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The Assistants
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The Assistants
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The Assistants
Audiobook7 hours

The Assistants

Written by Camille Perri

Narrated by Jorjeana Marie

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Rule #1: All important men have assistants.
Rule #2: Men rule the world. Still.
Rule #3: There is enough money. There is so much money.

Tina Fontana is a thirty-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the CEO of Titan Corp., a multinational media conglomerate. She's excellent at her job and beloved by her famous boss--but after six years of making reservations and pouring drinks from bottles that cost more than her rent, the glamour of working for a media company in New York has completely faded, but her student loan debt has not.

When a technical error with Robert's expense report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her loans with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she hesitates. She's always played by the rules, but this would be a life-changer. As Tina begins to fall down the rabbit hole of her morally questionable plan, other assistants with crushing debt and fewer scruples approach her to say that they want in. Before she knows it, she's at the forefront of a movement that has implications far beyond what anyone anticipated.

Featuring an eclectic clan of coconspirators, a love interest far too handsome to be trusted, and a razor-sharp voice full of wry humor, The Assistants is a rallying cry for the leagues of overeducated and underpaid women who are asking themselves, How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 3, 2016
ISBN9780147524935
Unavailable
The Assistants

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Reviews for The Assistants

Rating: 3.5096153025641033 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

156 ratings20 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Couldn't finish it.....
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Every time I see a book like this is coming out, the story of a young woman, low on the totem pole, in a demanding job that pays next to nothing, I get so excited. Every single time I finish one of those books, I am so disappointed. The premise of the book sounded so fun but everything in the story itself just did not work. The characters were unlikable or flat, not one of them was someone I cared about. The romance was totally unnecessary and didn't read as real. It felt like it was written by someone who's never actually been in a relationship.I could tell from the moment that Emily came into the story that it wasn't going to work for me. The idea that two women who barely know or tolerate each other would begin to live together despite never having come to an agreement about it was of course extremely silly but Emily herself was such a gross stereotype. And of course, there is the ending. The story is obviously not based in reality but this stretches the limits of my disbelief to a point where I can't even enjoy it.Altogether a quick read with some promise, but a totally failed execution.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked the premise of this book, and hoped it would be good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I might. Women over-educated for the entry-level jobs they acquire and are still stuck in several years later, with student loans to add insult to injury. Turning to some very creative accounting, sticking it to their heartless corporation and their gross One Percent bosses - I thought this would be good. But there is just too much eating junk food & spilling it on themselves, too much description about fashion - frumpy or designer, too much about Tina obsessing about what she's done, thinking she's going to pass out or throw up, and on and on... I found it entertaining for the couple of days I was reading it, but not satisfying in the end.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Happy book Good idea as well.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A breezy, very funny debut novel that is actually about a serious subject: student debt and the oftentimes menial jobs that graduates face after four year (or more) of college. I lived in NYC in the 70's and see no difference/improvement in the lives of the women in this book taking place in the current day, than I did back in the day. Tina Fontana is an exec. asst. for a CEO (think Donald Trump), smart but pigeonholed in her "safe" job. Due to an accounting error, she finds herself with a windfall check ($19,000) made payable to her that would pay off her student debt. After days of anguish, she paid it to erase her debt. That's when the fun starts. It's kind a madcap romp, great beach read, yet made me ponder the "what ifs". In the end, Tina learned a lot about herself and her place in the world.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed much about this book, great sense of humor that dealt with an important issue...college debt. Wish it had more substance. I liked the female characters but eventually they were much to frivolous. A bit disappointed with the ending but maybe I expected this novel to be more serious than it was.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Silly, fun revenge fantasy with a dose of do-good and Robin Hood.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Super fun light beach read. This could have been interesting social satire., but though it fell down on that score it was well written, funny, intriguing, better than most!