The Knockoff

April 20, 2015
Fashion maven Sykes and journalist Piazza combine forces to create a winning romp of a tale that skewers a millennial, techie know-it-all who tries to undermine an "old guard" print editor when a top fashion magazine is transformed into an interactive app. Imogen Tate, editor-in-chief for Glossy magazine, returns to work after six months in treatment for breast cancer. She finds her former assistant, Eve Morton, back from a stint at Harvard business school, brimming with superiority and ideas to turn her print magazine into a 24/7 trendy online marketplace app. In this modernized All About Eve plotline, the maniacally driven Eve goes up against her too-kind boss in ways both large (stealing Imogen's ideas) and small (insulting her lack of tech knowledge), leaving Imogen feeling out of step. Throughout, readers are constantly reminded of the ubiquity of technology and its potential pitfalls. This breezy, behind-the-scenes tale offers a fresh, modern take on a classic tale of rivalry.

April 1, 2015
The glamorous world of fashion is met with a tech invasion in this satirical novel by fashion editor Sykes and editor/journalist Piazza (Love Rehab, 2014, etc.)The fashion industry is notoriously cutthroat; The Devil Wears Prada taught us all about the nasty power struggles. In this story, though, the "devil" comes not in a dictatorial fashion editor but instead in the form of technology and the millennials who wield it with the goal of taking over the world, one click or "like" or Tweet at a time. Here, our likable protagonist is Imogen Tate, a 40-something fashion goddess and editor in chief who is just returning to her post after a six-month medical leave. Much to her surprise, she returns to Glossy magazine to discover her staff has been entirely replaced by young women strapped to devices that never stop beeping, no matter the hour. Imogen's respected magazine has been turned into an app, and digital-only Glossy.com is now run by the hyperactive Eve Morton-Imogen's old assistant, who left to get her MBA two years ago. Eve has returned a sociopath, a "techbitch" who labels Imogen the office dinosaur and laughs in her face when she doesn't understand what a "gif" or a "dongle" is. As Eve becomes increasingly power hungry, Imogen realizes she must figure out how to adapt and take back what's hers. This story is over-the-top, no doubt: it's hard to believe the speed with which Glossy is revolutionized or just how tech-illiterate Imogen is, and Eve is simply a monstrosity. These exaggerated moments would translate well on the big screen, as would the portrayal of the generation gap and the endless, comedic tech struggles.Sykes and Piazza must be connected with most of Hollywood on social media; it won't be long before this story moves off the page.

December 1, 2014

Formerly a fashion director at Marie Claire and now purveyor of her own children's clothing line, Sykes is also the sister of Bergdorf Blondes author Plum Sykes, while Piazza is the managing editor of Yahoo Travel. Their juicy story features Imogen Tate, editor in chief of Glossy magazine, who returns after a six-month break to find that former assistant Eve has taken over, firing veteran staff, abolishing landlines, and instituting all-night hackathons and mandatory dancing to Beyonce. Can Imogen fight back? You bet!

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015

In a reverse The Devil Wears Prada, Imogen Tate, the editor in chief of the high fashion magazine Glossy, returns from a six-month leave to find that her former assistant, Eve Morton, is now in charge of digital content. In fact, Glossy is no longer going to be top of the fashion mag heap: it's going to be a hybrid fashion blog/shopping site. The change quickly pits the new millennial hires against the more experienced magazine staffers. Imogen has tons of friends in high-fashion places and throws great parties, but she's the kind of woman who hates her iPhone and avoids Twitter like the plague. She's not prepared for the changes to Glossy, but she's really not ready for backstabbing, social-climbing Eve. Debut coauthors Sykes (a fashion director) and Piazza (a journalist) create a truly wicked villain in Eve, a woman who sinks so low as to troll Imogen's teenage daughter on the daughter's YouTube channel. VERDICT Women in the middle of their careers will love living vicariously through the warm, sympathetic Imogen as she refreshes her skills, networks her heart out, and lets Eve know that it's not all about her. [See Prepub Alert, 11/10/14.]--Jennifer Mills, Shorewood-Troy Lib., IL

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.