Pick Me Up [Mass Market Paperback]

Zoe Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2006

Yesterday? My life was perfect. I was a full-fledged New York gallerista, gossiping all day about my favorite subject-art-while selling hundred-thousand-dollar paintings I would have died to own. The only thing better than my job at the Emerson Bond Gallery? The whopping promotion I was just about to get...

Today? Emerson Bond just dropped dead.
Now we may all be out of a job: my fabulous boss Freddie (love him!). Our absolutely adorable receptionist Kimmy (love her!). And devoted, well-meaning me (love me!).

Tomorrow? I can't even think about it...
...because I've definitely gotten off on the wrong foot with the insufferable star artist who's responsible for my professional future. And then there's the new blood at the Bond Gallery: Avery Devon, the man so gorgeous I can't even speak to him. The man now in charge of my whole life. The man who, if I'm really, really lucky, will teach me all about the art of love-and not just in my dreams...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Chick-lit takes on the New York art scene in Rice's enjoyable debut. Gallery director Izzy Duncan is beginning to make her mark at the Emerson Bond Gallery. When the gallery's eccentric benefactor suddenly dies, Izzy's life is thrown into a tailspin. She thinks her new boss may just be her Prince Charming, and her ardor overrides her concern over the direction he's taking the gallery. Meanwhile, she's working overtime to get back in the good graces of a new artist she inadvertently offended. There's a Sex in the City vibe to this novel that will attract some readers, and a sentimental side that will appeal to the true romantics. Izzy is entrenched in the glamorous world of artists and celebrities, but her own hopes and problems seem realistic. This book is bound to please young women seeking the same sort of fulfillment in their work and love lives that Izzy is. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Pick Me Up is clever, witty and fun! Izzy is a great character and I love Freddie. So funny! -- Sophie Kinsella, bestselling author of Shopaholic

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; First Edition edition (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451218442
• ISBN-13: 978-0755340002
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,612,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Zo' Rice grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn and now lives in Manhattan. After graduating cum laude from Yale, she spent four years in book editing while her friends told her she should write. She hopes they're happy now.

Zo''s first short story, "Mary Travels to the Land of Ghosts," which she wrote in kindergarten, was released as an extremely limited edition of 1 copy that her mother still has. She later honed her writing skills in college under the tutelage of National Book Award winner Robert Stone (who was a true mentor, and whom she adores) and National Book Award nominee Kate Walbert, among others.

In her junior year, Zo' spent a semester abroad studying art history at University College, London--an extraordinary experience during which she learned from some of England's foremost experts in modernism. She'd do it again in a second.

Much later, she got the idea for a novel set in the New York art world. At nearly the same time, she met and started dating an artist who would soon work for a private art dealer. She likes to call that happenstance "totally convenient." Zo' is eternally grateful that she loves her boyfriend's paintings because she is a crappy liar.

She recommends the resulting novel, "Pick Me Up," very, very highly. She warns that you may laugh hysterically and fall in love with a character or five. She wrote the book she was dying to read, and she hopes that you enjoy it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best chick-lit since Shopaholic, June 9, 2006

By 

Angie Arobo "Angie" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pick Me Up (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book after seeing Zoe Rice's MySpace page and the quote from Sophie Kinsella (my favorite author), and I'm so glad I did! Literally, I couldn't put the book down and read it nearly from start to finish in one day. Since there aren't other reviews yet, I'll do plot first: Izzy Duncan's about to get a huge promotion at the Emerson Bond Gallery, where she's the director, but starting from the first chapter, everything goes wrong. First Emerson Bond dies, then Izzy accidentally offends her next star artist, and then her love life turns to disarray. Things start to look up when Izzy finds out her boss just might be her dream man, but then she discovers that the new boss (Avery) *and* her new artist might have some hidden secrets that could change everything. At the same time, her best guy friend, Jamie, writes a newspaper column about pick up lines, and suddenly all of New York is spouting out hilarious, cheesy pick up lines and coupling right and left. Every chapter starts with a pick up line, and some of them are groaners, but the really fun kind.

PICK ME UP has great characters and dialogue, which made it feel like a clever as well as funny read. I enjoyed how Izzy was sweet, but also fiesty--she'll stand up for herself. And the love story was so, so engaging without being too sappy. Now that I know the ending, I've got to read the novel again and see if I missed some revealing clues! I couldn't wait to get to the end so I could find out what the characters' mysterious secrets were. And it's a totally satisfying reveal! I love that. Also, I appreciated how Izzy is a smart, accomplished career woman who loves her job. Too many chick-lit books have the same old "hate my job, bitter, bitter" heroine, but Izzy's at once smart, warm, and a joy to read.

Please write more books Zoe Rice!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, June 12, 2006

By 

Little D (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pick Me Up (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed reading Zoe Rice's first book.
Along with Isabel "Izzy" Duncan, I was crushing on Grady. Who couldn't fall for a manly artist type guy? If you're an art lover and a chick lit fan, this is a book you'd truly like to read because it combines the two to make one fab story!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best chick lit. books I've read recently, June 12, 2006

By 

Tara Snow (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pick Me Up (Mass Market Paperback)

I heard about "Pick Me Up" on Zoe Rice's Myspace page and was immediately interested in the book after reading the rave reviews by Sophie Kinsella(one of my favorite chick lit. authors).

The book is highly engaging and you can connect easily to the characters. The book is definitely a page turner. It's funny and clever and you learn to love and hate certain characters through out the story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves the chick lit. genre, or anyone that wants a fun summer read.

For a first novel this was superb, and I look forward to reading more books by Zoe Rice in the near future.