. Sometimes, you just want a feel-good "girl power" story, and this is a realistic version of that.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I thought this was an enjoyable enough coming-of-age story about Zoe, who leaves Manhattan, New York to take a new job in Silicon Valley, California to work for a tech start up FitPick (where the public votes on your outfits, sounds like my personal nightmare!). She was in Manhattan for four years, feeling stuck in her job, living in a shoebox apartment with roommates, and not getting any closer to becoming the fashion writer she had aspired to be when she was a doe-eyed newbie to NYC.
I enjoyed her arc and the tying together of fashion and the Silicon Valley startup world. It felt authentic enough (I'm from Silicon Valley and btw, there's no specific "town" called Silicon Valley, it's just an area, mostly referring to the South Bay in my opinion lol), and I appreciated that Zoe had a bit of a romantic subplot too! Mostly, I was pulled in by the commentary on body positivity and diversity, especially when it comes to the fashion world. The erasure of fat models in fashion is wild, and I'd generally just like to see diversity of all kinds of bodies in fashion, and represented across media everywhere.
Overall, sometimes the writing felt a bit too forced (I thought multiple times, "do people really speak like this?" and I'm surrounded by engineers sooooo I feel like I'd know?) or too perfect if that makes sense. However, I'd still read another book by the author, especially since I think she is local to the bay area.
cw: misogyny, sexual harassment, fatphobia, diet culture/what I call a religion of thinness lol, sexism
I thought this was an enjoyable enough coming-of-age story about Zoe, who leaves Manhattan, New York to take a new job in Silicon Valley, California to work for a tech start up FitPick (where the public votes on your outfits, sounds like my personal nightmare!). She was in Manhattan for four years, feeling stuck in her job, living in a shoebox apartment with roommates, and not getting any closer to becoming the fashion writer she had aspired to be when she was a doe-eyed newbie to NYC.
I enjoyed her arc and the tying together of fashion and the Silicon Valley startup world. It felt authentic enough (I'm from Silicon Valley and btw, there's no specific "town" called Silicon Valley, it's just an area, mostly referring to the South Bay in my opinion lol), and I appreciated that Zoe had a bit of a romantic subplot too! Mostly, I was pulled in by the commentary on body positivity and diversity, especially when it comes to the fashion world. The erasure of fat models in fashion is wild, and I'd generally just like to see diversity of all kinds of bodies in fashion, and represented across media everywhere.
Overall, sometimes the writing felt a bit too forced (I thought multiple times, "do people really speak like this?" and I'm surrounded by engineers sooooo I feel like I'd know?) or too perfect if that makes sense. However, I'd still read another book by the author, especially since I think she is local to the bay area.
cw: misogyny, sexual harassment, fatphobia, diet culture/what I call a religion of thinness lol, sexism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Fatphobia, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
ejmealer's review against another edition
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
What started out as a great slice-of-life novel on an aspect of society most people don't think twice about, ended flat and rushed. There are gaps in the story timeline that were great opportunities to further develop secondary characters and their relationship to the main, or to bring more vibrancy to the settings, but they were left empty. I am hopeful it is more due to sections being removed for the ARC than it being the finished product.
Pros: Great cast of diversity, with well-done humorous moments; brought the behind-the-scenes of fashion into the spotlight and also showed how art and science can merge into a beautiful product; so, so lovely to have the romance as a minor plot point and not the main focus; nods to real-life people such as Courtney Quinn of the Color Me Courtney/Magic brands; the way some of the food scenes were described created intrigue and a desire to try the foods or find a location similar to the novel; a moment that could go very badly for the main does not happen and it was nice to have a harassments acknowledgement without the actual scene. Overall an excellent break between heavier reads or in life moments that are just hard.
Cons: The aforementioned plot jumps really snap the reader out of the flow of story and force a reorientation to the timeline; some of the moments for character development or reconciliation don't happen; a depressive spiral comes across trivialized and invalidated; there was enough lead-up to the harassment scene [which again, does not happen!] it was a bit stressful and for other humans might be too much without warning.
Pros: Great cast of diversity, with well-done humorous moments; brought the behind-the-scenes of fashion into the spotlight and also showed how art and science can merge into a beautiful product; so, so lovely to have the romance as a minor plot point and not the main focus; nods to real-life people such as Courtney Quinn of the Color Me Courtney/Magic brands; the way some of the food scenes were described created intrigue and a desire to try the foods or find a location similar to the novel; a moment that could go very badly for the main does not happen and it was nice to have a harassments acknowledgement without the actual scene. Overall an excellent break between heavier reads or in life moments that are just hard.
Cons: The aforementioned plot jumps really snap the reader out of the flow of story and force a reorientation to the timeline; some of the moments for character development or reconciliation don't happen; a depressive spiral comes across trivialized and invalidated; there was enough lead-up to the harassment scene [which again, does not happen!] it was a bit stressful and for other humans might be too much without warning.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Misogyny
Manipulation, depression
More...