Publishers Weekly
05/20/2024
A grieving 20-something woman struggles to work her way up the ranks of a late-night comedy show at the height of the #MeToo movement in Shook’s endearing sophomore effort (after If We’re Being Honest). Presley Fry, an assistant talent booker, enjoys chatting with her work crush Adam about romantic comedy tropes and the city’s stand-up scene, even though he often talks about other women. Though Presley has a toehold in her dream career, she makes minimum wage and has little prospect of a promotion or raise. She got the job through her late mother’s friend Susan Clark, whose husband, Tom, is an executive at the network. After Susan’s life is upended by allegations that Tom sexually harassed his colleagues, she reaches out to Presley with an invitation to dinner, and the two women begin an unlikely friendship. Some of the plot turns are predictable, but readers will find it easy to root for Presley as she tires of being in the friend zone with Adam and pounds the pavement in search of a comedian whose rising star she might hitch her wagon to. This charms. Agent: Andrianna deLone, CAA. (July)
From the Publisher
"Shook turns a lighthearted rom-com into a complicated exploration of romantic love—and, more importantly, friendship...Charming, optimistic escapism with a more serious undertone of feminist solidarity.”
—Kirkus
“Endearing…This charms."
—Publishers Weekly
"This novel is a masterful, grounded exploration of the consequences of bad behavior and who ultimately pays."
—Booklist
"Like the women of Sex and the City, Humor Me’s protagonist Presley Fry breezes through connections with near-boyfriends, drinks with gal pals and career-enhancing forays in NYC... Though it certainly has rom-com-esque appeal, Humor Me goes beyond that, navigating the complexities of breaking old patterns, forging new connections and establishing one’s identity."
—Bookpage
"A love letter to friendship, comedy and New York City, Humor Me is an absolute romp of a read. Cat Shook's sophomore novel is injected with all the hilarity and heart of her debut — once again tackling themes like grief and romance with warmth, wit and grace — this time set against the sparkling land of late night television. Presley Fry, our protagonist and narrator, will quickly become your fictional new best friend — the kind of character you'll laugh both with and at — and Shook is sure to become your next auto-buy author. What a delight."
—Genevieve Wheeler, author of Adelaide
"As sharp as it is tender, Humor Me is a page-turning ode to comedy, New York, and, most of all, the power of female friendships. Presley Fry is a winning narrator, and it was a delight to follow her through the streets of New York and the minefield of her mid-twenties. From workplace social dynamics to texting diction to Trader Joe’s frozen meals, Cat Shook’s impressive eye for detail brings the world alive. I loved it."
—Isabel Kaplan, bestselling author of NSFW
"Make room in your hearts for another wonderful romantic comedy. Humor Me is timely, moving, hopeful, and hilarious. You're going to fall in love with these characters."
—J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest
“I devoured Humor Me with the giddy devotion of watching an excellent comedy routine. The main character is my new best friend; her biting wit and endearing warmth linger long after the pitch perfect last page. A brilliant ode to NYC, stand up, and unlikely friendships—because sometimes the laughs that surprise us most ring the truest.”
—Avery Carpenter Forrey, author of Social Engagement
"With sparkling prose and sizzling insight, Cat Shook has crafted an unforgettable story in her sophomore novel, Humor Me. From the very first sentence, I fell head-over-heels in love with narrator Presley, a whip-smart and snarky comedy assistant eager for a lucky break of her own, in work and in love alike. Set against the glistening New York City backdrop, Humor Me is a picture-perfect showcase of mid-twenties splendor, of the universal growing pains that come with building a life in an industry that is equal parts exhausting and exhilarating, all told in an unputdownable narrative befitting Presley’s city that never sleeps. In Humor Me, Shook has masterfully written an ode to our second-coming-of-ages, an honest yet hopeful look at the people and moments that shape us most, all while cementing herself as one of the best new voices of our generation."
—Becky Chalsen, author of Kismet
Kirkus Reviews
2024-05-04
With a smart if confused young woman as her contemporary Meg Ryan, Shook turns a lighthearted rom-com into a complicated exploration of romantic love—and, more importantly, friendship—among today’s 20-somethings.
Like the author, 25-year-old narrator Presley Fry has an androgynous name and moved from Georgia to New York after college graduation. She works as a talent-booking assistant for a popular late-night TV show, having landed the job through a connection—Susan Clark, her mother’s childhood best friend, who’s now married to a network executive. Presley lives with her best friend, Isabelle, in the East Village, which she prefers to the bougie West Village. Having survived a difficult childhood, she uses the art of witty deflection to avoid discussing uncomfortable emotions like ambivalence about her alcoholic mother, who died 18 months ago, or her attraction to a work friend. That unacknowledged attraction between smart, “plain and unnoticeable” girl and sensitive boy sets up the familiar rom-com structure, but Presley’s explanation as to why she loves Sleepless in Seattle—because her idol Nora Ephron wanted to make not merely a romantic movie but a movie about romantic movies—seems to express the author’s true intentions. Through her characters, Shook susses out romantic love in the Gen Z era: While Isabelle searches for girlfriends on Hinge, Presley prefers what she calls “business casual” with men she meets on Tinder. Male misconduct within the ambiguities of daily interaction (with shoutouts to Harvey Weinstein–level transgressors) serves as context for the plot. But other issues dominate: Presley’s intense love affair with Manhattan itself, her passionate professional ambitions, her struggle to face her imperfect mother’s role in her life. Most important here are the relationships between friends. Presley finds herself in an awkward but increasingly sweet cross-generational friendship with Susan even after Susan’s high-profile husband is outed for sexual misbehavior. And Presley puts her commitments to Isabelle before everything, even a man she may love.
Charming, optimistic escapism with a more serious undertone of feminist solidarity.
