Smile and Look Pretty: A Novel

Amanda Pellegrino

Mar 2022 · Sold by Harlequin

About this ebook

“[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.

Ratings and reviews

An absolutely breathtaking, fast paced, and heart wrenchingly true to life debut novel, Smile and Look Pretty is the story of four twenty something assistants just trying to get their foot in the door in their respective careers. Only instead of actual on the job training, they're subjected to being more like under paid servants. Promises of getting ahead are mever met for them, yet they watch their male peers move up the corporate ladder daily. They're also all experiencing various forms of sexual harassment. From male bosses who constantly walk around naked to some who actually physically touch them, they've finally had it. And they're going to start a revolution to help not only themselves, but every single woman who's ever been made to feel uncomfortable by a man who's in power over her. I sped through this delicious novel as fast as I could! The girls stories are truly disgusting, yet something women have to experience every single day. This is a feminist manifesto. A call to each of us to stand tall and stand together. Scream as loud as we can. Fight for what we deserve. And at the end of the day, hopefully you'll have friends there to pick you up and love you through it. Five stars isn't enough for this masterpiece of a read. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Thank you to NetGalley, Amanda Pellegrino, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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.