Social Creature

Starred review from April 1, 2018
A calculating introvert latches onto a needy extrovert in this dark, stylish debut.Louise Wilson is a frumpy, friendless 29-year-old working three jobs and sleeping in an illegal sublet in a nontrendy part of Brooklyn when she meets Lavinia Williams--a wealthy, vivacious 23-year-old "on a sabbatical" from Yale, whose existence seems optimized for Facebook and Instagram. After the dazzling young woman brings Louise to a debauched New Year's Eve bash, Louise resolves to remain in Lavinia's orbit at all costs. To the dismay of her employers and the detriment of her bank account, Louise begins shirking her responsibilities in order to satisfy Lavinia's every whim. Her sacrifices are initially worth the spoils--Lavinia invites Louise to move in with her, and the two spend every waking moment living to excess--but then the capricious socialite decides it's time to find a new companion, forcing Louise to take desperate measures. Louise's story unfolds in the present tense via an omniscient narrator. The structure heightens apprehension and uncertainty while the storyteller's dry wit, keen observations, and gossipy tone promote the reader from detached observer to complicit confidant. Burton's exceptional character work further elevates the tale; every individual is both victim and villain, imbuing their interactions with oceans of emotional subtext and creating conflict that propels the book toward its shocking yet inevitable conclusion.Religion and culture writer Burton's first foray into long-form fiction is at once a thrilling and provocative crime novel, a devastating exploration of female insecurity, and a scathing indictment of society's obsession with social media.

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Starred review from April 16, 2018
Fans of the cult classic Poison Ivy will appreciate the mousy girl–wild girl dynamic on display in Burton’s fiendishly clever debut. At 29, insecure Louise Wilson is a would-be writer living in fear of the dictum, “if you haven’t made it in New York by 30, you never will.” All that changes when she meets 23-year-old socialite Lavinia Williams, who seems to be channeling the free spirit of the late Zelda Fitzgerald (with flapper dresses to match). Larger-than-life Lavinia takes Louise under her wing and introduces her new bestie to a Manhattan she never knew existed, including parties in haunted hotels and secret bookstores and people with names like Beowulf Marmont and Athena Maidenhead, all the while dressing as if for a costume ball that never ends. Only later does Louise experience the hateful, spiteful, jealous side of Lavinia’s personality in what becomes an ingenious dark thriller in the Patricia Highsmith Tom Ripley mode. Louise and Lavinia are bold, brilliant characters. This devious, satisfying novel perfectly captures a very narrow slice of the Manhattan demimonde. Agent: Emma Parry, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

May 15, 2018
Louise Wilson, who wants to write but instead works three jobs and still struggles to make rent on her Brooklyn studio, leads a lonely life before she meets Lavinia Williams. When Lavinia, an aspiring writer who can afford to be one, hires Louise to tutor her younger sister, who needs no help, the two hit it off. Beginning on New Year's 2015, Lavinia ushers Louise into her glamorous and debauched New York life. They end their nights at dawn, reciting poetry as they promised they would with their new, matching tattoos ( MORE POETRY!!! ). It's quickly clear that Lavinia has polished a dusty, lost soul into a sparkling best friend before, and things didn't end well. The narrator soon addresses the reader?a recurring device?to reveal that Lavinia will soon die. This fast-paced, stylish, dialogue- and character-driven debut from journalist and scholar Burton will definitively ensnare readers. Diabolically playing on what we think we know about others and what we reveal about ourselves in the social-media age, it will give readers the creeps, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2018

New York City, where aspiring writers come to make it big, parties with socialites are frequent, and obsession looms, is the setting for this debut psychological thriller. While tutoring Cordelia for her SATs, ambitious Louise from small-town nowhere connects with her pupil's older sister, Lavinia, who has taken a year off from Yale to find herself in the big city while being bankrolled by her wealthy parents. Lavinia is the life of every party and has a knack for attracting people. When an opportunity arises for Louise to live rent free with Lavinia, leading to social gatherings and connections she would otherwise not have experienced, Louise becomes enamored of her roommate's seemingly carefree life, but over time, picking up bar tabs, staying out all night and then missing work the next morning, and a budding clandestine romance with Lavinia's ex-boyfriend, Rex, strains the girls' relationship. As the situation boils over, Louise is presented with a dangerous option to live the way she desires. VERDICT When the shocking plot twist arrives, readers will be glued to this contemporary take on Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 12/11/17.]--David Miller, Farmville P.L., NC

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2018

Small-town girl Louise knows how to scrape by in New York. Then she meets wealthy, off-kilter Lavinia Williams, who introduces her to private opera boxes, Shakespearean masked balls, underground cabarets, and all the champagne she can drink, and there's no letting go. The publisher expects this debut to be huge.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.