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Considering the rave reviews, this is a pretty nothing novel. Nothing of substance beneath the cliches.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I didn't know what to expect when I chose this title, but I was pleasantly surprised! It had a little bit of everything in it and I enjoyed the plot very much. The only drawback was that the author wrote this mostly for a white American audience and the main character made several references to the differences in socioeconomic classes a few times. But other than that, I would like to see this made into a movie with a diverse cast.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Just finished reading Camille Perri’s The Assistants — highly recommended! It’s Nine to Five updated and with a great moral element; better than any nonfiction book about the income inequity between the top 1% and the rest of us … With attitude, to boot! “Robert had tie-clips that cost as much as those [student loan] debts. one man’s private-jet ride to Key West was another woman’s second chance at life. …” (p219) And the sexual harassment seminar — delightful!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tina Fontana, the heroine of this novel, is all too relatable: five-figure student loans and a low-paying job in city that costs more and more to live in. As the assistant to a wealthy media CEO (I kept thinking of Rupert Murdoch), she can see wealth and power everyday, but Tina doesn't have access. That is, until she runs into a little trouble with some expense reports and finds a way to direct some money to her own accounts. Soon, she's running a network of assistants forging expense reports and using the money to pay off their student loans. Overall, a fun read and a humorous approach to something far too many people can relate to.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    fiction (chick lit; New York City). A funny and fast read; I know there are many who also struggle with student loan debt and a low-paying job who would instantly identify with these women (though it doesn't mention the part where your alma mater calls every year asking for donations despite said debts and perhaps lack of employment prospects).
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I won a copy of this book from Goodreads and I wish I could say that I loved it, but unfortunately I didn’t. It wasn’t a bad book and there were plenty of parts that I liked, I just don’t think it was for me. However, I could see others enjoying it.I’m not exactly sure what more I can even say about this book. I found the characters to be a bit flat, and the fact that I’m having trouble even remembering names makes me think this book isn’t going to be very memorable. I might have to give it a re-read in a couple of years just to see if it was me or the book.I would love to give Camille Perri another chance. When Katie Met Cassidy sounds like something I would enjoy. I might have to give that one a read someday.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I'm trying to get my TBR backlog dealt with as it's striking me that I've acquired quite a lot of them in my digital library (after paring down my physical library). This was one of those that I bought when it came out because it sounded just like something I'd enjoy. Alas, it was just okay for me. I'm a bit sad to say that I already found it dated and a bit trite.I like satire but I just couldn't connect with Tina and her cohort when they turned to theft. I've had student loans & paid them off, so I get being under that pressure but I can't get on board with just raiding someone else's coffers. That's a big nope for me. I completely remember the feeling signing off on loan paperwork where the amounts you owe now don't even seem real anymore but it's still your responsibility to manage the debt you take on. Tina and Co just read as a different kind of entitled than their big boss and I thought they were all fairly awful. I don't think it's harsh to feel that college graduates have other options open to them in the instance laid out here so my sympathy was short.I'm glad I've got one more off my list but it does make for a cautionary tale in b having so many books. You may well have grown beyond it or it may be dated by the time you get around to it. Lesson learnt and I'm hoping I don't have too many more of these but I probably do. I mean to press on.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Solid 3.5. This hit a lot things I look for in a good summer read. Funny, check. Moves quickly, check. Doesn't depend entirely on a love interest, check. Strong female lead, check. So why didn't The Assistants rate higher for me? I struggled with several aspects, making it hard to really give it a home run. Unfortunately, it's going to be compared to The Devil Wears Prada. It doesn't rise to that and will suffer from that comparison. I had no problem seeing the excesses and entitlement of the 1%'ers, the bosses, being depicted in a frustrating light here. Where I did struggle was the entitlement of the Assistants. Perhaps the point was being exaggerated for the book, and I agree student loan debt is difficult for many, but who takes on 80K in debt for undergrad?! That's more then fully funding two years at your local community college and transferring two years to your state public flagship. Maybe someone should have taken a personal finance course in high school?! If you do, I don't have a lot of sympathy. Putting that aside, it's a cute book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The Assistants is a quick, light-hearted read. Having said this I liked the story but the characters themselves were just alright. Because I thought that Tina's boss, Robert deserved everything that he had happen to him, I was not sorry how the story ended. Yet, my biggest issue was not Robert but actually Tina and her merry band of assistants. They were catty and came off like marshmallow fluff. I wanted more substance from the women. However I instantly pictured Tina and the women like Kirsten Durst's character, Betsy Jobs and her friends from the 2001 movie, Sugar and Spice. So luckily for this factor and that I was able to just read this book as a light-hearted read I kept reading until the end.