Smile and Look Pretty: A Novel

by Amanda Pellegrino

Overview

“[A] 9 to 5 for the Instagram generation... Darkly funny and bitingly modern.” —Andrea Bartz, author of Reese’s Book Club Pick We Were Never Here

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED BY FORTUNE ⋅ FEMINIST BOOK CLUB ⋅ THE NERD DAILY ⋅ BOOKISH ⋅ MOTHERLY

What happens when four assistants risk everything to say enough is enough?

Best friends Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max are overworked and underpaid assistants to some of the most powerful people in the entertainment industries. Like the assistants who came before them, the women know they have to pay their dues and abide the demeaning tasks and verbal abuse from their bosses in order to climb the ladders to their dream jobs.

But as they are passed over for promotions and the toxic office environments reach a breaking point, the women secretly start an anonymous blog detailing their experiences, which snowballs into hundreds of others coming forward with stories of their own. Confronted with newfound viral fame and the possibility of their identities being revealed, the assistants have to contend with the life-changing consequences of speaking out against those who refuse to share the power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780778311126
Publisher:	Park Row Books
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	620,427
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Amanda Pellegrino is a TV writer and novelist living in NYC whose writing has appeared in Refinery29 and Bustle. Smile and Look Pretty is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

10/04/2021

Pellegrino shines in this intelligent and engaging debut about four friends who work as assistants in various high-profile industries, written in the tell-all tone of The Devil Wears Prada with a conceit reminiscent of Gossip Girl. Olivia Medina aspires to be an actor; Cate Britt a book editor; Lauren Barreo a screenwriter, and Max Burke a broadcast journalist. Their most exciting tasks, however, involve picking up vegan cupcakes and coffee orders, with a generous dollop of condescension. The four meet weekly for margaritas and to vent about the outrageous shenanigans of their famous bosses. Soon, they decide to launch an anonymous blog called Twentysomething, which chronicles their bosses and others’ bad behavior—and ends up attracting a large audience of women dealing with similar situations, and who begin to call out abusive behavior. Veterans of so-called glamour industries will recognize Pellegrino’s depiction of the often-toxic workplaces, and the author does a good job portraying her large cast, among them Lauren’s colleague-turned-boyfriend Owen, who admirably fights for her honor (even with a wimpy writer’s punch). It’s a simple, well-worn story, but it stands out thanks to the ways the characters balance their personal ambitions with a desire for justice. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent and Literary. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Readers will cheer Pellegrino’s shattering of the glass ceiling in this fast-paced, millennial-centric, you-go-girl novel about workplace empowerment.” —Library Journal, starred review

“Smile and Look Pretty is 9 to 5 for the Instagram generation—a darkly funny and bitingly modern tale of friends banding together to stand up for what's right. As a former assistant myself, I couldn't stop nodding with recognition and cheering on its richly drawn cast.” —Andrea Bartz, author of Reese’s Book Club Pick We Were Never Here

“A sharp, funny, and incredibly relevant tale of young women taking their power back.” —Susan Fowler, author of Whistleblower

“Smile and Look Pretty is a timely, page-turning battle cry that will make you want to call your friends and change the world. Bad bosses, prepare to quake in your boots.” —Laura Hankin, author of A Special Place for Women

“A page-turning powerhouse about the lengths four assistants are willing to go to break down patriarchal power structures in the workplace—and become bosses themselves. Full of sharply funny social insights, delicious drama, and the type of empowerment we need more of—I couldn't put it down.” —Halley Sutton, author of The Lady Upstairs

“Smile and Look Pretty [feels] like our story and our friend’s stories. From the start we were captivated, and by the last chapter we were choking back tears.... Amanda Pellegrino describes, in nuance, what it's like [to] experience the gray area of power, abuse, and what it means to take that power back. Empowering, riveting, and humorous.” —Katie O'Brien & Katy Colloton, co-creators and stars of TV Land's Teachers

“Chronicling what happens when women bite back, Smile and Look Pretty is a must-read for any woman who’s ever felt exploited in her 9-5 job and wants to blow off some steam—or, you know, burn down the patriarchy.” — The Nerd Daily


“Readers will cheer Pellegrino’s shattering of the glass ceiling in this fast-paced, millennial-centric, you-go-girl novel about workplace empowerment.” — Library Journal, Starred Review


“Pellegrino’s debut novel is part workplace comedy and part girl-power treatise, centered on the ebbs and flows of female friendship. It’s a sharp, empowering novel for the #MeToo era that will resonate with anyone who has felt less-than at work.” — Booklist


“Pellegrino shines in this intelligent and engaging debut about four friends who work as assistants in various high-profile industries, written in the tell-all tone of The Devil Wears Prada with a conceit reminiscent of Gossip Girl.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2021

DEBUT The "whisper network" goes digital in this story of what some women put up with to become successful. Friends Cate, Lauren, Olivia, and Max are all executive assistants in New York, waiting to be promoted to their dream jobs. All four languish and must endure outrageous expectations from their bad bosses, with no hint of advancement. To vent, they gather weekly at a bar to destroy the Shit List—each woman's written complaints about her boss's absurd behavior—by burning the paper in a candle flame. When Cate realizes that they must go one step further to "plot against the patriarchy," she creates a Twentysomething, a website where women can anonymously post about their own bosses' terrible conduct. Writing as the Bossy One, the Bitchy One, the Aggressive One, and the Emotional One, the founding friends expose the toxic environments their employers have created (like Olivia seeing her boss's genitals 124 times). Sexual harassment becomes a common thread, and the site goes viral as an outlet to reveal generations of bad behavior. How far are the friends willing to go to start a revolution? VERDICT Readers will cheer Pellegrino's shattering of the glass ceiling in this fast-paced, millennial-centric, you-go-girl novel about workplace empowerment.—K.L. Romo, Duncanville, TX

Library Journal