Customer Reviews

She's Got Issues (Avon Books)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I started reading She's Got Issues purely for entertainment value to learn that the message of women competing in the workplace is as timeless as it is anachronistic. Rather than helping one another get ahead, which this generation of young women entering the workforce seems to employ as a networking tactic for life, the characters Chloe and Zoe in this book must navigate treacherous Conde Nast Publishing shark-infested waters. Their stories are as opposite and hilarious as they are cautionary, based on author Stephanie Lessing's personal experience at several high profile women's magazines. Digressions into shoe fetishes, personal hygiene and side-splittingly funny conversations really make this book hard to put down. Cannot wait to read her next title, Miss Understanding, also to be published by Avon Trade.

I admit it...I love any kind of chick lit book...doesn't matter that I practically know the story and the ending before I even start reading...I live for that happy ending & the self-discovery along the way. I never actually thought anything could ever top Bridget Jones or Jemima J on my favorite of the favorites list, however "She's got Issues" has done it! Not only did I actually laugh out loud (which was a bit difficult to explain to those around me who took one look at the cover & shook their heads at me), but it also made me feel good...about being a girly girl...about loving shopping (nothing wrong with a little retail theray is there!?)...but also about buying shoes...even if they don't fit!!

I've got to admit I was totally charmed by this formulaic, but very witty novel. Chic lit has a somewhat second class image, but the writing in this Cinderella story lifts it into the Must-read category.
You know the plot. What you don't know is how Lessing is going to get you there, with such a naive narrator. I actually laughed out loud reading this confection and I recommend it for entertainment and spot-on social observations.

Because she is effervescent and optimistic everyone assumes that Chloe Rose is shallow and unable to see the depths of darkness. Currently she works as an assistant to an ambitious assistant to the Promotions Director of Issues Magazine.

Chloe always tries to do her best regardless of the dumbing down project that her boss Ruth dumps on her. Ruth detests her assistant unable to deal with the constant idealist who makes Pollyanna look like Murphy. However, being a realist, Ruth cannot truly afford to fire Bubbles because Chloe may be naive when it comes to human nature, but her ideas are terrific, which in turn makes Ruth look good. However, even Chloe knows that Ruth abuses her, but on the other hand she does have access to nirvana, the shoe closet.

Chloe seems too sweet and naïve yet that works because of the reaction of the secondary characters towards her; people either love her positive approach and volunteer to help or loathe her upbeat attitude and want to hire a hit man to silence her. This Pollyanna chick lit in the office tale is often amusing, but readers will also want Chloe to tell Ruth where to stick it.

Harriet Klausner

For Chloe Rose working at Issue Magazine is her dream job. Well her actual job isn't that great, but she's dreamed of working at the great women's magazine for like, forever. It helps that she's been enamored of the fashion industry ever since the life-changing day when at age eight, she saw Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. When her interest settled on an obsession for shoes, well there wasn't a place on earth she'd rather work than Issue Magazine. One day she hopes to become the first Shoe Editor.

Definitely not one of those too-deep thinkers who clutter their days with organized thoughts, Chloe lives on the constant flow of ever changing free association. She went to the job interview at Issues Magazine and, though her resume was packed with lies and Chloe was confused during her interview (she obviously couldn't understand why the woman interviewing her was wearing orthopedic East Spirit shoes) she luckily managed to chirp out the answers her new boss, Ruth, wanted to hear!

Her job is boring, mostly making copies of Ruth's medical insurance coverage forms dealing with Ruth's foot problems, but when Chloe finds out the company has a shoe closet filled to the brim with assorted footwear that everyone can use when they need an emergency replacement pair, she discovers heaven.

Who cares that her sister Zoë warns her that Ruth doesn't like her, or that her boss is stealing her many shoe promotions ideas or that one gorgeous guy, whose name she thinks is Stan, is looking at her like she's batty. Life is good; after all with no malice in her heart, she can get out of anything simply by lying.

Happily, SHE'S GOT ISSUES is part of a universe where the lack of brains and self-awareness is a plus, as long as you have an idiot-savant's gift for shoe and fashion style and you possess a cute figure. Twenty-eight years old, with a mind like a breezy high school gal, Chloe innocently cuts a swath through every wacky crisis to become triumphant. Although always making fast, and usually incorrect judgments of people and situations along the way, she eternally coming up smelling like roses, creating the perfect promotion and winning the Prince as her own.

SHE'S GOT ISSUES is the perfect Chick-lit book. It's light and frothy, filled with unusual characters, free flowing thoughts on every subject and it finishes with a happy ending. This book is exclusively for die hard, to-die-for chick-lit lovers.

Ok, this is a book that I am highly recommending to those who love chick lit with a lot more going for it. I think even those who aren't regular readers of this genre are going to love it. SHE'S GOT ISSUES by Stephanie Lessing is the story of Chloe Rose, a very naive young woman who doesn't seem to have a clue at what is really going on around her. The book is narrated by her, and this is where it gets funny - this girl is not normal... her thoughts are sometimes so "out there" that I could not help but laugh out loud. Her obsessions with shoes goes beyond an obsession - she actually used to play with her shoes as any girl would have played with dolls, but Chloe still plays with them. Her shoes, that is. A classic scene has Chloe locked up in a shoe closet at work, and talking. Of course someone has to walk by and rescue her ("Stan", her knight in shining armor). It's scenes like these that had me hooked.

