Oh! You Pretty Things: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

"A Hollywood native from the wrong side of the Walk of Fame makes a play for star status" (Cosmopolitan) in Shanna Mahin's acclaimed debut novel, called "quite a breakout" by The New York Times. Jess Dunne is third-generation Hollywood, but her star on the boulevard has yet to materialize. So when she upgrades her nowhere barista job to personal assistant for a film composer, she falls as hard for the nearness to fame as she does his perfectly designed kitchen. Jess kills at cooking, a talent that only serves her intensifying urge to dig in to Los Angeles's celebrity buffet. But then Jess's food garners the attention of Eva Carlton, an actress on the rise, and Jess is all too eager to jump ship to Eva's entourage, a decision that threatens to explode all her personal relationships. And when Jess's mother-a failed actress who puts the strange in estrangement-turns up toting a suitcase full of secrets, Jess must confront the truth she's been running from all her life.

Reviews

Praise forOh! You Pretty Things

Shanna Mahins Oh! You Pretty Things sounds more like a first novel, but it buzzes with hard-won wisdom -- New York Times

"Drop everything and read!" --Cosmopolitan

"Quick witted and sharply observed. -- San Diego Union-Times

Being third-generation Hollywood, Mahin knows L.A. life, and it shines through in the authentic details in this novel...memorable characters, witty banter, and [the] fascinating world of celebrity assistants. -- Library Journal

"An absorbing and authentic look at the glamour, glitz, and excess of Hollywood, and its effect on those who live on the fringes of it all." --Booklist

Hilarious and heartbreaking. - Bella NYC Magazine

This novel rings very true to its L.A. setting...with a main character whose vulnerabilities and triumphs will grow on the reader. -Variety

A funny, poignant glimpse of a woman growing up and living in Hollywood but never feeling that she belongs. - ShelfAwareness

Mahin deploys her superior powers of snark on this sendup of our cultures obsession with celebrity, but its also a surprisingly serious rumination on the perils of female friendship.
- San Diego City Beat

"A fast and funny debut." - Tampa Bay Times

Set in modern-day Hollywood, this novel is both funny and sentimental. - News-Gazette

"You have to buy this book. It's fantastic--funny, smart, perceptive, illuminating, and wholly original." -- Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of Wild

"Oh! You Pretty Things is so good, I have to force myself to stop reading it. The story alone would have done it, but the writing! Gorgeous, addictive, hilarious and so very true. Janet Fitch,New York Times bestselling author of White Oleander

"Oh! You Pretty Things rocks my Amadeus! Funny, ironic, sardonic, sarcastic, clever, heartfeltthere is something so wonderful about a book thats so upfront and in-your-face, yet manages to subtly deliver an emotional punch that will linger with you long after youve turned the final page. Dont let the glitzy Hollywood facade fool you; this fabulous novel reveals much about the depth of the human soul. --Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of A Sudden Light and The Art of Racing in the Rain

Shanna Mahins prose amuses, seduces, and kicks your ass all at the same time. The story, as fresh and urgent as tomorrows best gossip, grabs hold and never lets go. An absolute joyride! --Allison Burnett, screenwriter of Autumn in New York and Feast of Love

Reading Oh! You Pretty Things is like eating a box of chocolates in bedbut without any calories. Hilarious, poignant, sharply observed, it is at once a caricature of Hollywood and a searingly accurate portrayal of life inside tinseltown. Shanna Mahin has given us a central character who is both hard-assed and lovable, and a supporting cast worthy of its own Oscar. I wanted another thousand pages of this books charm, fluidity, and mordant wit. Andrew Solomon, New York Times bestselling author of The Noonday Demon and Far from the Tree

Author Bio

SHANNA MAHIN is a high school dropout who rallied late despite her ninth grade English teacher's prediction of a lifetime of wasted potential. Her writing fellowships include the MacDowell Colony, the Norman Mailer Center, and PEN Center USA Emerging Voices. Just like her character, Shanna is third-generation Hollywood.