The Booster

By Jennifer Solow

Book Overview

Jillian Siegel is living the quintessential Manhattan life: great clothes, fabulous boyfriend, a job at the hottest ad agency in town. But what nobody knows is that this twenty-nine year-old hides a dark secret - one that involves stuffing her oversize Gucci handbag with high-priced designer clothes and leaving the store without paying. There was once a time when Jillian didn't need to shop (much less steal) to feel whole. But that was long ago - when she spent hours amusing herself in the enchanted world of her uncle's elegant Upper East Side department store, and her mother's prolonged absences were easily forgotten with a new camel-hair coat or a fresh pair of Mary Janes. But then one day it was all gone - pulled right out from under her. Now, years later, her "perfect" life is loosely held together with half milligrams of Ativan and stolen cashmere scarves - and it's only a matter of time until everything crumbles.

Packed with vibrant characters, bristling dialogue, and rich detail, The Booster is a uniquely stylish, deftly woven story about discovering one's true self in the most unexpected places.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743281845
• ISBN13: 9780743281843
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

great summer read

I thoroughly enjoyed Solow's The Booster--much more than I had anticipated. It's glossy cover had me expecting laundry lists of expensive clothes, and while I often did find myself amidst racks of fashionable suits and luxurious cashmere sweaters, Solow digs much deeper into the psyche of protagonist Jillian Siegel than it's book jacket ever would have indicated. Jillian, niece to the founder of a ritzy Manhattan department store, seems as though she'd be living a picture perfect life, but of course, her thirty-ish years of life have been anything but easy. By the time we meet her in the novel, her beloved uncle (and now former owner of the old department store) is nearing death, she's just lost her job, she's on the rocks with her boyfriend of two years and she finds great pleasure in shoplifting--daily. Eventually, Jillian comes to realize that she has to put an end to her behavior (mind you, this is after she meets her new best friend in a holding cell and goes through intensive training to join an underground shoplifting ring). Slightly unrealistic but fresh enough to hold my attention, my only real complaint is Solow's use of present tense throughout most of the novel. As readers, we're so used to seeing past tense used in books like this one, that I don't think it was necessary or even beneficial to the story. But, overall, I really did enjoy it. The novel really picks up once Jillian becomes buddy buddy with her quirky cellmate Shelly. After that, I was hooked until the novel's very creative and satisfying ending.

Didn't want to put this book down!

I loved this book, plain and simple. Jillian is a fantastic, intriguing, and naughty klepto that you just can't help but love. The story is unique and leaves you wanting more. I can't wait to see future works from Jennifer. Congrats on a fantastic debut!

This book rocks!

Scandalous! You don't have to be a fashionista to adore this book- but being one myself I found myself wanting to jump into Jillian Siegal's Miu Miu slingbacks and shoplift right along with her! Her amazingly descriptive writing style makes being a klepto seem like the latest trend! Loved it!!

That Mother !

The Booster is great story telling and characterization. Jillian has so many facets to her personality. You want to love her, because she obvioiusly needs it. I know her mother. You want to slap the devil in her around, because she obviously needs it. I am that mother. She is spoiled, self-involved, but so inately tender, while she struggles with the life that encompasses her. As she gradually becomes fully evolved, you are hoping for a happy ending. She will use all that she has learned from that mother's lifestyle and her upbringing to succeed in the rest of the life laid before her. I really enjoyed Jillian's journey. Hmmmm, this book may spell out how one of the young women in my office wears designer clothes........that and the fact that she is unmarried and without children.

Sexy, saucy and sassy!

This is a really fun and funny book. All of the brands mentioned and the mind of a woman obsessed with gear resonate well in the 2006 corporate fashion world. Every monogrammed L.L. Bean beach tote bag from Nantucket to the Hamptons will have a copy of The Booster in it this summer.