Fake Plastic Love

March 27, 2017
With sweeping nods to Fitzgerald and other writers of the Gilded Age, Tait’s debut novel sparkles with vitality and conscience. Observant, contemplative, and witty M. takes center stage as the lives of four 20-somethings unfold. Postcollege, M. takes a job as an analyst at the prestigious Bartholomew Brothers banking firm in New York, becoming the banker her mother wishes she would marry. M.’s college best friend, Belle Bailey, also calls New York home, documenting her hopelessly romantic, rose-colored-glasses view of the world in her überpopular blog, La Belle Vie. She’s created the illusion of her life as pretty and perfect, a façade at odds with an uncertain reality and the pain of a tragedy she can never escape. Belle’s sometime beau, boorish Chase Breckenridge, works alongside M. and is a thorn in her side. Jeremy Kirby, M.’s closest work colleague, is a man in the wrong era, a Victrola in a world of MP3s. He becomes Belle’s ardent suitor, and M. gets caught in the middle, torn between protecting Jeremy and humoring Belle. As the years progress, so does the disillusionment the characters feel about their current realities; struggling to make sense of their presents and wondering what they want for their futures. Fluid, graceful, and unfaltering prose highlights this remarkable novel; relatable characters and themes complete the package.

January 15, 2017
A college friendship between two Dartmouth women is tested by post-graduation life in New York City.M. (our narrator goes by a single initial) and her best friend, Belle Bailey, could not be more different. M. is an ultraserious finance major and varsity squash player who has little interest in or luck with the opposite sex. Belle is a character from a musical, "blond head and hundred-watt smile and apple-red accessories," given to penning invitations on her monogrammed letterpress cards that say things like "Ice-skating on Occom Pond after class today--bundle up in College colors and I'll bring the hot cocoa (spiked, of course--shhhhh!)." When both of Belle's parents are killed in a plane crash, she becomes even more of a romantic figure. After graduation, M. lands a job at Bartholomew Brothers, "the most iconic of the New York investment banks"--as does Chase Breckenridge, the repugnant frat boy Belle's been dating all through college, though why she would be interested in this pig of a fellow remains anyone's guess. While Belle rides around Manhattan on her red bicycle, taking photos for her airy-fairy lifestyle blog, La Belle Vie, M. toils away at the viciously sexist, competitive, and abusive firm, dealing with the horrific Chase and even less savory characters. The one exception is a whimsical former hot air balloonist named Jeremy, who could not be more out of place in finance but seems made for Belle. Unfortunately, none of these characters ever feels real, and the results of their poor choices are muffled--even the market crash seems to happen offstage. When M. turns down both the job at a socially conscious firm and the ideal man that drop on her doorstep, both are waiting for her when she comes to her senses. Along similar lines, it wasn't a great decision to start the novel with M.'s wedding, undercutting possible suspense. "It didn't add up to what I was told it would add up to," says one character, referring to his career. "That may be the great tagline of our generation, you know," says M. Unfortunately, it's also the tagline of this book. Tait's debut novel is weighed down by stereotypical characters and situations.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2017

Tait's debut novel pays homage to the Millennial generation, struggling to come to terms with a reality that vastly differs from the grandiose expectations instilled by social media and a seemingly never-ending deluge of false advertising. When M. and Belle meet at Dartmouth College, they bond instantly over their disinterest in the typical sorority scene, preferring to call themselves the "Lost Girls" on campus. M. is intrigued by Belle's whimsy and fervor for life, whereas Belle is brought back down to earth by M.'s steady and practical nature. When the two are launched into the real world, M. as an investment banker, and Belle as a trend blogger, their friendship begins to waver under the pressures of men, social expectations, and changing priorities. While the privilege both protagonists are granted (but never seem to appreciate) can be grating, the underlying message of hope and struggle is relatable. VERDICT A painfully accurate portrayal of the disillusionment and disappointment that many twentysomethings experience after college, this is a classic coming-of-age story.--Chelsie Harris, San Diego Cty. Lib.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.