When Lindsey Palmer's charming novel begins, it's the worst of times at Hers magazine (a sort of cross between Family Circle and Cosmopolitan). The editor-in-chief has just been given the boot, and new boss Mimi--a cackling diva who calls her dog on Skype--further crushes staff morale by executing a round of firings. Every writer, art director, blogger, editor and photographer wonders who will be next and hopes to escape the ax. The point of view shifts, chapter to chapter, among these employees.
Assistant editor Leah (a mother of triplets) gives her all to the magazine but finds herself demoted and shoved out of her corner office into a cubicle. Recipe creator Sylvia is aghast when her sacred kitchen is taken over by Mimi's demands for junk food. Things go from bad to worse as researchers are fired and replaced with cheap interns who are ill-equipped for the job. Even the mail guy weighs in on the nutty office culture of airbrushed celebrities and fashion mavens who eat nothing but lettuce. The changing perspectives perfectly highlight the outrageous office politics: there are scandals, takeovers and intriguing betrayals. It's no longer a question of who'll be fired next but whether the struggling Hers will survive at all.
This scrumptious, campy look at the world of magazine publishing will keep you hooked until its delightfully satisfying conclusion. It's as light and fun as cotton candy and just as sweet; you will savor every bite until it's gone. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend