I was going to say that this book was decent, and recommend it as a good choice for a casual summer read on the beach. It has the usual mistakes, sure, as if no one at the publishing house bothered to read it before sending it to the presses, but it's suprisingly well-written. But there's one question that automatically comes up: How much was based on Koslow's experiences with Rosie O'Donnell, who, like the book's Bebe Blake, takes a venerable woman's magazine and attempts to turn it into a star vehicle? It turns out, not much, and if you manage to google this little factoid hidden under all the hype, you the reader feel deceived.
The basic premise: Protagonist Magnolia Gold is ousted from her enviable position as editor-in-chief of the venerable women's magazine Lady when the publishing company decided that it will be a bigger moneymaker if it's handed over to brash TV talk show host Bebe Blake, and turned into Bebe. Similarly, Koslow (who I usually call "coleslaw" before catching myself and inverting the letters) was given the boot as EIC from venerable women's magazine McCalls when the title was handed over to Rosie O'Donnell and turned into Rosie. Both magazines fail. See a pattern? But it turns out, this marketed-as-a "roman a clef" is basically complete fiction. According to the New York Times, Koslow and Rosie never actually worked together. Instead, the author penned this little expose from things she'd heard. Seriously? Things she'd heard?
She's trying to sell some books, okay, and one could argue that it's a conclusion drawn from her bio, and not explicitly stated. Perhaps I can accept that. But then do a Google. Koslow tried to start a mini-duel on the Huffington Post over some dismissive comment Rosie had made. It didn't work -- and seems a cheap cry for just a little more publicity. The whole thing really changed my opinion of the book. It's like both the writer and the publishing company is content to ride on someone-way-more-famous's coattails, hoping you won't figure it out.
Next Up? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm already closing in on page 100, hoping to get to the end before I stumble across the ending somewhere else.
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