A review by duchessmerry
The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax
3.0
A friend is defined as: a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. This is the story of 4 writers who have forged a bond of friendship through their experiences of being a writer. Wax takes you on an emotional journey with each of these writers, Kendall, Tanya, Mallory and Faye, and asks the questions that plagues friendships every day. Are we really as close as we think we are? Are we true friends? Will they be there for me? The Accidental Bestseller appeared to be a story about friendship and inside view into the publishing industry, allowing the reader to see the brutality of that world. However, what this book truly showed was relationships and how they change our lives on a daily basis.
Meet Kendall, she's a mediocre writer whose editor wants her gone. Kendall is up for a writing award and is hoping that if she wins she'll survive another day in the publishing industry, but if she loses...
Kendall's world falls apart around her after the awards ceremony and she's left with trying to find herself in the midst of the rubble. Who can she turn to? Who can she trust?
New York times Best Selling Author Mallory St James is one of Kendall's closest friends, they met 10 years ago at a writing conference, and have been critique partners since then. Through their bond of writing they have become what they consider to be friends. However, Mallory keeps a huge part of herself hidden from the world and from her closest friends. Will this secret destroy their friendships?
Tanya Mason is a young mother of 2 with an alcoholic mother and is a writer for a "harlequinesque" publisher. She's finding her niche in this publishing powerhouse and she is hoping that she'll be able to write full time and not have to work 2 jobs plus write. Her goal is to make her daughter's lives better than how she was raised. Tanya doesn't have any secrets, and she's pretty open about who she is, but she doesn't trust anyone who offers her help. Her issue is that she is too self reliant.
Finally there is Faye Truett, her husband is a well known TV Evangelist and she is the author of inspirational fiction. Faye has been keeping a secret from everyone for over 20 years, and this is a secret that could destroy her husbands blooming church and it's a secret she won't even share with her friends. Once Faye's secret is revealed will she ever be forgiven?
These women come together to help Kendall meet the deadline on her latest book as her life appears to be spinning out of control. They decide to each help Kendall write a part of this book, and since the publisher already told Kendall that this was her final book just a contractual obligation that there is no harm in helping her finish. It won't matter if they each breach their contracts and ghost write a portion of the story about 4 writers who meet at a writing conference and become friends, because it is destined for a quick burial at the hands of it's editor. It's the case of art imitating life, and each woman feels compelled to tell the truth of their lives guised as fiction. It's the journey of these four women that makes this book have a heart, but it's also full of secrets and lies, and the heart of the story barely shines through all the muck.
The Accidental Bestseller is a great book for discussion because there are so many aspects that are worthy of discussion, but I don't think if I wouldn't have read this for a book discussion that I would have enjoyed it as much.
Meet Kendall, she's a mediocre writer whose editor wants her gone. Kendall is up for a writing award and is hoping that if she wins she'll survive another day in the publishing industry, but if she loses...
Kendall's world falls apart around her after the awards ceremony and she's left with trying to find herself in the midst of the rubble. Who can she turn to? Who can she trust?
New York times Best Selling Author Mallory St James is one of Kendall's closest friends, they met 10 years ago at a writing conference, and have been critique partners since then. Through their bond of writing they have become what they consider to be friends. However, Mallory keeps a huge part of herself hidden from the world and from her closest friends. Will this secret destroy their friendships?
Tanya Mason is a young mother of 2 with an alcoholic mother and is a writer for a "harlequinesque" publisher. She's finding her niche in this publishing powerhouse and she is hoping that she'll be able to write full time and not have to work 2 jobs plus write. Her goal is to make her daughter's lives better than how she was raised. Tanya doesn't have any secrets, and she's pretty open about who she is, but she doesn't trust anyone who offers her help. Her issue is that she is too self reliant.
Finally there is Faye Truett, her husband is a well known TV Evangelist and she is the author of inspirational fiction. Faye has been keeping a secret from everyone for over 20 years, and this is a secret that could destroy her husbands blooming church and it's a secret she won't even share with her friends. Once Faye's secret is revealed will she ever be forgiven?
These women come together to help Kendall meet the deadline on her latest book as her life appears to be spinning out of control. They decide to each help Kendall write a part of this book, and since the publisher already told Kendall that this was her final book just a contractual obligation that there is no harm in helping her finish. It won't matter if they each breach their contracts and ghost write a portion of the story about 4 writers who meet at a writing conference and become friends, because it is destined for a quick burial at the hands of it's editor. It's the case of art imitating life, and each woman feels compelled to tell the truth of their lives guised as fiction. It's the journey of these four women that makes this book have a heart, but it's also full of secrets and lies, and the heart of the story barely shines through all the muck.
The Accidental Bestseller is a great book for discussion because there are so many aspects that are worthy of discussion, but I don't think if I wouldn't have read this for a book discussion that I would have enjoyed it as much.