I am a confirmed chick lit freak! and I have gone on the record as mourning the apparent demise of the genre.

I was thrilled when I discovered The Art of Social War, a firt novel by author Jodi Wing.

I liked the basic premise of this chick lit - if you can't join them - beat them - but in a subtle, smart way - hence the references to Sun Tzu's The Art of War. I had never really paid much attention to the original Art of War, but after reading this book, it made me interested in discovering more! This is just another example of how the book world can expand everyone's horizons - I mean, a chick lit book got me interested in reading the classic the Art of War!!!!

However, back to our chick lit book. Our main character Stacey has just gotten married and finds herself living in la-la-land that is Hollywood - she also finds herself pitted up against an old movie studio and all that the movie biz entails - things are not going smoothly and after an extremely long period of "poor me, poor me", Stacey decides to fight smart!

I liked this chick lit, but I found that the whole self-pity, trying desperately to fit in went on for too long. I finally cheered when Stacey finally figured it out! I like my chick lit to have strong-willed, smart heroines!

I also thought that the story moved at a slow pace at times - which removed some of the fun for me. On the other hand, the writing was fun and some of the situations were deliciously set up.

I don't know if its because I am getting older! but I found the print in my copy of this book to be sooooo tiny -

This was a good read. ( )

Stacy Knight was at the top of her game the evening that her “I HEART New York” campaign was announced toward the end of Rudy Giuliani’s reign has mayor. She sparkled as a member of his administration and, based upon the reception of her PR campaign, had great prospects after Giuliani left office. On top of that, she was engaged to James Makepeace, the man of her dreams. They both were hard working New Yorkers who supported each other in all things. All things, that is, until Jamey’s skyrocketing career required a transfer to Los Angeles soon after their wedding so that he can take over the helm of Pacificus, a floundering film studio. Stacy and Jamey need to learn how to navigate the shark invested waters in Hollywood to save Jamey’s career and their new marriage.

What I enjoyed the most about The Art of Social War was what set it apart from most other chick lit novels I’ve read. While Stacey’s marriage was tested in LA, it was not in the way that most novelists would have chosen. For me, this was a breath of fresh air. Wing also shaped the feudal battle between the Makepeaces and the former owners of Pacificus around the 6th century Chinese military treatise The Art of War by Sun Tzu. I enjoyed the way that Stacey orchestrated Jamey’s counter attack using the enemy’s weapon of choice. As preparations for the final battle were made, I couldn’t book the book down.

It took me a little while to warm up to Jodi Wing’s first novel full of corporate espionage, intrigue, and Hollywood high jinx. Her characters are very human and I honestly liked Stacey and Jamey very much. I found Jamey’s decision to break the news about his career to Stacey at her big party. Given everything I was to learn about him, it was against his character. Most noticeably, I had a difficult time believing that Stacey’s 10 to 15 years of experience in New York’s corporate environment, most recently as a member of Rudy Giuliani’s administration, left her so unprepared for corporate life in LA. While understanding that Stacey’s deep longing for home explains some of her views, I can’t see New York as a warm, welcoming, and fair environment. From what I’ve heard, Omarosa could give Stacey’s arch nemesis Julia Mallis (the last name says it all) and the rest of her gaggle a run for their money.

I smiled appreciatively as I finished this tasty piece of chick lit. Although the first half of the book moved somewhat slowly for me, I thoroughly enjoyed the pay off. Knowing the ultimate outcome did not take away from my delight as the ride took off. Quite appropriately, The Art of Social War has already been optioned by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. I’ll be looking forward to finding out who will be playing Stacey, Jamey, Julia and Simon. This novel has all the potential needed to become a great chick flick.

http://literatehousewife.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/122-the-art-of-social-war/ ( )