This is a great story about a woman who suddenly finds herself achieving her dreams of success and acceptance but realising those dreams come with a heavy price. As one of the invisible peons at Stranton Advertising, Lissy Swanson wants nothing more than to be recognised for her contributions to the agency and move up the ladder and become a Creative, a group of ad execs who enjoy the perks of being one of the elite. An employer who takes their staff on a week-long trip to Hawaii to "recharge" their creative genius is a very nice aspect of Lissy's company and one of the many reasons why the underling Muskrats claw and clamour for a shot at becoming a Creative. Lissy is finally given her chance when she wins a spot on the Creative team and her agency takes on a pharmaceutical company producing a miracle pill. Despite her doubts about the pill, Lissy moves forward and pitches the perfect campaign. The author does a brilliant job of adding a side story with very dark undertones that creates some monumental changes in Lissy's life. I found Lissy to be a breath of fresh air. She has grown up in her younger sister Cat's shadow and I felt deep empathy for her when I learnt how her sister contributed to her lack of self-esteem as teenagers. I didn't care for Cat. I thought she was spoiled and selfish who uses Lissy repeatedly. I got frustrated more than once that Lissy allowed herself to be treated that way. On the other hand, Lissy's best friend, Amir, was a great character. He describes himself as a "gay Muslim who knows everything about inhibitions and orgasms". His antics and observations provided quite a bit of comic relief. Additional supporting characters such as Lissy's mother, boss Brendan Brody, and love interest Oliver add an interesting dynamic to the story. Overall, this pulled on all my emotions. The plot was entertaining and kept me engaged throughout the entire story. The author does a very good job of describing the scenes with such clarity that I felt like I was there with Lissy and Amir, especially during the Hawaii trips. I highly recommend this book to readers who like complex characters and storylines that resonate with the reader long after the last chapter is read. (SH)
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