The Assistants

I'd give this one 3.5 stars if I could. A solid, fun read that is not wholly believable, but who cares if it is? Perfect summer distraction book. I could see this one becoming a movie.

A breezy, very funny debut novel that is actually about a serious subject: student debt and the oftentimes menial jobs that graduates face after four year (or more) of college. I lived in NYC in the 70's and see no difference/improvement in the lives of the women in this book taking place in the current day, than I did back in the day. Tina Fontana is an exec. asst. for a CEO (think Donald Trump), smart but pigeonholed in her “safe” job. Due to an accounting error, she finds herself with a windfall check ($19,000) made payable to her that would pay off her student debt. After days of anguish, she paid it to erase her debt. That's when the fun starts. It's kind a madcap romp, great beach read, yet made me ponder the “what ifs”. In the end, Tina learned a lot about herself and her place in the world.