Celebrate Valentine’s Day by curling up with Kyla Zhao‘s latest novel, Valley Verified.
Will fashion writer Zoe Zeng be able to hack it (pun intended) in the startup world of Silicon Valley? After years of “paying her dues” only to still be underpaid and overworked, Zoe is offered a job that will take her from the mean streets of New York into the tough world of tech. As the brand new VP of marketing for FitPick–an app that allows users to poll on OOTD options–Zoe has her work cut out for her. A new field, coworkers skeptical of her reason for being there, thousands of miles from her best friends . . . has she made the right choice or will she fall flat (and lose her job)?
Zoe is a delightful protagonist. And though this is published by Berkley, so you know there’s romance, it’s really about Zoe’s growth, how she navigates the ups and downs and advocates for herself and her vision to make fashion more inclusive. The female friendships she develops (shout out to Bern) are warm fuzzy hugs — as worthy a Galentine’s Day read as a Valentine’s Day read. And Zoe makes some questionable judgment calls, but you cheer her on, even while you wait for the other shoe to drop. And Zhao doesn’t shy from dealing with some of the bad sides of tech, or honestly the workplace in general, including a storyline about sexual harassment (with the front of book heads up that has become more and more common).
Overall: Valley Verified is a verified cozy winter read.