Chloe recently is hired at ISSUES magazine, and she is now the assistant to the assistant, whatever that is. Her relationship with her new boss Ruth is something else. Chloe is doing her best to be a star employee, but she doesn't realize that Ruth is jealous of her ideas and is trying to keep Chloe in the dark by having her do mundane jobs as copying endless files, taking days and weeks to finish. Ruth also steals Chloe's ideas, and tries to convince upper management that these were Ruth's ideas, not Chloe's. Chloe hasn't a clue what is going on, and constantly backs up her boss, saying what a great person Ruth is to her.

What makes the book succeed is NOT simply that Chloe is somewhat weird and "different", but it's how people react to her behavior. I found myself doing "double takes" while first reading this novel, because I did not anticipate reading a book narrated by a woman that was not all there. She's not stupid, however. It's just that her perceptions on life and the world are not ordinary. There had been a few times when she would spout off the most intelligent of things. At other times you will wonder whether she has a brain. But with her weird photographic memory (she is able to recite paragraphs from her sister's boyfriend's economics book he's just published) and her odd behavior and thoughts, Chloe Rose is one character that you will not forget. If you want a lot of laughs, I highly recommend SHE'S GOT ISSUES. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Chloe Rose is a lifelong dreamer. As a child, she played "magazine office" and dreamed of becoming the shoe editor at a high-fashion magazine. When she is hired as the assistant to the assistant of Issues magazine, she feels like she has fulfilled a lifelong wish. But Chloe has to learn to be careful what you wish for. Her boss also has unfulfilled fantasies that Chloe inadvertently steps in; her co-workers are more interested back-stabbing than working. When the office prince charming shows an interest in Chloe, things really begin to heat up.

This book makes me really, really want shoes-all those kicky little bits of shiny leather that look so pretty on a long thin legs. As Chloe goes into raptures in the shoe closet, I imagine rows of store windows in trendy shopping centers where shoes are displayed under lights designed for diamonds. My eyes linger just a moment longer than they should on that red pair with heels that would make me trip and fall on my nose.

Let me set the record straight: I am not a shoe person. My husband disagrees with this statement as he trips one of my eight pairs of black, sensible shoes that I've left in the middle of the closet floor. But when you're on your feet all day, you can't have too many pairs of sensible shoes. Sigh. What I'd give to be able to wear what Chloe does.

As Chloe innocently negotiates the emotional minefields around her, she vacillates between being a babe in the woods and an astute observer of human nature. In the third of the book, I found it difficult to get a handle on Chloe's true character; her essence was as elusive as a will will-o'-the-wisp. In one moment she doesn't understand the slang term "chick" and in the next she's caught a spelling error in a letter from her boss. She comes up with original marketing ideas without understanding what the promotions department does. However, as the book progressed, I began to really like Chloe and I forgave her flaws.

Stephanie Lessing's book is easy to read and hard to put down. Her characters speak to any woman who has ever played pretend as a child, shopped to relieve stress, anguished about her beauty flaws or dreamed of finding the perfect man. I hope to see more from this talented new author.

She's Got Issues is the perfect title for a chick lit book. What man hasn't said that a woman has issues? We are just misunderstood sometimes, I guess. I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy chick lit books. It is a witty, laugh out loud book that will have you yearning for more or encourage a shoe fetish.

The story is of young Chloe Rose who owns a shoe obsession. Chloe is a little naive and at times, talks to her shoes. As a child, she would play with her shoes instead of her dolls. Chloe works at Issues Magazine as an assistant to the assistant. Lost in her own world Chloe fails to see the jealousy that her boss, Ruth, has for her ideas. Ruth gives Chloe mundane tasks to complete so that she can steal her ideas. Ruth tries to convince management that the ideas are her original ideas and knowing some of the tricks has played, Chloe supports her boss.

Chloe narrates the book which keeps you laughing because she is a bit "weird." She's a smart girl but she perceives the world a little differently than others. She will impress you with her telegraphic memory but also leaves one in awe when she spews out things that make her appear clueless. Chloe is triumphant in all her endeavors despite the challenges she manages to face. Ruth would like to fire Chloe but her ideas makes Ruth look too good. Chloe accepts the abuse from Ruth because it gives her access to the shoe closet.

Women have had issues for years when it comes to workplace competition. This doesn't mean that men don't but women's struggles are a little different and this book reflects some of them. This book was hard to put down as the craziness at the Issues Magazine office unfolded. Despite how naive Chloe is and how annoying that may be, it works for this book. The reader learns to like Chloe even if they try not to. The reader will be charmed when they least expect it. The lack of brains and self-awareness help Chloe tell Ruth to stick it in her own way.

This book is a must read, but remember you will laugh out loud so read it with caution in public places...

I liked this book o.k. but there was way more about Michaels book, who just barely is a characater in the book. Then, suddenly it's months in the future and Chloe and Stan are quite an item but have the slept together or what?? Overall it was good and i'll defintely read the the sequel

I am not a huge fan of beach reads or chick books, but this was a definite must read. I loved every second of it. I could not put it down. The characters were believable and interesting. I read this after I read "the devil wears prada" (which I also enjoyed) but found "she's got issues" to be the better of the two books. Honestly, it is that good of a read! They should have made a movie out of this book instead. Read it, you won't be disappointed!