The F word

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Flatiron Books
Publication Date
©2017.
Language
English

Description

“Fresh, frank, and fearless. Liza Palmer is a road warrior of contemporary fiction.” —Georgia Clark, author of The Regulars Olivia Morten is perfect. Maybe she’s constantly hungry, but her body is to die for. Maybe her high-flying publicist job has taken over her life, but her clients are L.A.’s hottest celebrities. Maybe her husband is never around, but he is a drop-dead-gorgeous doctor. And maybe her past harbors an incredibly embarrassing secret, but no one remembers high school…right? When Ben Dunn, Olivia’s high school arch nemesis and onetime crush, suddenly resurfaces, all of her hard-won perfection begins to unravel. As she finds herself dredging up long-suppressed memories, she is forced to confront the most painful truth of all: sometimes who we become isn’t who we really are.

More Details

ISBN
9781250083470

Discover More

Excerpt

Loading Excerpt...

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors sardonic and offbeat, and they have the themes "rich and famous" and "bouncing back"; the genres "relationship fiction" and "satire and parodies"; and the subjects "success (concept)," "celebrities," and "self-improvement."
These books have the themes "rich and famous" and "bouncing back"; the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "reunions," "celebrities," and "self-discovery."
These books have the appeal factors sardonic and witty, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "men-women relations" and "self-discovery."
These books have the theme "rich and famous"; the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "celebrities," "fame," and "female friendship."
These books have the appeal factors sardonic, and they have the theme "rich and famous"; the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "celebrities," "female friendship," and "fame."
These books have the theme "rich and famous"; and the subjects "success (concept)," "celebrities," and "crushes."
These books have the appeal factors reflective, and they have the theme "rich and famous"; the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "celebrities," "self-discovery," and "fame."
These books have the appeal factors sardonic and witty, and they have the theme "bouncing back"; the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "crushes," "men-women relations," and "self-discovery."
These books have the appeal factors sardonic, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "success (concept)" and "celebrities."
These books have the theme "rich and famous"; and the subjects "reunions," "celebrities," and "crushes."
These books have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "women publicity agents," "men-women relations," and "self-discovery."
These books have the appeal factors sardonic, and they have the theme "rich and famous"; the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "women publicity agents," "celebrities," and "unemployed women."

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
For more thoughtful novels with authentic characters grappling with challenging issues and relationships, try Liane Moriarty's compelling, insightful books. They offer both everyday problems and more serious ones, often with some dark humor. -- Shauna Griffin
Abbi Waxman and Liza Palmer write engaging fiction about relatable women struggling with everyday issues -- job woes, complicated relationships, and romance dilemmas -- while also tackling big themes like grief, body image, and long-term happiness. Both balance more serious subjects with plenty of humor to keep things from becoming maudlin. -- Halle Carlson
Both Liza Palmer and Taylor Jenkins Reid center their stories on relatable and complicated women contending with the ups and downs of careers, families, and romantic love. Above all, the characters are looking for success and contentment and the moving stories reflect this ultimate goal. -- Halle Carlson
Liza Palmer and Katherine Center both write moving, heartfelt novels focusing on their well-drawn characters finding fulfillment out of life. Their protagonists are often reassessing their personal and professional lives after setbacks and finding themselves stronger because of it. Romance often plays a role, although personal growth is the focus. -- Halle Carlson
These authors' works have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "wedding planning," "dating," and "self-discovery."
These authors' works have the appeal factors moving, bittersweet, and witty, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; the subjects "dating," "self-discovery," and "family relationships"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "authentic characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors feel-good, character-driven, and first person narratives, and they have the subjects "single women" and "former lovers"; and characters that are "authentic characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors amusing and witty, and they have the subjects "best friends," "wedding planning," and "dating"; and characters that are "well-developed characters."
These authors' works have the genre "relationship fiction"; the subjects "dating," "self-discovery," and "self-acceptance"; and characters that are "well-developed characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors amusing, sardonic, and fun read, and they have the genres "relationship fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "best friends," "self-discovery," and "female friendship."
These authors' works have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "fat women," "dating," and "self-discovery."
These authors' works have the appeal factors moving, bittersweet, and witty, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; the subjects "wedding planning," "dating," and "family relationships"; and characters that are "authentic characters."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

