Rating: 
Summary: Every day, I thank fate for ...
Review: I am so eternally grateful that I do not have a job like Andrea Sachs in this book. All that hours catering to a fashion editor's job and having to hear "Millions of girls would die to have a job just like yours!" 24/7 ~~ no thanks! I'll pass up on the Guccis and Pradas and meeting celebrities at parties and everything that passes for entertainment in the fashion world. Ok, I know this book isn't the classic novel that people seem to be expecting ~~ I expected it to be an entertaining and fun read and Weisberger didn't disappoint me here! Full of witty remarks (and catty ones to!) and heavy on the sarcasm, I really enjoyed reading this book about Andrea Sachs who got hired just out of college to work at Runway, one of the fashion world's premier magazines. And not only was she hired there, she was also hired to work for Miranda Priestly, the fashion world's "it" woman, who is the fashion editor of Runway. Andrea heard that if she survived one year at that grueling indentureship, Miranda will see to it that she will get any job that she wants. Any job and there is nothing more that Andrea wants in the world other than to work for The New Yorker. So Andrea agreed to work for her for a year. Little did she know what that year entailed. Andrea was literally on call 24/7 as her boss' junior assistant. She was ordered to fetch coffee, newspapers and magazines every day like a latch-key. She had to field requests from everyone that wants to meet with Miranda. And she also has to anticipate every demand that Miranda might have ~~ as well as sorting through her dirty clothes to ready for dry-cleaning. Trying to keep her sense of humor, and trying to keep her relationships with her family, boyfriend and best friend ~~ Andrea begins to wonder if this is worth all the aggravation. It is, like I mentioned, a highly entertaining read. It's actually nicer to read about someone else's problems with their boss. Weisenberger does it with grace and humor. This is one of the funnest reads I've had this fall. If you're not expecting it to be a serious tome on the fashion world, this book is for you. 9-28-03
Rating: 
Summary: Just dreadful
Review: I can't figure out how this book made the Bestseller list. It's the worst book I've read all year, and I read a lot. I loved the Nanny Diaries. This book isn't even in the same ballpark.
Rating: 
Summary: Every writer has to start somewhere
Review: I've read a fair number of the other reviews here and have noticed that plenty of readers find Weisberger to be an ungrateful, immature, spoiled brat because of her apparent attitude toward her job at Vogue and her former boss, Anna Wintour. While it's difficult to imagine Weisberger distancing herself very much from her actual experiences as an assistant, as a writer myself I must concede her the benefit of the doubt; that perhaps Andrea Sachs doesn't necessarily possess the same personality and manner as Weisberger. It is a novel, after all. That being said, no one can defend the stilted prose style of this book, or the wooden, robotic dialogue, or the complete absence of storytelling skills. Weisberger has woven into this narrative a few interesting and well-told anecdotes, but the novel as a whole fails on almost every level. One of the most sacred rules of writing, "Show, don't tell," seems to have been intentionally ignored; I can remember no novel in recent history that so flagrantly attempted to tell a story by the narrator recalling for the reader what happened yesterday or two weeks ago. The Devil herself, Miranda Priestly, is frighteningly offstage for much of this novel, as are many of the "scenes" with Andrea's boyfriend. And while many readers have complained about the editing, or lack thereof, I place this burden squarely back on the shoulders of Weisberger. Acquiring editors and copy editors can and do make suggestions--many of them, in fact--but ultimately Weisberger can reject anything she wants. To suggest Doubleday purchased this book for so much money and voluntarily allowed it to go to press in this condition strains credibility. I wish I knew if Weisberger intended for her protagonist to be so unlikable, because that's certainly the way she wrote her. The elitist attitude regarding everything from the fashion world to the city where a minor character lived (Houston) was unfortunate. There is nothing inherently wrong with this if Weisberger intended for us to interpret Andrea as stuck up. What surprised me, however, was how unhip the character was for someone who considered herself so well-bred. This girl thinks culture exists only north of the Mason-Dixon line, and yet she isn't familiar with Bed Head? She's trying to hide panty lines when even girls in Oklahoma wear thongs? There are plenty of snobby, aloof characters in fiction, but to write a girl who is both stuck up and ignorant is not the way to endear her to most readers. A sunny place in all this muck is that Weisberger shows promise as a writer. Even with my disappointment in the book overall, she hooked me enough to stagger to the end, and the pages leading up to the confrontation with Miranda moved quickly. With a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft, Weisberger could sharpen her talent into something more rewarding. All writers have to start somewhere. Even the best in the business possess horribly-crafted fiction projects stashed away where they may never again see the light of day, but the difference here is that this early-career project was actually published. It would be satisfying to complain about the publisher's role in all this, but it would also be naive, because no longer can the publishing industry distance itself from Hollywood, where poor storytelling and shoddy character development has become an art form. Books with killer titles and the promise of real "insider" gossip are a virtual lock to earn a big profit. But I wonder, with Weisberger's new seven-figure contract and critically-panned first novel, if perhaps the well will run dry before the second book is released. I suppose only time will tell. Any completed novel is a success in the eyes of a writer. Many are begun, and a relative few are ever finished. I really hope Ms. Weisberger will work hard to fashion a better novel next time out, because with her name and sales success, she could serve as a role model for other young women who hope to write for a living.
