Publisher: HarperCollins
Release: 7th April 2016
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Chick-lit, Women’s Fiction
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
"When Edie is caught in a compromising position at her colleagues’ wedding, all the blame falls on her – turns out that personal popularity in the office is not that different from your schooldays. Shamed online and ostracised by everyone she knows, Edie’s forced to take an extended sabbatical – ghostwriting an autobiography for hot new acting talent, Elliot Owen. Easy, right?
Wrong. Banished back to her home town of Nottingham, Edie is not only dealing with a man who probably hasn’t heard the word ‘no’ in a decade, but also suffering an excruciating regression to her teenage years as she moves back in with her widowed father and judgy, layabout sister.
When the world is asking who you are, it’s hard not to question yourself. Who’s that girl? Edie is ready to find out."
Review
Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favourite authors and Who’s That Girl is her best book yet! Her stories are always funny, smart and slick and despite their length I never want them to end.
Who’s That Girl follows Edie Thompson whose found herself in a very modern, very complicated sort-of-relationship with a guy at her work. On his wedding day he kisses Edie and his new wife witnesses it all. Labelled a “marriage wrecker” and “the other woman” Edie becomes a social pariah. Targeted by bullies both online and at work she flees London in shame and goes back home to Nottingham. Her boss throws Edie the lifeline of ghost writing famous television star Elliot Owen’s biography and the two connect over their lives being judged by other people – Elliot with the press and Edie with her online bullies but there’s more than one side to each of us and we’re more than what people see. Who’s that girl? Edie’s about to find out.
I think that what puts Mhairi McFarlane head and shoulders above the rest for me is her heroines and the way she writes them. They’re all incredibly complex and their stories aren’t solely based on their love lives. The romance in Mhairi’s books is equal to the relationships her heroines have with their friends, family, career and themselves which results in a more fleshed out, modern heroine who I relate to. Every one of her heroines comes to feel like my best friend when I’m reading their story and I see myself reflected in them.
One of my favourite aspects of Who’s That Girl is its take on social media. Like most people, Edie is addicted to her phone and has built an image online showing her best self, so when that all comes crashing down she has an identity crises of sorts. It was interesting to read about our online selves in comparison to our real selves, we live in a time where it’s very easy to feel like you know somebody and can make a judgment on them when really you’re only seeing a small part of who they are.
Who’s That Girl is a heart-warming, emotional and fist pump inducing read about claiming your own identity and sticking it to anyone who tries to tell you who you are, who you are not and puts a label on you. Who’s That Girl has left me book drunk and has utterly spoiled me for all other romantic comedies this year.
Who’s that girl? She’s Edie Thompson and she’s f***ing fabulous!
