The Next Best Thing
A Novel
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- ¥1,800
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- ¥1,800
Publisher Description
Blockbuster #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner returns with an irresistible story about a young woman trying to make it in Hollywood…
Actors aren’t the only ones trying to make it in Hollywood.…At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders left her childhood home in Massachusetts and headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to make it as a screenwriter. Six years later, she hits the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the showrunner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on her boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.
Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear for writer’s room showdowns and an eye for bad backstage behavior and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Weiner's novel follows the journey of Ruth Saunders, who sets off for Hollywood to become a television writer with her 70-year-old grandmother along for the ride. Although ambitious and talented, Ruth is still disfigured from a car accident that killed her parents. In California, Ruth finds work for the networks, but her new life is far from perfect, especially when her grandmother announces her plans to get married and Ruth's pet project is edited beyond recognition. Narrator Olivia Thirlby's reading captures the heart and soul of Weiner's novel. The narrator's portrayal of the young, na ve Ruth is convincing and nuanced. In turns, Thirlby embodies Ruth's varied emotions, sounding excited, exasperated, embarrassed, sensuous, petulant, funny, and sad. A Washington Square paperback.
