Author: Lauren Weisberger
ISBN: 978-0-00-830367-9
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 5th June 2018
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
So, I had heard of The Devil Wears Prada but I have not read the book or watched the movie. It’s generally not my genre. When Life Gives You Lululemons is the 3rd in the series and from a quick Goodreads glance seems to be the highest rated.
Emily Charlton is an in-demand image consultant who is called away from a New Years Eve party to deal with a celebrity publicity nightmare, in another city. She drops everything to fly cross country and go into damage control. Unfortunately she was called by the agent and the actual celebrity has been approached by someone else. Emily loses another celebrity client to a much younger rival with her finger on the social-media pulse.
A string of client losses sees Emily take a hit to her confidence and hide out in the suburbs with her best friend Miriam, a place she never thought she would spend any prolonged amount of time.
I went into this one with a pretty open mind and not much in the way of expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. The entire premise of this story is so far out of the realm of anything I would experience in my life that it was like a fairytale. Weisberger is certainly up with the celebrity current affairs and she’s not afraid to name drop and litter her narrative with celebrity scandals that you may remember from the headlines, though always quite vague and brief.
There are a few universal themes of friendship, parenthood and the loss of your sense of self with big changes in life.
Miriam is a mother of three, newly SAHM in the suburbs after a high-powered legal career in the city. She made the choice so she had more time to spend at home with her children but we can see that she’s missing her work and floundering a little in this new life she’s made. She loves her children and spending the extra time with them but is losing that sense of self that is apart from her roles of wife and mother.
Life in Greenwich really seems to me like life in a different world. SAHM’s who fill their days with exercise classes, coffee catch-ups and early cocktails. A suburb rife with gossip and crazy behaviour.
Karolina is married to a senator and wealthy in her own right thanks to a lucrative career as a model, until her world crumbles around her following a questionable DUI charge that made headlines.
Miriam and Emily approach Karolina to offer support and the three build on their connections to forge a friendship, and offer their expertise to help Karolina recover from the very public dumping by her husband.
When Life Gives You Lululemons is a story that I really enjoyed. I think it’s one that you can enjoy as a light and amusing fun read, or you can look at it in a lot more depth and explore all the issues going on that tell a terrible story of the world we live in. The wit was razor-sharp, and it certainly had pointy edges that cut sometimes.
I enjoyed a lot of things about this one and I actually loved all three main characters, even though they wee painfully irritating at times. I loved the way each of the characters grew throughout the story and came out the other side completely different people.
Weisberger paints a disturbing picture of suburbia and the things that money and influence can buy, but also the fickle nature of ‘mum friends’ and the importance of those deep and true friendships that we couldn’t survive without. A story rife with deplorable behaviour, a couple of predictable twists and some surprises.
Witty, sarcastic and a reminder that wealth doesn’t necessarily bring happiness or buy good sense or decency. Definitely worth a read.
Lauren Wesberger can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and their website.
When Life Gives You Lululemons is published by Harper Collins and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Harper Collins 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading When Life Gives You Lululemons so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
In ‘When Life Gives You Lululemons’ Lauren Weisberger uses Emily Charlton, previous assistant to the one and only Miranda Presley in The Devils Wear Prada, as the main character. Emily is finding herself in a rut in her work and connects with an old friend, Miriam, a mother who has lost her career when moving out to the suburbs and marriage has lost the spark.
They are all connected when Karolina, wife to a senator is incorrectly charged with a DUI while driving her son and his friends. This brings media attention to the family and this is where Emily steps in to assist with managing Karolina’s image in the media. The ladies all spend some time in the suburbs together and I found these parts to be my favourite in the book.
It was well written and I enjoyed it.
Thank you for the opportunity to review ‘When Life Gives You Luluemons’.