When Life Gives You Lululemons

July 9, 2018
Weisberger casts a gimlet eye on affluent suburbia in her latest A Devil Wears Prada novel, featuring former Runway magazine assistant Emily Charlton, now an image consultant whose career is on a downslide. Thanks to her summer camp friend Miriam (a high-powered Manhattan lawyer turned stay-at-home mom in Greenwich, Conn.), Emily is connected to a new neighbor, former fashion model Karolina Hartwell, whose husband is a senator entertaining a presidential bid. Karolina has been all over the tabloids for a DUI while her stepson and some of his friends were in her car. The charge is suspect because she wasn’t drunk and even begged for a Breathalyzer test she was never given. Weisberger spotlights marital fidelity as Karolina’s husband is all over the society pages accompanied by the president’s glamorous daughter, who could further his career; Miriam likewise suspects her own husband is cheating. Throughout, Weisberger gleefully lampoons a world where buff moms decked out in athleisure wear obsess over child birthday party one-upmanship and “vaginal rejuvenation” surgery. A cameo from the imperious and memorable Runway fashion mag boss Miranda Priestly adds extra spice to this page-turning beach read. It’s a treat for Weisberger’s fans.

Laura Benanti narrates this audiobook featuring everyone's favorite fashion assistant, Emily Charlton, from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. Seemingly superficial Emily is now a celebrity image consultant--except that she's losing momentum in her career. When former supermodel Karolina is charged with DUI, Emily agrees to represent her in the hope they'll both make a comeback. Benanti portrays Karolina with a slight Polish accent and seamlessly transitions to Emily's friend Miriam's no-nonsense tone. Miriam's husband makes for an entertaining character, and a peripheral character named Alistair is voiced with a delicious British accent. Finally, one mustn't overlook the cliquey yoga ladies and their ridiculous cosmetic surgery debates! A.L.C. � AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine