The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder (Lizzie Miller) - Softcover

Naylor, Clare; Hare, Mimi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452286107 ISBN 13: 9780452286108

Publisher: Plume, 2005

Synopsis

Los Angeles Times bestseller

A fast-paced, breezy read about life at the bottom of the Hollywood food chain, for fans of The Devil Wears Prada and The Nanny Diaries

No political science degree could ever prepare Elizabeth Miller for her new job as a second assistant at The Agency, whose clients include everyone you’ve never met—but you know who they’re sleeping with. A former congressional intern in Washington, Lizzie made a bid for a life change that landed her a job a world away, where ethics and First Amendment debates take a backseat to pleading the Fifth for Ritalin-snorting boss Scott Wagner. He’s the hottest young agent in Hollywood, who devotes his days to playing online poker—that is, when he’s not closing a $30 million deal for one of his AAA-list clients. And while getting six-hundred-dollar highlights from Cameron’s colorist or organizing the strippers for George’s birthday party come close to causing heart failure for this East Coast girl, the real dangers lurk elsewhere. But Lizzie is a  survivor, and no Machiavellian assistant, lecherous producer, or power struggle at The Agency can douse her nascent dreams of climbing up the Hollywood ladder. But first she has to run down to the Coffee Bean to pick up that triple espresso, or Scott is going to throw something....

About this title

Review:

If contemporary fiction has one thing to teach us, it's that working for the rich and glamorous is a living hell. This simple truth has already been revealed by such books as The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada, but for those who feel that the message bears repeating, Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare's The Second Assistant: Tales from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder offers yet another enjoyable (though fairly forgettable) lesson.

The heroine of this gossipy tale is Elizabeth Miller, a young, former campaign worker for a US congressman who finds herself between employment opportunities. Unable to obtain any more socially responsible work, Lizzie is lured into the job of second assistant to an executive at a glitzy Hollywood agency. Once there, she's hit with all the "pick-up my dry cleaning," "walk my dog," "hire strippers for my party" torment that the higher-ups can dish out. At first Elizabeth is isolated, out-of-place, and underdressed in her new world, but she makes friends, builds her wardrobe, and eventually grows to care for her menial job, her Ritalin-snorting boss, and the entertainment industry in general. Finally, she reaches the conclusion that thousands of other Californians have before her: what she really wants to do is produce. At times, Lizzie seems far too naïve to survive long in the shark-infested waters that the authors describe, but there can be only one kind of ending to such a light-hearted book, so we know she will somehow muddle through. Hare (who was once a Hollywood executive herself) and Naylor throw in a dreamy guy and a few plot twists that most readers could see coming from space, stir, and serve. Of course, a little frivolity is not a bad thing, and The Second Assistant is certainly an entertaining addition the new underling subgenre of modern fiction. --Leah Weathersby

About the Author:

Clare Naylor is the author of several novels, including Love: A User’s Guide and Catching Alice.

Mimi Hare was, at twenty-three years old, the director of development for a Hollywood production company, where she worked on such feature films as Jerry Maguire and As Good as It Gets.

About this edition

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0452286107
• ISBN 13: 9780452286108
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368