Oh! You Pretty Things

February 2, 2015
There’s an authentic nose-pressed-against-the-glass feel to Mahin’s smart and funny debut, a spot-on poke at Hollywood celebrity and the longing that plays out in the fame factory. Jess, born and raised in Tinseltown, is the smart-aleck narrator who has a jaded view of the strivers who flock into Hollywood, yet she confesses her own vulnerability. “Maybe I’m not famous, but I’m famous-adjacent, and the glow from the heavy klieg lights is good enough for me,” she says of her employment as an assistant to actress Eva Carlton. Her fame-centric stage-mom from hell, Donna, however, triggers all Jess’s insecurities and anger at a childhood pushed toward careers she had no talent for—and toward people who abused her. “She lost ‘Mom’ when I was fourteen,” Jess explains to Eva about why she won’t call Donna Mom. When best friend and actress Megan faces her own crisis of love, outsider Jess learns to embrace and forgive the people who really matter. There are numerous places in which this heartfelt tale of acceptance could have careened into schmaltz, but Mahin expertly steers clear, gently guiding Jess from “square zero” to home.

February 15, 2015
A debut roman a clef from the wry perspective of a celebrity assistant.A proud third-generation Hollywood resident, Jess has a well-honed ability to see through the endless layers of LA bullshit and render the revelations in sarcastic bons mots. At the same time, she's just as susceptible to the power of celebrity as any average American. In the course of the book, she manages to land two ascending assistantships, first for an nonfamous but successful movie composer, which she then leverages into working for Eva, soap star on the rise. Being Eva's personal assistant gets Jess the fame and fortune contact high she so craves. Of course, it comes with complications, and not just the type endemic to celebrity assistantships (being essential but disposable, meeting ludicrous demands). Eva is the best friend of Jess' friend Scout. Eva is also a potential rival of Jess' best friend, Megan, a hardworking actress. Add Jess' mother to the mix, newly arrived in LA and representing a damaging legacy of being alternately absentee and narcissistic, and Jess is living in her own soap opera, largely of her own making. Like many novels of this genre, a traditional plot arc is substituted with a series of vignettes, many of which seem added just for fun. And they are fun-gossipy scenes and high-living details, loaded with specificity. Jess' sardonic views are not limited to Hollywood; she's equally effacing about herself but doesn't seem to have the same ability to peel back layers and discover the genuine, independent person striving right below the surface. Though tensions pile up, the novel falls short of a satisfyingly cathartic resolution. Mahin's writing is more thoughtful than a gossip blog and occasionally delivers something poignant or lovely but inclines toward voyeuristic pleasures.

March 1, 2015
Mahin sets her debut in the heart of Hollywood, where 29-year-old Jess Dunne, the daughter of a former child actress, is struggling to make ends meet. She quits her dead-end job at a coffee shop to become the personal assistant to an Oscar-winning composer. The quirky composer isn't overly demanding, but Jess trades up when Eva Carlton, a glamorous actress, tastes Jess' cooking and wants Jess to come work for her. Jess is plunged headfirst into the world of a superstar, and the demands of someone who is used to being catered to constantly. Eva texts Jess at all hours, sends her on errands across Los Angeles, and blames Jess for her own mistakes. But on good days, Eva acts like Jess' best friend, and the constant hustle of the job allows Jess to avoid her exhausting mother, who has recently returned to L.A. and wants to spend time with Jess. An absorbing and authentic look at the glamour, glitz, and excess of Hollywood, and its effect on those who live on the fringes of it all.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

November 15, 2014

This first novel from a PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellow is being billed as Lena Dunham meets The Devil Wears Prada. A third-generation Hollywooder but going nowhere fast, Jess is given a leg up by her failed-actress mother, landing a job as personal assistant to a famed but reclusive film composer. That job puts her cooking skills on display, and soon she's left everything behind to join the staff of an upcoming actress--but at what cost?

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2015

Recently divorced, 29-year-old Jess Dunne returns to her hometown of Los Angeles for a fresh start. She moves in with her best friend and gets a job as a barista, but her coffee days are over when she starts working as a personal assistant to an Oscar-winning film composer. Jess's new routine includes shopping for luxury goods and cooking. She's a great cook, which draws the attention of a famous actress, along with a job offer. As Jess quits one job and starts another, her life is further complicated when her estranged mother moves back to town. Jess struggles to hold it all together as she deals with her mom and navigates the demanding world of working for a celebrity. Being third-generation Hollywood, Mahin knows L.A. life, and it shines through in the authentic details in this novel, her first. While Jess is often too clueless about what's going on with the people in her life and the story meanders at times, the memorable characters, witty banter, and fascinating world of celebrity assistants make these faults forgivable. VERDICT Recommended for readers who enjoy novels with a Hollywood backdrop, such as Gigi Levangie Grazer's The Starter Wife and Maria Semple's This One Is Mine. [See Prepub Alert, 10/27/14.]--Amy Stenftenagel, Washington Cty. Lib., Woodbury, MN

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.