Emily Ever After

May 9, 2005
When smalltown California native Emily Hinton lands an editorial assistant position at a "world-famous" publishing house, she hangs a Bible verse in her cubicle, vows not to get drunk on weekends and begins her quest to build a glamorous and Christian life in the Big Apple. Her first day results in a meet-cute with one of the company's only other Christians, putative "total goody-goody" Bennett Edward Wyeth III, and pretty soon Emily and Bennett are an item. Enter, via e-mail, her elementary school crush, Jacob, who writes cleverly charming missives even as Bennett's stock is falling because his faith starts to seem insincere. But Emily's own faith is never explored: isn't there more to religion than prohibitions against heavy petting and Jell-O shots? The only convincingly devout Christian around is Emily's uncle, Matthew, who runs a mission in Times Square. Emily natters on, never seeming spiritual so much as prissy and pious, and by the time things come to a head—Emily's boss considers publishing an anti–traditional marriage screed, and she must decide whether to protest or to stay quiet—most readers will have had enough of her. Agent, Claudia Cross at Sterling Lord Literistic
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May 1, 2005
Emily Hinton longs to leave her hometown of Jenks, California, for the big city, specifically Manhattan. With the help of her uncle Matthew, she lands a job at Morrow & Sons as an editorial assistant. Although enchanted by the glamorous city, Emily is determined to hang on to her Christian values. She attends church and volunteers at her uncle's soup kitchen, but she also tries to fit in with the girls at work, who are decidedly wilder than Emily. She thinks she's found the perfect guy in Bennett, who also works at Morrow--he's clean-cut, handsome, attentive, and a Christian, but his motives for pursuing her might not be as pure as they first seem. As much as she loves life in New York, leaving Jenks behind isn't as easy as Emily thought; she misses her family, and Jacob, an old friend, is looking more attractive than any of the sleek New York guys around her. Dayton and Vanderbilt's charming offering will appeal to readers looking for a wholesome heroine navigating big-city life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)