It's not the obvious f-word that haunts Hollywood publicist Olivia Morten, who has a seemingly perfect life. She and her handsome surgeon husband of 10 years live in a picture-perfect home, and she has a busy, successful career managing the reputations of two accomplished stars. But she's haunted by her fat (that f-word), insecure teenage self, even though she's long since shed the weight. When she runs into her high-school crush, Ben, a former football player and cool guy, her impeccable façade begins to crumble. She realizes her marriage has become a passionless partnership and her friendships are wholly superficial. Having Ben around brings up old feelings of longing, frustration, and self-doubt. Fans of Palmer's Conversations with the Fat Girl (2005) and subsequent novels will find the wry humor and honest depiction of relationships here pleasingly familiar. Palmer infuses her heroines with wit and warmth, even when they're melting down, making her brand of smart women's fiction resonate with readers.--Walker, Aleksandra Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Publisher's Weekly Review

A funny and fantastic lesson on how perfection doesn't translate to happiness is served up in Palmer's latest. Olivia Morton has the perfect life-she's a top publicist for Hollywood's A-listers; she has a gorgeous home and a knock-out doctor husband; and she's undeniably thin and pretty. Yet Olivia struggles daily with her biggest secret: she used to be fat. A chance meeting with her high school tormentor and secret crush, Ben Dunn, sends Olivia reeling; the former fat girl self will no longer be silenced. As her perfect life is taken over by imperfect reality, Olivia realizes that her past and present can coexist and create a happy future. With only a few passages about Olivia's big self, it is hard to truly empathize with how far she's come. Her wry commentary on how a woman's worth is tied to her weight in L.A. is both amusing and disheartening, but Palmer's authentic humor carries the message with a hint of parody. This is a smart and sardonic novel with a genuine voice. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Powered by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Olivia Morten is the publicist to the hottest stars in LA, has a gorgeous husband, and has dropped "like a thousand pounds" since high school. She's loving her life, even though her husband has never seen her naked, her friends are dumb, and she can conduct an entire text conversation with her assistant using only emojis. She has been able to keep the past in the past, until her ex-crush and archnemesis Ben Dunn shows up at her local coffee shop. A quick conversation triggers Olivia's past high school "fat me" to come out, causing vivid flashbacks. The past torments her as she begins to try to live in the unconvincing perfectionist present. Palmer's latest (after Conversations with the Fat Girl) combines humor with the glamour of the L.A. lifestyle, rounded out with an adorable love story. Her protagonist is as likable as she is envied, and she cuts right to the heart of things as Olivia realizes that thinness doesn't equal happiness. VERDICT This novel with depth and a dash of glitz is recommended for young -professionals.-Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Powered by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

