20190210_094208.jpgToday I have a review of Sociable by Rebecca Harrington, now available from Vintage Anchor/Doubleday Books!

My Thoughts:

Elinor Tomlinson is living in New York with her recent journalist degree, hoping to one day put it to good use. Her boyfriend is also a journalist, and Elinor dreams of marrying him and living the high life of a famous journalist. 

Instead, Elinor lives in a tiny apartment and is working as a nanny. The parties she attends are with interns and no one truly connected or famous. In short, not what she had in mind. 

Elinor’s rise comes, however, in the form of a job at Journalism.ly, a digital media platform owned by a celebrity. Her boyfriend is writing serious pieces about politics, and she’s writing about inane celebrity fashion foibles, but she’s learning her talent is in social media with creating shareable content. 

Unfortunately, her success at her new job comes with a price tag. Her boyfriend leaves her, and there are some other ramifications of living a life that’s overly “social.” 

What will be next for Elinor, and will she ever be happy?

I don’t mind tough-to-like characters like Elinor. She’s a touch annoying, way overzealous, and gosh, the way she talks…with all the “likes.” On a personal note, my dad was an English major, and I received regular feedback from him at different points in my life for my own overuse of “like.” I’m sure I was also overly dramatic (occasionally!) in those days. So while it was exasperating at times to read, Elinor was being true to her personal early 20s experience, and it felt like a realistic portrayal. 

Overall, Sociable was an interesting and sometimes satirical take on the social media age and how it may be affecting the work and romantic lives of Millennials. It offered insight into starting at ground zero in the newer field of social media journalism and explored some emotional topics like female friendship and big break-ups. Sociable was a quick read with witty banter, and it definitely held my interest and made me self-reflect. 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

Extremely funny.” —The Washington Post

Elinor Tomlinson moved to New York armed with a journalism degree and a dream. Instead, she’s working as a nanny and sleeping on a foam pad in a weird apartment. So when Elinor is offered a job at Journalism.ly, the digital media brainchild of a Silicon Valley celebrity, she jumps at the chance. There, Elinor discovers her true gift: she has a preternatural ability for writing sharable content. But as she experiences professional success, the rest of her life falters: her boyfriend dumps her, two male colleagues insist on “mentoring” her, and a piece she writes about her personal life lands her on local television. As Elinor grapples with the bewildering etiquette of online dating, the preening male ego, and the capricious nature of Internet fame, she faces a new challenge–how to reconcile her internal self with the world of thoughts and feelings online.

Have you read Sociable, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR