Read Between the Lies

March 29, 1999
In her fiction debut, a tale of three ambitious young career women trying to make it in the Big Apple, Emmy Award-winning writer Woolridge comes on like Judith Krantz with a social conscience. Gabrielle Donovan arrives in New York longing to become a supermodel; Stephanie Bancroft is determined to break through as a writer; Felicia Wilcot, the daughter of a wealthy black family and the wife of a successful attorney, wants her public relations firm to succeed on its own merits. When Stephanie lands a job as Felicia's secretary, she quickly books her new friend Gabrielle as a model for one of the firm's clients. As the three women's fortunes become intertwined, however, it becomes apparent to the reader that they all have secrets to hide. Gabrielle is illiterate, a fact that humiliates her even as she achieves her dream of superstardom. Felicia begins an extramarital affair with a controversial Spike Lee-ish director, despite their initial antagonistic encounters. Scrappy and opportunistic Stephanie reveals her true colors. When the truth about their pasts come out, will it finally set them free? Woolridge contributes lavish amounts of designer opulence and jet-set scenarios to her confectionery plot, adding some substance through her themes of secret illiteracy and the plight of successful black women. Some biting dialogue brings zest to what is essentially a classic combination of glitz, romance, secrets and lies. Agent, Marie Dutton Brown. (May) FYI: Woolridge is director of Project Literacy United States (PLUS) Outreach, and has worked in television broadcasting for ABC, PBS and Black Entertainment Television.

April 15, 1999
Woolridge's debut novel is a rags-to-riches tale about the travails of a young woman attempting to become a world-class model in order to fulfill her deceased mother's wishes. Gabrielle Donovan is befriended by and moves in with an elderly woman, Bea. Bea's other boarder, Stephanie Bancroft, is an aspiring writer and publicist at Wilcot & Associates. She befriends Gabrielle, too, but the friendship soon becomes conflicted. Stephanie's boss, Felicia Wilcot, owner of Wilcot & Associates, is Gabrielle's agent. Eventually Stephanie winds up with the responsibility of promoting Gabrielle's career, but secretly she is bent on destroying it. Meanwhile, Felicia's need to assert her independence and succeed at her growing business is straining her marriage. Reading between the lines to discover the truth about the interwoven lives of Gabrielle, Felicia, and Stephanie and their struggle to keep their skeletons in the closet creates a fast-paced and engrossing story. A definite hot-seller. ((Reviewed April 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)