Rating:
Summary: I FEEL MORE STUPID FOR HAVING READ THIS BOOK
Review: This book is so bad that it was a complete waste of time. The author discuses such juvenille issues. It seems like she used this book to showcase her knowledge of designer names. It talks about the woeful life of Andrea and her horrible materialistic boss. She devotes all her time to her work while she neglects her boyfriend and friend who is turning into a partying alcoholic. Her friend ends up getting in a car accident while driving drunk and it changes her view on her job and life. I can't put a book down once I start it, but this is the one book I wish I would never have picked up. It was so incredibly horrible. I truely feel shallow and insignificant after reading this book. I abhorred it and it is a genuinly heinous book. This author is TERRIBLE. Don't read this book!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Neutral
Review: I found the book to be a nice, quick, easy read. There weren't many surprises though. It was almost as if nothing happened until the end. I did enjoy the outcome however.
Rating:
Summary: Ending disappoints.
Review: The book makes for good light reading but all the while I kept thinking that the "devil" in this story would eventually get her come-uppance for being such a dreadful example of a human being, or at the very least, the protagonist Andrea would really give this woman a mouthful and tell her what everyone else is thinking but have never said to her. So the ending was a bit lacklustre, it left me disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: The Nanny Diaries Called... Devil Wears Prada STOLE my Plot
Review: I looked forward to reading this book. All of the hype made it sound like a fun summer read. THE BOOK WAS TERRIBLE!! The main character was contrived and all too stereotypical do-gooder.
IT BORED ME TO DEATH!! If you liked the Nanny Diaries, you will hate this book!! It is the same plot only in the world of fashion instead of the world of an Upper East Side Mom.
Worst money I EVER SPENT!! HORRIBLE BOOK!!!
Rating:
Summary: Clever title...a repeat through
Review: This book has a glamourous title and a fable of a girl who takes a job without realizing what it really entails. Nanny Diaries was actually more realistic and believable (i.e. there are probably more nannies in the world than assistants to a top fashion magazine editor). Good: Escapism and then suffering of the heroine who finally realizes what she wants Bad: Frantic subplots and suffering of the heroine for no discernable reason other than she is too dumb to leave. The nanny diaries, at least, you understood why she stayed in her job (loved the kid). Final: If you are into suffering, this is it. Otherwise, I enjoyed this month's issue of Vogue better. p.s. figured out that with her salary and the profits from the sale of her wardrobe and other perks, she came out pretty good for less than one year of work!!
Rating:
Summary: Blech.
Review: I enjoy a fun, mindless novel as much as the next chick (Good In Bed, Nanny Diaries, etc.) but this book was just plain awful. I found myself skipping ahead to see if anything interesting was going to happen but it just moved from one preposterous plot point to another with zero style or wit. The main character is such an annoying little brat that you start rooting for the "devil" (her boss). And one more thing: the spelling and grammar errors are just unforgivable. Wouldn't someone who is such an insider know how to spell supermodel Gisele's name? Or at least spell it one way consistently? I'll say it again: blech. If you still want to read it, I'm listing mine immediately on half.com.
Rating: 
Summary: PAGE TURNER!
Review: I couldn't put this book down, it kept me addicted practically! Just the kind of book you want to read to forget the world around you and not have to think too much! I found it entertaining and very well written, while focusing on the fashion industry which I found amusing, it could be any one at any time at any job so it relates very well. I don't pick books usually based on reviews as you can't nest all books together for one person to like. I can't wait for another book by this author!
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