Review: The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer

SUMMARY FROM EDELWEISS:

Funny, insightful and written with warmth and understanding, The Intern is for everyone who has had and survived the job from hell!
Seventeen-year-old Josie is studying journalism and ends up at Sash magazine to do an internship. Josie has little enthusiasm for fashion and wants to be a serious journalist. But she has little choice. It’s Sash or the local cat fancier’s magazine.Once at Sash, Josie comes to grips with the fact that the fashion industry isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Plus she has to contend with her fellow interns and the editor, Rae, who is in charge and arbitrary - one day Josie’s her hot new favorite, the next, who knows? Country girl Josie also has to get used to living in the city, and sharing a small flat with her cousin Tim, and his hotter-than-hot roommate James, is an education.Things come to a head at Sash when Josie manages to connect with Billy, a troubled rock star. But a disastrous episode at a nightclub and the fallout on social media causes Josie to wake up and see the real person behind his glamorous front.Josie starts to wonder if she’ll ever get the journalistic break she longs for …

MY TAKE:
I'm a sucker for any book that features a girl or woman who works for a magazine.

In The Intern, Josephine Browning lands an internship position at Sash magazine. It's not her first choice, but eventually, she finds her stride and starts making significant contributions for the magazine. However, things go pear-shaped when her interviewee shows his true nature. To make things even more complicated, one of her fellow interns decides to act like a total witch to her. Plus, Josie might just be falling for her cousin's roommate. Is Josie out of her depth?

Inevitably, there will be comparisons between this book and The Devil Wears Prada. In a way, yes, this does feel like The Devil Wears Prada (the book, not the movie) for the younger set. For one thing, Josie wants to be a serious newspaper journalist. She also isn't the most updated person when it comes to beauty and fashion. The editor-in-chief here is also ruthless.

For all its similarities, though, The Intern isn't a clone of the well-known book. Josie deals with things that those in their late teens and early to mid-twenties will understand, career-wise, friendship-wise and romance-wise. Her gut reaction to situations is normal, but for those she doesn't handle well at first, she eventually fixes. Josie is a good soul, and that's why I found myself cheering for her throughout the book.

I liked that the book was almost equal parts about career/dreams, friendship and romance. Josie's experiences at Sash were pretty inspiring and made me want to go back to publishing. Josie has some amazing colleagues whom I wouldn't mind working for.

Josie's friends Angel and Steph, on the other hand, were both interesting, but I liked Steph much more. She has a fearless, independent spirit, and I wouldn't mind having her as a friend in real life.

The message near the end of the book isn't exactly new to most YA readers, and the way Josie came to it felt a little random to me. However, it's the kind of message that teens these days need to hear often.

This book has serious movie potential. If anyone in Hollywood is reading out there, you should give this book a read. This book could be the next big thing and you don't want to miss out on it. I, for one, would definitely watch the movie version of this book.

Thanks to Edelweiss and HarperCollins 360 for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. Josie and majority of the characters are likable.
2. Josie's story is inspiring, especially if you dream of working in publishing or anything related to it.
3. It's an entertaining read. 

THE BAD:

1. The relationship of the lesson that Josie learns and writes about at the end of the book doesn't feel as connected to the rest of the story as it should.

READ IT IF:

1. You dream of working in publishing or already work for a magazine.
2. You've ever felt insecure about yourself and your abilities.
3. You want to feel inspired but don't want to read a book that's also emotionally draining. 

RATING:


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