A Hundred Other Girls

by Iman Hariri-Kia Narrated by Lameece Issaq

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Perfect for fans of The Devil Wears Prada, A Hundred Other Girls is a debut we can’t stop talking about. Witty and full of both the longing and wonder that encompasses New York City, this story is full of the complicated media landscape, identity, and sisterhood.

For fans of The Devil Wears Prada and The Bold Type comes a smart, modern story about the shifting media landscape and one Middle Eastern American writer finding her place in it. How far would you go to keep the job a hundred other girls are ready to take?

Noora's life is a little off track. She's an aspiring writer and amateur blogger in New York-which is a nice way of saying that she tutors rich Upper East Side kids and is currently crashing on her sister's couch. But that's okay. Noora has Leila, who has always been her rock, and now she has another major influence to lean on: Vinyl magazine. The pages of Vinyl practically raised Noora, teaching her everything from how to properly insert a tampon to which political ideology she subscribes to.

So when she lands a highly coveted job as assistant to Loretta James, Vinyl's iconic editor-in-chief, Noora can't believe her luck. Her only dream is to write for Vinyl, and now with her foot firmly in the door and the Loretta James as her mentor, Noora is finally on the right path ... or so she thinks.

Loretta is an unhinged nightmare, insecure and desperate to remain relevant in an evolving media landscape she doesn't understand. Noora's phone buzzes constantly with Loretta's bizarre demands, particularly with tasks Loretta hopes will undermine the success of Vinyl's wunderkind digital director Jade Aki. The reality of Noora's job is nothing like she expected, and a misguided crush on the hot IT guy only threatens to complicate things even more. But as Loretta and the old-school print team enter into a turf war with Jade and the woke-for-the-wrong-reasons digital team, Noora soon finds herself caught in the middle. And with her dream job on the line, she'll need to either choose a side or form her own.

Clever, incisive, and thoroughly fun, A Hundred Other Girls is an insider's take on the changing media industry, an ode to sisterhood, and a profound exploration of what it means to chase your dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The Devil Wears Prada looks tame compared to this take on the magazine world." — Cosmopolitan

"You'll love this insightful—and incredibly fun—deep-dive into media and sisterhood." — Marie Claire

"This workplace comedy proves that there's a little bit of truth to every joke." — Zibby Owens for Good Morning America

"Noora's personal journey will resonate with millennial and Gen Z readers, and it's also a good choice for fans of dishy workplace dramas like The Knockoff and The Devil Wears Prada." — Booklist

"Noora is a perfectly flawed, expertly crafted protagonist, and a highlight of her character arc are the explorations of her Iranian American identity and of the meaning of family. The distinct and vivid narration, especially the electrifying descriptions of NYC, makes this debut engaging...relevant, witty, and easy to devour." — Library Journal

"A refreshing take on the classic media-insider novel, championing the value of passion and thoughtfulness over career." — Kirkus Reviews

"A witty portrait of sisterhood, ambition, and the relationships we forge with those that we love." — Happy Mag

"Witty and winning, A Hundred Other Girls announces a new writer of immense gifts." — BookRiot

"The most delightful, absorbing, and hilarious book I have read in ages! An automatic favorite—there is nothing like this anywhere. Iman Hariri-Kia has that rare talent that comes along once in a decade." — Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate Equation

"Juicy and fun. I loved it!" — Cat Marnell, New York Times bestselling author of How To Murder Your Life

"Slick, astute, and clever as hell, this book literally is the zeitgeist. Between the biting cultural commentary, heart-thumping plot, guffaw-worthy zingers, and ultra-vivid characters, reading A Hundred Other Girls felt like watching a Gen-Z The Devil Wears Prada on a big screen…. Take it from a former beauty editor: It’s more realistic than you might think." — Amanda Montell, author of Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language 

"A Hundred Other Girls will speak to a generation of women learning to separate who they are from what they do." — Lindsey Metselaar, We Met at Acme Podcast

"Witty, crispy fresh, and utterly modern, Iman Hariri-Kia writes with a remarkably sure and wise voice that keeps you quickly turning those pages, instantly making Noora a character so real, vulnerable, and relatable, you can't help but keep rooting for her." — Lola Akinmade Akerstrom, author of In Every Mirror She's Black

