About the Book
A working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore’s high society to fulfill her dreams risks losing everything in the process—including herself—in this propulsive novel by debut author Kyla Zhao.
For as long as she can remember, Samantha Song has dreamed of writing for a high-society magazine—and she’d do anything to get there. But the constant struggle to help her mom make ends meet and her low social status cause her dream to feel like a distant fantasy.
Now Samantha finds herself working at a drab PR firm. Living vicariously through her wealthy coworker and friend, Anya Chen, is the closest she’ll get to her ideal life. Until she meets Timothy Kingston: the disillusioned son of one of Singapore’s elite families—and Samantha’s one chance at infiltrating the high-society world to which she desperately wants to belong.
To Samantha’s surprise, Timothy and Anya both agree to help her make a name for herself on Singapore’s socialite scene. But the borrowed designer clothes and plus-ones to every glamorous event can only get her so far. The rest is on Samantha, and she’s determined to impress the editor in chief of Singapore’s poshest magazine. But the deeper Samantha wades into this fraud, the more she fears being exposed—especially with a mysterious gossip columnist on the prowl for dirt—forcing her to reconcile her pretense with who she really is before she loses it all.
My Review
When I saw this was being described as a Gossip Girl meets Crazy Rich Asians, I knew I had to say yes to the review request. Taking place in Singapore, we follow Samantha Song, who works at a PR firm and struggles to make ends meet with her mother, a nail technician. While Samantha has grandiose plans of writing for a high-society magazine, she also covets that lives of the rich and glamorous that fill those pages. When she get an opportunity to meet Timothy Kingston – from the elite Kingston family – she comes up with a plan to help Timothy push back against the demands of his parents and expected legacy. The plan includes creating Samantha into a Singapore socialite, attending the glitzy events she once wondered about and wearing designer clothes she lusted after. With her co-worker and friend Anya at her side to help her weave her way into this world, Samantha goes after what she really wants – impress the editor in chief of Singapore’s top magazine. But will The Fraud Squad really be able to pull off their plan to dupe the elite – or will it be Samantha that is deceived?
It was easy to get swept up with Samantha and her dreams of living a much grander version of her own life. While sometimes she came off as being a bit obsessed with the materialistic things, she genuinely seemed like someone who was down and out on her luck and believed nothing would turn it around. There were some predicable moments – a falling out with her best friend and talking down to her mother, which hurt to read – but all were moments prepping Samantha for her redemption at the end. It was a little hard to believe in today’s social media age it wouldn’t be questioned for a new socialite to suddenly just appear, but if I didn’t think too much about that the story flowed easily. I did enjoy that we have a romantic angle but it didn’t dominate the storyline, or even the ending. This was really a novel about a woman finding herself, her worth, and her own version of a happy ever after. A glamorous and delightful debut.
4 stars
