From the publisher:
Set in the glossy world of New York City media, this sharp and witty debut novel follows a young woman caught in a toxic mentorship with an older, powerful executive as she grapples with career, belonging, and the complexity of modern relationships in the digital age.
https://amzn.to/47l5yuF
When cosmetics mogul Billie rolls down her town car window and offers Lily a ride home from a glitzy Manhattan gala, Lily figures this could be a useful professional connection. She’s heard of Billie’s storied rise as a business titan, the product of white New England privilege and one of the few queer women in a corner suite. Billie could be just the jolt Lily needs to manifest her next step.
A magazine writer, Lily interviews influencers, actresses, and fashion designers for her publication’s stylish pages, all while navigating office microaggressions. Stalled at work, she worries that her dream print career will soon succumb to the rise of social media. She is at a standstill, too, in her relationship with her girlfriend Alison. And Lily feels unable to voice her authenticity when others’ sliding perceptions of her mixed race and bisexual identity repeatedly drown her out.
Charming and hyperconfident, Billie seems invested in mentoring Lily out of her slump, from the screen of her phone. But their text exchanges and Billie’s relentless worldview begin to consume Lily’s life. Eager to impress her powerful guide, Lily is perpetually suspended in an ellipsis, waiting for those three gray dots to bloom into a new message from Billie.
Ellipses explores one woman’s struggle for wholeness, in a world shaped by digital half-lives and aspirational fantasies. In the end, this stunning debut novel reveals the rewards and challenges of forging an uncharted path on one’s own terms.
There is a lot to parse here, from microaggressions to racism, misogyny, and workplace power plays, all told through the lens of a young woman clashing with a changing culture. This debut novel revolves around Lily, a queer, mixed-race writer at a women’s print magazine in New York City, writing about social media influencers and not exactly loving it. Lily spends her life trying to blend in, whether it is at work or at the social gatherings she covers for the magazine. The industry is moving to digital, but there is a certain snobbism to print that Lily can’t seem to shake off. She meets Billie, a powerful lesbian running a beauty empire who seems to want to mentor Lily via text messages, but Lily isn’t always too fond of her advice. Nonetheless, Lily becomes somewhat obsessed with Billie, putting her own relationship with her long-term girlfriend at risk while her career feels like it is plunging downhill. This mentorship is quite toxic, but it takes Lily way too long to figure that out, leading to a somewhat surprising ending.
Verdict: Readalikes for this original literary debut may include The Adult by Bronwyn Fischer or We Are Water by Wally Lamb.
©Library Journal, 2024
3/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
ELLIPSES by Vanessa Lawrence. Dutton (March 5, 2024). ISBN: 978-0593472774. 288p.
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