it's not easy being green

Harper Cruz is struggling to find a job. She was downsized from her publishing job and hasn’t been able to find anything substantial since. Or really, anything at all. If not for her best friend Poppy and her apartment and willingness to help her, Harper would have had to move back to Poughkeepsie. She wants to stay in New York City though. They say that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. But what if you can’t make it there?

So when Harper sees an online post for am influencer looking for a Visionary Support Strategist, at first she balks. But as she thinks about the opportunity, and then talks to Charlotte Green’s assistant Bella about the six-figure salary plus living expenses, about the chance to move to Nashville, about being part of a team empowering women to live their best lives, she thinks about all the reasons it would be good to give it a chance.

Charlotte Green moves fast, so it’s less than 24 hours later that Harper is packed and ready to move to Nashville. She heads straight in to the office, the Greenhouse, to meet the rest of the team and jump into work. Charlotte posts a lot to keep her followers involved, so there are cameras all around. She’ll often stop and make a quick inspirational video when the inspiration hits, but she also uses photos and emails to connect, along with her best-selling self-help books and journals. She is planning her own conference in months, and she’s a keynote speaker at the upcoming Influencer Lunch, which was being held in Nashville for the first time.

Harper is thrown into the deep end of the influencer world as she tries to acclimate to life in a new city and a crazy busy workplace. There is so much going on at The Greenhouse that they say time goes faster. They have a lot to accomplish, and a limited number of hours in the day to make it happen. Harper does what she can to learn fast and be a productive member of the team. But she finds herself working long hours and struggling to keep in touch with her family and friends back home.

But that doesn’t matter. She’s finding her legs in The Greenhouse and getting noticed by Charlotte for her work. Getting attention from the boss is energizing for her, and she finds herself going out of her way to create more opportunities for herself. But she also starts to see some cracks in Charlotte’s perfect world. The perfect marriage she talks about online doesn’t look quite so strong in person. Some employees complain about the hours or say that Charlotte is taking credit for their work. But Harper just sees her as ambitious and willing to do everything it takes to make the dream work.

But when Charlotte asks Harper to betray a friend, will she still justify Charlotte’s outrageous expectations? Or will she find the voice she’s been quieting, knowing the consequences could be joblessness and Poughkeepsie again?

Under the Influence is a smart satire of influencer culture and the #girlboss community that flocks to these so-called self-help warriors. Author Noelle Crooks has crafted her debut novel from a lifelong love of books and her work in the beauty industry, and she has hit a home run right out of the gate with this one. It’s compelling and believable and ironic with just the right amount of sass.

I loved Under the Influence. It gives strong The Devil Wears Prada vibes, with the clueless-assistant-turned-phenom storyline, but with a playful poke at how we use social media to reinvent ourselves, filter out our blemishes, and put our best face forward. This one is a lot of fun, and it deserves all good hashtags.

Egalleys for Under the Influence were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.