nifty knockoff

Sometimes during the summer, you just need a book of fluff. You know the ones that make you think about nothing deep or moving, are usually somewhat-poorly written, but they are somehow oddly addicting. Recently I stumbled upon The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes & Jo Piazza, which was just that. Full disclosure: I'm quite certain I saw the cover while perusing B&N for new titles to add to my library hold list (#teacherbudget), and thought "Oooh, shiny! Let's give this one a try." Whoever coined the phrase that you can't judge a book by its cover never went book shopping with me; I am much more drawn to artsy or graphic covers and can usually determine if a book is worth my time simply by the jacket cover. 
Much in the grain of The Devil Wears Prada (confession: Miranda Priestly is one of my spirit animals...ok ok, Meryl Streep is what does it for me), The Knockoff explores the not-so-nice side of the print fashion industry. We find Imogen, an "aging" (and by aging, I mean 40) editor-in-chief of a major fashion magazine in NYC who has recently returned to work from a six-month medical leave after a double mastectomy. She returns to find her former assistant - and recent Harvard B-school grad - Eve attempting to upend her and change the beloved magazine into an app which would allow readers to buy anything in the magazine with the tap of the screen (Hey GQ, how about making that a thing?), and Imogen is about as tech-savvy as your great aunt Martha. Eve attempts to rule the roost, despite holding a position beneath Imogen, and begins to run the office like a task master, forcing juice cleanses on those whom she deems too plump to sit on the front row of her wedding. Did I mention that her husband-to-be is Imogen's ex-boyfriend and nearly 25-years Eve's senior? 
In the midst of this, Imogen is facing battles with her 10-year-old daughter Annabelle's self-confidence at home, most of which is caused by a mysterious commenter on her YouTube channel who is known only as Candy Cool (if you don't see this "twist" coming, we can't be literary friends). At the heart of the book, I believe there is an intended message of "mean girls never win" and "stay true to yourself, even when facing bullies," but it was difficult to get that underneath all of the candy-coated fashion industry names and what not. There were several prominent fashion icons whose identities were changed, likely for the sake of a copyright law or just a lawsuit in general, throughout the book, which for me, seemed like the book itself was a knockoff. Was this a fun read? Yes. Did I gain anything besides another entry in my summer reading log (because prizes)? Probably not.

2.5 (of 4) dusty book jackets.