"I couldn't put this book down. I loved experiencing New York and the publishing world through Noora's eyes." — Ashley Hesseltine, Girls Gotta Eat Podcast

"A Hundred Other Girls had me hooked from the first page. Funny, charming, smart, and insightful, Iman has proven that she’s a talent to watch. Her depiction of women’s media shifting to digital was so real it hurt." — Gabrielle Korn, author of Everyone (Else) Is Perfect

"Iman Hariri-Kia beautifully captures what it's like to be young in New York City and wanting everything all at once." — Catherine Cohen, comedian, actress, and writer

"Iman's stunning debut perfectly captures the persistent struggle between representation and tokenization." — Cole Brown, author of Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World

Library Journal

06/01/2022

DEBUT Crashing on her sister's couch, 22-year-old Noora spends her days updating her blog and tutoring rich teens while she works toward her goal of becoming a writer. When she secures a job as the assistant to the editor in chief of New York City's Vinyl, her favorite culture magazine, she thinks she's finally on the right track. But Noora's childhood icon turns out to be demanding, Vinyl is being yanked back and forth by warring digital and print departments, and, to make matters worse, Noora has an unfortunate crush on the magazine's IT guy. Caught in the middle of a corporate tug-of-war, she's forced to question her morals and sense of self. Noora is a perfectly flawed, expertly crafted protagonist, and a highlight of her character arc are the explorations of her Iranian American identity and of the meaning of family. The distinct and vivid narration, especially the electrifying descriptions of NYC, makes this debut engaging. VERDICT New York—based Iranian American journalist Hariri-Kia delivers a debut that's relevant, witty, and easy to devour; libraries looking to connect with Gen Z patrons should consider adding it to their collections.—Grace Caternolo

NOVEMBER 2022 - AudioFile

Narrator Lameece Issaq is the pithy, sarcastic, millennial Noora, who is passing time as a blogger while pursuing her dream of being a writer in New York City. This audiobook is a hilarious romp through the Upper East Side and the offices of “Vinyl,” a hipster magazine that doesn't turn out to be the job Noora has always wanted. Issaq plays up the ingénue versus the bad boss and hits all the right notes to have listeners laughing out loud. Noora's ethnic background is also rich fodder for unfortunate office missteps that endear her—and the narrator—to us even more. For those looking for a fresh take on the coming-of-age journey of a young, female creative, Issaq delivers. M.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2022-07-13
Noora, a 22-year-old Iranian American lifestyle blogger, lands her big break when she's hired as assistant to the editor-in-chief of Vinyl magazine—Vinyl, her political compass, her guiding light, her everything since she was a kid.

She quickly learns, however, that sometimes things are too good to be true. Loretta James, her boss, is a chaotic nightmare, and the staff of Vinyl is caught up in an all-out turf war between Print and Digital. Between her fast affinity with the Digital team, her desire to write, and her reluctance to leave behind the woman she once idolized, Noora finds her loyalties fractured. Pulling from a mix of real-world scandals and pop-culture cues, Hariri-Kia has created a cast of characters who are vibrant yet grounded in their moral grayness while conjuring up the media-industry allure that's needed to keep Noora, along with the reader, pushing through an otherwise toxic environment. When Digital Editor Jade Aki gets canceled and freelancers start dropping off, Noora’s second opportunity of a lifetime arises: She's asked to write a column for Vinyl Digital. “For the reader” is Noora’s mantra as she navigates the tension between her goals and loyalties, consistently reaching for justification for everything she's going through. Her energetic and self-reflective voice elevates the book from a classic “old guard vs. new guard” tale into a sophisticated meditation on the function of audience. Noora learns there is nothing fulfilling in sacrificing your morals for an institution and that the most important reader can be someone who sees herself in you. The ultimate decentering of legacy institutions makes this debut the perfect reflection of contemporary attitudes toward the media industry.

A refreshing take on the classic media-insider novel, championing the value of passion and thoughtfulness over career.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175678803
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos