We are so excited to bring you another blog tour! Thank you so much to Algonquin for our copies in exchange for our honest review!
This review and blog highlight is for Impersonation by Heidi Pitlor
Synopsis:
Allie Lang is a professional ghostwriter and a perpetually broke single mother to a young boy. Years of navigating her own and America’s cultural definitions of motherhood have left her a lapsed idealist. Lana Breban is a powerhouse lawyer, economist, and advocate for women’s rights with designs on elected office. She also has a son. Lana and her staff have decided she needs help softening her public image and that a memoir about her life as a mother will help.
When Allie lands the job as Lana’s ghostwriter, it seems as if things will finally go Allie’s way. At last, she thinks, there will be enough money not just to pay her bills but to actually buy a house. After years of working as a ghostwriter for other celebrities, Allie believes she knows the drill: she has learned how to inhabit the lives of others and tell their stories better than they can.
But this time, everything becomes more complicated. Allie’s childcare arrangements unravel; she falls behind on her rent; her subject, Lana, is better at critiquing than actually providing material; and Allie’s boyfriend decides to go on a road trip toward self-discovery. But as a writer for hire, Allie has gotten too used to being accommodating. At what point will she speak up for all that she deserves?
A satirical, incisive snapshot of how so many of us now live, Impersonation tells a timely, insightful, and bitingly funny story of ambition, motherhood, and class.
This book takes place starting back in 2016 shortly before the presidential election. The story is told from Allie Lang’s POV as she navigates between being a ghostwriter, landscaping on the side for more income, and raising her son as a single mom.
Allie is given an assignment of writing a feminist memoir for Lana Breban. As she works with Lana, she becomes increasingly frustrated with how little information Lana has provided on her journey of pregnancy and motherhood.
We felt that this book brought forth some important issues that also were excellently tied back to the 2016 election and the roller coaster of emotions that came from it.
The writing in this book was well thought out and beautifully written. However, at times it would have been interesting to hear from a different POV to get a well rounded story. For example, perhaps throwing in a few chapters to get the perspective of Lana Breban. Without that perspective it felt like parts of the plot were a bit slower.
Overall, this is a book that we would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading about politics and motherhood. It was really incredible to see a book that tackled such hard topics in a book that was under 350 pages.
Book Details:
Title: Impersonation
Author: Heidi Pitlor
Publication Date: August 18, 2020
Thank you again to the publisher for providing us copies for review! And as always, thank you all so much for stopping by our blog, we really do appreciate you!
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