The Assistants

A wry and astute debut about a young Manhattanite whose embezzlement scam turns her into an unlikely advocate for the leagues of overeducated and underpaid assistants across the city.

Tina Fontana is the hapless but brazen thirty-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the all-powerful and commanding 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 his reservations for restaurants she’d never get into on her own and pouring his drinks from bottles that cost more than her rent, she’s bored, broke, and just a bit over it all.

When a technical error with Robert’s travel-and-expenses report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her student loan debt with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she struggles with the decision: She’s always played by the rules. But it’s such a relatively small amount of money for the Titan Corporation—and for her it would be a life-changer . . .

The Assistants speaks directly to a new generation of women who feel stuck and unable to get ahead playing by the rules. It will appeal to all of those who have ever asked themselves, “How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?”

My Review

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.

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