Because She Can

This was probably one of the best chick lit books I've read in a while. It has everything: understated love, overstated love, a tyrannical boss, and a hard working heroine with a strong set of friends and family behind her for support. Clark made each character either extremely likable or extremely unlikable. It's pretty clear cut how she wanted her characters portrayed. It does channel "The Devil Wears Prada" a bit too much at times. I believe that she even refers to boss Vivian Grant as the "dragon lady," as "Prada" does to Miranda Priestly. Regardless, this is a fabulous book that I probably will not stop talking to my friends about until they read it. It's fun, fast, and really easy to read. I won't reduce to simply a "beach read" as some much chick lit is. Instead, this one is worth savoring. I hope Clark continues to work on other projects. I would love to see if she has another terrific book up her sleeves.

Reviewed by Kelli Glesige for Reader Views (2/07) Claire Truman is a Princeton graduate working as an associate editor for the top-tier New York book publishing house, Peters and Pomfret. Her beloved boss and mentor of five years, Jackson Mayville has recently announced his impending retirement. Feeling she has nothing to lose if she leaves, Claire begins to think about her future and her desire to take on more responsibility as an editor. One day after work, Claire and her best friend Beatrice attend an art gallery party. Much to their surprise and delight, their old heartthrob from college, Randall W. Cox is also at the party and takes a genuine interest in Claire. Thrilled and flabbergasted, Claire begins dating the highly successful and wealthy investment banker who works at Goldman Sachs in New York. Also to her delight, Claire is stunned to learn Randall knows Vivian Cox of Grant Books, a publishing company whose books are consistently on the New York Times Bestseller List. Randall offers to give Vivian a call on Claire's behalf, and the very next day Claire finds herself interviewing and receiving a job offer from Vivian at three times the salary she has been making. Putting aside the well-meaning advice of all her friends that Vivian is the boss from Hell, Claire decides to cast aside the horror stories and accept the job. She vows to stay one year at Grant Books to gain experience and further her career. After all, just how hard can only one year be? Claire soon finds the answer. A bright spot in Claire's new and hectic work filled life turns out to be Luke Mayville, nephew of her former boss, Jackson Mayville who she loved so dearly. Luke has written a book and is looking for someone to help get his book career started. Vivian allows Claire to take on Luke's book, and Claire vows to stay with Grant Books until Luke's book is in print. From the outside, it looks like Claire has it all with a high paying job and a good looking, rich, boyfriend who seems to adore her and showers her with gifts. But Vivian turns up the heat, and Claire learns all the dreadful stories she has heard are, in fact, quite true. Claire even has the perfect wedding all planned, but Vivian is still hot on her tail to complete deadlines and finish work, even minutes before the wedding is to begin. And to top it off, Claire cannot stop thinking about how well she gets along with Luke Mayville, even if Randall Cox is the perfect man for a husband. I thoroughly enjoyed "Because She Can," for it is humorous and comical. It is a very entertaining glimpse at life in a publishing house in a totally different light. If you like chick literature, I thoroughly recommend this work by Bridie Clair to all adult readers. Her work will keep you laughing and sometimes even crying. I definitely give "Because She Can" a high mark for an engaging and witty look at the world of book publishing.

Because She Can is a chick coming-of-age novel :) You will enjoy seeing Claire develop from a smart, talented "good girl" to a great woman. With the exception of a few you will love to hate, the engaging characters are good people with forgivable flaws that only make them more interesting. If you like Jane Green, Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella, you will surely enjoy this book!

I quickly found myself sucked into this humourous adventure and did not want to put it down till I discovered Claire's fate- person & professional. ALthough her evil boss, Vivian Grant, steals the show with her over-the-top tantrums which had me laughing out loud, I found myself rooting for Claire and dying to know what she'll do next- with crazy Vivian and with the two men in her life. Beyond the crazy boss drama, the love story is beautiful and builds in a slow, believable way. I also loved the insider's look at the book publishing world- however regardless of your industry, anyone and everyone can relate to Claire's world. The book is extremely amusing and well written- perfect entertainment to curl up with on a winter afternoon!

"I found Because She Can to be surprisingly funny and fresh given its similarities to "The Devil Wears Prada" -- in some places, laugh-out-loud funny -- and found myself rooting for the main character, Claire. I think anyone who's had to deal with a true boss from hell would relate to her, as would anyone who has had their stressful work life affect their personal life. Claire was less whiney than Andrea in The Devil Wears Prada and her boss is 100 times worse (boss's tantrums were among the funniest scenes!). This book is definitely worth reading if you want something entertaining and fast!"