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    One thing I really liked about this book was the sarcastic humor. I often read a lot of historical fiction and dramas, but every once in a while I crave a lighthearted, funny book. The Assistants was just the book I wanted to read.It was eye-opening to see the behind scenes of a power hungry rich company. The main character, Tina Fontana is the underpaid assistant to billionaire, head of the company, Richard.When she suddenly finds herself involved in an embezzlement scam that spins out of control, Tina also begins to emerge as an activist for underpaid and over educated women all over the country. I enjoyed the character of Tina's mostly due to her sarcastic dialogue throughout the book.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Words are not sufficient to convey how much I LOVED this book. I hope Camille Perri is busy writing her next novel because I am anxiously awaiting it. In The Assistants, Perri tackles the relevant contemporary issue of the imbalances of wealth and gender in today’s society with humor, insight, and thoughtfulness. Her prose is outstanding, and so many of her clever modern and historical references had me continually laughing out loud as I read this novel.The main character Tina Fontana works for Robert, the CEO of Titan Corporation. Titan is the largest media corporation in the world, and Robert maintains a spot on Forbes billionaire list and has been accused of evading tax and other laws to further his own wealth and his company’s dominance. As Robert’s assistant, Tina arranges and orders everything for him and frequently these expenditures individually cost more than her annual salary. While a well-educated individual herself, Tina is stuck in a job where she is reduced to performing menial tasks for Robert.One day Robert asks Tina to book a last minute flight on United (because his company jets aren’t available) which involves having the seats around him cleared and asking United to comp his seat. Initially, the United representative requires Tina to pay for the seats because the rep doesn’t know who Robert is. Tina pays the $20,000 on her personal card, files for reimbursement from Titan, and receives payment from Titan. In the meantime, United reverses the charges. Tina waits for Titan to ask for the money back. As she waits for someone in accounting to contact her about the missing funds, she begins an internal debate with herself about using the money to pay off her school loans which total over $19,000 realizing that with the amount of money her boss blows through that he will never miss a mere $20,000. After waiting several weeks, she chooses to pay off her loans and free herself of her debt.After her loans are paid off, Emily, a woman in the accounting department, notices that the $20,000 is gone and approaches Tina about the money. Instead of turning her in, Emily wants Tina to help Emily get her loans paid off. From there, the “loan payoff program” slowly goes viral hilariously becoming a pay it forward nonprofit that actually legally helps women pay off their school loans. The manner in which this all comes about is extremely comical. As an added bonus to her clever plot, Camille Perri seamessly incorporates humorous, witty references to popular culture like Buzzfeed, NPR, and Amereican Hustle. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for her next novel.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Assistants is the perfect book to start my 2016 summer reading challenge journey. It is a light and easy read. After reading it, I felt so fortunate I did not have any debt after graduating college, thank you Georgia Lottery’s HOPE Scholarship.

    Tina just finds a way to pay off her student loan but because of all the blackmailers, her scheme is growing like a snowball. Even though most of the main characters are blackmailers, they are all very likable. Although Tina and her friends are doing illegal things, I wanted them to get away with it and become rich.

    I personally do not think paying off someone’s student debt is a good charity. Those people made the decision themselves to take on the loan. They should have researched their career paths to see if they could pay it off before making that decision. I understand that they were probably only eighteen or seventeen, but at that age they were also allowed to vote or serve the country. These are only my opinions. One more thing that keeps bothering me is: How did Tina file her income taxes.

    Overall, The Assistants was a very enjoyable read. I really like the author’s writing style. I would definitely read her next book. I highly recommend this book to any college students who are still choosing their majors or recent graduates who are struggling with student loans.

    4.5 out of 5 stars
    Received a free copy from Booksparks #SRC2016 in exchange for an honest review