Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating look at Hollywood
Review: "So 5 Minutes Ago" deals with Alex who worked as a publicist for a not-so-hot PR agency named DWP, which dealt mostly with B-list celebrities. As a publicist, Alex was expected to spin stories, attend parties, cater to the needs of her clients, and basically, making sure her clients receive the right publicity. Her life became more complicated when DWP was merged with another rival company BIG. Her work which was very demanding to begin with became unbearable when there seemed to be divisions in the newly formed DWP-BIG and Alex wasn't sure which side she was on or should be on. I think "So 5 Minutes Ago" is quite an interesting read as it provides glimpses into the life of a publicist in the ever-changing, competitive and shallow Hollywood. The book provides insights such as the work that goes into making sure an actor becomes a celebrity or the importance of appearing in various functions/events. The author seems very knowledgeable in this area which makes the book insightful and at the same time fun. In addition, the characters in this book are very vividly described, which is definitely considered a strength. Definitely an entertaining read!
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating look at Hollywood
Review: "So 5 Minutes Ago" deals with Alex who worked as a publicist for a not-so-hot PR agency named DWP, which dealt mostly with B-list celebrities. As a publicist, Alex was expected to spin stories, attend parties, cater to the needs of her clients, and basically, making sure her clients receive the right publicity. Her life became more complicated when DWP was merged with another rival company BIG. Her work which was very demanding to begin with became unbearable when there seemed to be divisions in the newly formed DWP-BIG and Alex wasn't sure which side she was on or should be on. I think "So 5 Minutes Ago" is quite an interesting read as it provides glimpses into the life of a publicist in the ever-changing, competitive and shallow Hollywood. The book provides insights such as the work that goes into making sure an actor becomes a celebrity or the importance of appearing in various functions/events. The author seems very knowledgeable in this area which makes the book insightful and at the same time fun. In addition, the characters in this book are very vividly described, which is definitely considered a strength. Definitely an entertaining read!
Rating: 
Summary: So true it made my teeth hurt...
Review: A book that could only have been written by someone who has lived it, and thank God it was lived by someone who is such a good writer. I just finished living my own version of this story, so the book was great therapy and a much-needed dose of perspective!!!! For which (if Ms. De Vries is reading this) I am DEEPLY grateful.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: A cute start, then just went downhill from there. None of the characters were the least bit interesting--even the main character. I was hoping Troy or someone would step up to the plate to give the story some glimmer of hope, but it didn't happen--nothing happened in the whole story.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre Chick Lit
Review: As a lover of the Chick Lit genre I found this book entertaining but would have to say a bit tedious.
Alex is a publicist in Hollywood and the company she works for is bought by a larger more sucessful company, and big changes are being made, changes that are not exactally fair. Alex is caught in the middle of being a loyal employee of the original agency and a new employee of the new agency fighting to keep her job. When Alex becomes aware of the shady plot to force an original founder of the original agency into retirement in order to make the new agency's owners more money Alex knows that something has to be done.
This book explores the reality of ageism in Hollywood, in that the takeoever agency is filled with beautiful young women, while the original agency is made up of middle aged women.
Overall I'd say So 5 Minutes Ago is a fun quick read, but not as exciting as I expected. I was anxious to get my hands on this book only to be a bit let down.
Rating:
Summary: Hollywood for real
Review: Clearly this is a love it or hate it book. I fell into the "loved it" group. Clever, funny, insightful - I feel sure this is how it is in the belly of the Hollywood beast, where a huge support staff toils to make their clients seem as glamorous and perfect as they really aren't, and the stars fear only one thing - being forgotten. Alex is trapped in what might seem to be a perfect job : publicity agent. When her agency specializing in B grade stars is taken over by an unscrupulous wheeler dealer, and her boss is about to be tossed out on the scrapheap, Alex discovers to her own surprise that she does care about decency and fairness and that she actually can make a small difference in the inherently unfair world of the glitterati.
De Vries' Hollywood seems so real that I have to believe that this is how it really is. I'm already recommending the book to my friends and family.
Rating:
Summary: Funny! Funny! Funny!
Review: De Vries nails "the biz" and does it with a gift for satire that transcends itself. Alex Delaware is no paper-thin comic foil. She's Every-Girl tumbled down the Rabbit Hole trapped in an Alice-in-Wonderland parallel reality that would be impossible to believe, except IT'S ALL TRUE. Half of the fun lies in decoding the Roman a Clef aspects of the novel (De Vries is an entertainment industry journalist with major credentials). On second thought, make that one-tenth of the fun. The real fun lies in the rich characterizations, the fun-house plotting. I could not put this down. Reading it, I couldn't help but think -- this would make a totally cool TV series. ("Sex in the City" ends in a couple of weeks, and I'm already pining for its replacement.) What can I say? I loved this book and can't wait to get my hands on De Vries' next opus.
Rating:
Summary: Huh. It's really good.
Review: Found this title while killing time at a Barnes & Noble. Hooked by the end of the first paragraph. (The author, Hilary "just one 'l'" De Vries, knows how knit words together). Stood there for an hour reading, before I realized that I'd lost all sensation in my right leg. Bought the book. Took it home. Devoured it in one sitting. But enough about me. Hilary (just one "l") De Vries is the new Carrie Fisher. "So Five Minutes Ago" is the most sharply observed cultural dissection since "Postcards from the Edge". I'm not sure I know what "Funny! Funny! Funny!" means (mmmm...perhaps, funny?), but I did curl a lip at least every other page or so and snorted more often than I'll ever care to admit, ok? I'd give this five stars, too, except I believe in grading on a curve.
Rating:
Summary: Huh. It's really good.
Review: Found this title while killing time at a Barnes & Noble. Hooked by the end of the first paragraph. (The author, Hilary "just one 'l'" De Vries, knows how knit words together). Stood there for an hour reading, before I realized that I'd lost all sensation in my right leg. Bought the book. Took it home. Devoured it in one sitting. But enough about me. Hilary (just one "l") De Vries is the new Carrie Fisher. "So Five Minutes Ago" is the most sharply observed cultural dissection since "Postcards from the Edge". I'm not sure I know what "Funny! Funny! Funny!" means (mmmm...perhaps, funny?), but I did curl a lip at least every other page or so and snorted more often than I'll ever care to admit, ok? I'd give this five stars, too, except I believe in grading on a curve.
Rating:
Summary: Breakout book!
Review: Hilary DeVries did what many of her celeb journalist peers would love to do -- see the truth that surrounds them day-to-day clearly enough to rise above it and write an hilarious and smart novel about what it's like to be a Hollywood striver swimming with sharks. So Five Minutes Ago couldn't be better even if DeVries had written about herself, but aside from some characters who bear a striking resemblence to real show biz denizens, this isn't a roman a clef or DeVries's diary made public. This is real writing.The characters are fully-formed and by turns funny and touching. The prose literally zips and zings. There's a laugh on every page -- and even better an insight about human nature that resonates long after the book in finished. In Hollywood-speak one might call DeVries a new Nora Ephron meets Carrie Fisher meets Helen Fielding, but I think this book is really the beginning of an original career.
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