A successful PR associate must come to terms with resurrected high school demons.On the surface, Olivia Morten's life seems perfect: she has a rewarding career in which she finely orchestrates celebrities' public images; an attractive, successful neurosurgeon husband; a dream house; and of course, a flawless body. It's evident from the beginning of Palmer's (Girl Before a Mirror, 2015, etc.) latest, though, that a shameful secret lurks under this veneer: the memory of what she terms Fat Me, the "forever alone, overly emotional, out-of-control" embodiment of her high school self. Olivia has hidden her past so well that even her husband knows only bits and pieces of the truth, and in the image-obsessed Hollywood bubble in which Olivia works, it's vital that she never let herself slip. But a chance encounter with her high school crush (and tormentor), Ben Dunn, at a coffee shop inconveniently brings Fat Me to the forefront of her consciousness. And when the perfect volunteer opportunity for salvaging a celebrity client's reputation arisesat a Halloween Fair for foster children in the high school at which Ben is now principalOlivia's forced deeper yet into her own personal time machine. As the Halloween plans progress (as does the sexual tension with Ben) and her marriage and personal life begin to fracture around her, Olivia is finally compelled to take a hard look at Fat Me and the person she's become in order to hide her. This leads to an arc of self-realization that's satisfying but somewhat oversimplified, implying that one can lay years of restrictive eating patterns by the wayside in one sudden burst of self-acceptance. Nonetheless, Palmer develops her characters wellOlivia is complicated, flawed, and reflective, transforming what could have been a flat, superficial novel into one that's by turns funny, painfully honest, and hard to put down (though descending periodically into clichd territory). Palmer uses a light touch to broach the subject of female body image, both in Olivia's mind and as a constant societal background humfrom the crusty baguette eaten only by the men at a dinner party to the way Olivia's celebrity client must be seated with her back to the restaurant, "to lower the risk of a photo of her putting food in her mouth." It's vindicating, then, to watch Olivia rise above the noise, even when it's as simple as asking for the bread to be passed to her at a dinner party. Honest and entertaining. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Booklist Reviews

It's not the obvious f-word that haunts Hollywood publicist Olivia Morten, who has a seemingly perfect life. She and her handsome surgeon husband of 10 years live in a picture-perfect home, and she has a busy, successful career managing the reputations of two accomplished stars. But she's haunted by her fat (that f-word), insecure teenage self, even though she's long since shed the weight. When she runs into her high-school crush, Ben, a former football player and cool guy, her impeccable façade begins to crumble. She realizes her marriage has become a passionless partnership and her friendships are wholly superficial. Having Ben around brings up old feelings of longing, frustration, and self-doubt. Fans of Palmer's Conversations with the Fat Girl (2005) and subsequent novels will find the wry humor and honest depiction of relationships here pleasingly familiar. Palmer infuses her heroines with wit and warmth, even when they're melting down, making her brand of smart women's fiction resonate with readers. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.
Powered by Content Cafe

Library Journal Reviews

Olivia Morten is the publicist to the hottest stars in LA, has a gorgeous husband, and has dropped "like a thousand pounds" since high school. She's loving her life, even though her husband has never seen her naked, her friends are dumb, and she can conduct an entire text conversation with her assistant using only emojis. She has been able to keep the past in the past, until her ex-crush and archnemesis Ben Dunn shows up at her local coffee shop. A quick conversation triggers Olivia's past high school "fat me" to come out, causing vivid flashbacks. The past torments her as she begins to try to live in the unconvincing perfectionist present. Palmer's latest (after Conversations with the Fat Girl) combines humor with the glamour of the L.A. lifestyle, rounded out with an adorable love story. Her protagonist is as likable as she is envied, and she cuts right to the heart of things as Olivia realizes that thinness doesn't equal happiness. VERDICT This novel with depth and a dash of glitz is recommended for young professionals.—Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN

Copyright 2017 Library Journal.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal.
Powered by Content Cafe

Publishers Weekly Reviews

A funny and fantastic lesson on how perfection doesn't translate to happiness is served up in Palmer's latest. Olivia Morton has the perfect life—she's a top publicist for Hollywood's A-listers; she has a gorgeous home and a knock-out doctor husband; and she's undeniably thin and pretty. Yet Olivia struggles daily with her biggest secret: she used to be fat. A chance meeting with her high school tormentor and secret crush, Ben Dunn, sends Olivia reeling; the former fat girl self will no longer be silenced. As her perfect life is taken over by imperfect reality, Olivia realizes that her past and present can coexist and create a happy future. With only a few passages about Olivia's big self, it is hard to truly empathize with how far she's come. Her wry commentary on how a woman's worth is tied to her weight in L.A. is both amusing and disheartening, but Palmer's authentic humor carries the message with a hint of parody. This is a smart and sardonic novel with a genuine voice. (Apr.)

Copyright 2017 Publisher Weekly.

Copyright 2017 Publisher Weekly.
Powered by Content Cafe

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.