Amanda Wakes Up
A Novel
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3.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“Amanda Gallo is my kind of girl: funny, self-aware, and unable to resist a makeover. . . . I loved this novel.” —Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada and When Life Gives You Lululemons
When Amanda Gallo, fresh from the backwater of local TV, lands the anchor job of her dreams at FAIR News, she thinks she’s finally made it: a six-figure salary, wardrobe allowance, plenty of on-air face time, and a chance to realize her dreams, not to mention buy herself lunch. Instead, she finds her journalistic ideals shredded as she struggles to keep up with the issues in a ratings-crazed madhouse: battling for hair and makeup time; coping with her sexist (but scathingly handsome) coanchor, Rob; and showing Benji Diggs, her media maestro boss, that she’s got what it takes.
As the news heats up in a hotly contested election season and a wildcard candidate, former Hollywood actor Victor Fluke, appears on the scene, Amanda’s pressure-cooker job gets hotter while her personal life unravels. Walking a knife’s edge between ambition and survival, and about to break the biggest story of her career, Amanda must decide what she’s willing to give up to get ahead—and what she needs to hold onto to save herself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Camerota, an anchor at CNN, mines familiar territory for her entertaining debut, which chronicles how idealistic and ambitious Amanda Gallo navigates her divisive job at the ratings-hungry FAIR News network. After reporting a local story that catches the eye of network owner Benji Diggs, Amanda lands a plum job hosting a national morning show. While she buys the company line of presenting both sides of every story, she is concerned about some moves that strike her as irresponsible: giving loads of air time to unqualified presidential candidate Victor Fluke, going on air with flimsy research, and using kid gloves with viewer favorite Fluke even ignoring a scandal that other networks have reported to ensure his return to the show. Amanda tries to use her position for good, trying to bring people to the center for dialogue, while attempting to convince her college-professor boyfriend that conservatives aren't all that bad. When she gets into hot water after grilling Fluke on air, she tries to redeem herself by landing a questionable interview that jeopardizes her relationship with her best friend and fellow reporter, Laurie Prodder. Camerota doesn't have a light touch when it comes to presenting what seem like obvious points in a story that pits integrity against ratings, but everything manages to come together in a satisfying conclusion.
