Impersonation – Blog Tour/Book Giveaway

Author: Heidi Pitlor

Genre: General Fiction

Publisher: Algonquin

Publication Date: August 18, 2020

Book Description: Allie Lang is a professional ghostwriter and a perpetually broke single mother to a young boy. Years of navigating her own and America’s cultural definitions of motherhood have left her a lapsed idealist. Lana Breban is a powerhouse lawyer, economist, and advocate for women’s rights with designs on elected office. She also has a son. Lana and her staff have decided she needs help softening her public image and that a memoir about her life as a mother will help.

When Allie lands the job as Lana’s ghostwriter, it seems as if things will finally go Allie’s way. At last, she thinks, there will be enough money not just to pay her bills but to actually buy a house. After years of working as a ghostwriter for other celebrities, Allie believes she knows the drill: she has learned how to inhabit the lives of others and tell their stories better than they can.

But this time, everything becomes more complicated. Allie’s childcare arrangements unravel; she falls behind on her rent; her subject, Lana, is better at critiquing than actually providing material; and Allie’s boyfriend decides to go on a road trip toward self-discovery. But as a writer for hire, Allie has gotten too used to being accommodating. At what point will she speak up for all that she deserves?  

A satirical, incisive snapshot of how so many of us now live, Impersonation tells a timely, insightful, and bitingly funny story of ambition, motherhood, and class.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Review: Meet Allie, she is single mom who struggles constantly with money and keeping steady work. She is a Substitute Teacher, Landscaper and a Professional Ghostwriter when she can get work. Things start looking up for her when she is asked to ghostwrite Lana Breban’s memoir. She is the political it-girl, and they want to give her a softer image.

While Allie is professional and understands what she needs to get this book written, she just cannot seem to pull much information from Lana especially about being a mother, which is the crux of what the publisher wants. Allie does what she knows best and starts inserting her personal experiences into Lana’s book.

Throughout the book, Allie is holding on by a string. She is always trying to figure out how to pay rent, she has a less than desirable boyfriend at times who can’t seem to earn money to help with rent, and she cannot afford childcare for her son.

This book was laugh out loud funny at times, and very relatable. Pitlor wrote a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat at times which culminates to a unexpected ending. The book started off a little slow, but stick with it, because about 25% in, I did not want to put it down. The author does a great job of capturing today’s modern woman in all its goodness and craziness that we endure.

Thank you NetGalley and Algonquin for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For a chance to win a copy, leave a comment and I will pick a winner. Please only US residents only.