Debut novels often feel like autofiction, and that was most certainly the case in Vanessa Lawrence's new book, Ellipses. In Ellipses, a 32 year old woman, Lily, falls into a toxic text-based mentorship with Billie, an older and wildly successful beauty mogul. Lily is delighted by this chance at friendship—and maybe even something more—with Billie. She's stalled out in her career at a magazine and is generally frustrated by life. Billie offers the perfect escape.

The plot structure that Lawrence dreamed up is incredible. The idea that someone in her early 30s is still capable of falling prey to what is essentially a form of grooming is fascinating and something that doesn't get explored enough. It takes away the layer of "this person is creepy" and moves it to "this person is domineering/controlling", which makes for a far more interesting story in today's day and age. I was excited to see how Lily's relationship with Billie would unfold.

The only thing I knew about this book when I requested an advanced copy was that it was about an LGBTQ+ writer. Lily is bisexual and dating Allison, but her fear of commitment has been pushing them apart. Lily's relationships—both with Allison and her college friends—are the high spot in this novel. Anytime we spent time with them the book felt lived in and fresh.

The aspect of the book that didn't quite land for me was the characterization of Lily. I didn't know her well enough to truly care about her or understand her actions. While I wanted the best for her on the level that I want the best for every woman, I felt a level of remove from what was happening inside of her head. When she made a big decision (as she does in the last 1/4 of the novel), I was surprised. It seemingly came out of nowhere. I wish I had more knowledge of Lily's inside thoughts and her emotional state, so that I could feel closer to her. This is something incredibly hard to accomplish given that Lily and Billie communicated solely over text. Perhaps the book could have benefited from more in-person interaction, since as I mentioned those scenes with friends were my favorites.

I mentioned earlier that this book reads like autofiction. I don't actually think this is a bad thing, given that many of my favorite TV shows and literary content are just that. In this case, the similarities are striking. Lawrence is a staff writer for W Magazine and attended a small liberal arts college in New England. She's a New Yorker. In Ellipses, Lily is all of these things, and towards the end of the book she turns to writing a "fictional" novel about her experiences with a toxic mentor. The similarities were too hilarious for me not to bring up.

What makes this autofiction novel so devastating is the fact that Lily—a biracial Asian American—faces countless micro-aggressions that both Billie and Allison don't seem to understand. It was hard to read all of the ways Lily's life was made harder and more uncomfortable simply because of the way others perceived her, and it was even harder to read the ways that the white women in her life didn't show up for her. I wish that Lily had been more deeply characterized so that these moments felt more emotional and less like statements of horrendous things that happened.

In all, I enjoyed reading Ellipses, especially the middle third which concentrated more on Lily's relationship with the outside world than the relationship happening inside of her phone. I look forward to seeing what comes next for Lawrence in the writing world.

I enjoyed "Ellipses" by Vanessa Lawrence, a current day novel about a young, talented career woman, finding her true voice and power. Written in a relatable, modern-day voice, with young relationships, few intimidating characters, and much ambition, I found this book uplifting and interesting. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I'd guess this book has such a low average rating (3.06 as I write this), not because it's bad, but because it's unlikeable. The choices in characters and plot felt designed to make a point, not to make friends. I respect that.

The main character, Lily, is annoying. In a world where women are expected to smile, be accommodating, and look the other way, she is persistently negative, disgruntled, and difficult. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I didn't like her, not because I didn't understand her feelings, but because she embodied things that I've been told not to like in myself. Once I made that connection, I started to really appreciate her story.

I wish Lily's relationship with Billie, the older professional woman, was a bigger part of the book. It's not. This is mostly about Lily's career as a writer. The relationship with Billie and Lily is more of an intermittent distraction to everything else Lily has going on.

That said, the Lily/Billie relationship plays out mostly via text, and is one of the best depictions of texting I've ever read. In most books, texting is incorporated into the story so that it feels cohesive with whatever else is happening. In this book, the texting was a constant source of interruption. In person conversations would stop mid sentence, switch to random unrelated text conversations, then come back to in person. Again, a choice that was annoying to read, but meant to make a point.

Not a five star mostly because it was a little heavy handed in its messaging. There was a lot of Lily's internal dialogue spelling out every point. I would have appreciated a little more room to drawn my own conclusions. But otherwise, I appreciate how much this made me think...

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

Ellipses is a smart novel about someone hitting a crossroads at life and reaching out for advice, only to realize that the advice isn't serving them like they need it. Lily needs to get out of magazine publishing, partially because of the racism and homophobia, but also because its a dying industry that no longer excites her. She connects with an older exec and starts texting. These texts start to affect her work, her love life, etc.
I struggled with Lily in this book, mostly because it was hard to see her text conversations as really toxic. Really they just seemed like vague conversations where Lily couldn't make an effort to really sit up and pay attention to the world around her and how to navigate it. B, the older exec, doesn't seem to have a complete power try going on, but also doesn't seem super interested. I get it. Lily doesn't seem interested either, neither in her work or, at times, her relationship. I'm glad that Lily eventually finds a path (because of course she does) but there was a middle part of this book where I tried to understand what excited Lily about anything and came up short.

This is a debut novel and I'm still excited to read more from Vanessa Lawrence.

I respect the amount of experience Vanessa Lawrence has within the magazine industry and her experiences with sexism and racism; that shines through in the text. I'm not a fan of the blatant "telling without showing" writing style, unfortunately, and Lily's transition to her final field at the end of the novel feels abrupt.

This novel had the setup of a thriller, with a prologue that draws you in. However the rest of the novel did not deliver. Lily, the main character, reeks of dissatisfaction and revels in platitudes about others. The author tried to make Lily progressive and interesting but instead I was distracted by her whiny inner monologue. The interest the author builds in the first chapters peters out and the end of the novel fell flat.

Super quick read, loved the drama and all of the industry references. The romance felt shallow to me, however. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

This gave me a bit of the Devil Wears Prada vibes. I love stories set in the glossy world of New York City media. This one had a different spin on the toxic mentorship as Lily tries to figure out her individuality and what she wants out of her life and career.
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Thank you #Dutton and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

a woman in her thirties that is hard to take seriously. this book was ridiculous, i had to stop about 20% in

Love litfic about queer women sadly this one fell a little flat. I think more development of the Lily (the main character) and her relationship with Billie would have been really helpful. There is not much interesting about a character who lacks personality becoming consumed by another character who lacks personality and their relationship also lacking personality. A lot of times there were moments of interest that kind of just disappeared (the “accidental” text) and I just wish there were more stakes or even chemistry between Billie and Lily (just realized their names rhyme) because there were so many times I definitely felt some but they fizzled.

2.5!

Thank you so much to Dutton Books for the ARC!!

I enjoyed how this portrays the toxic mentorship’s and also the fashion industry. Insightful, funny and a great coming of age tale.

Ellipses by Vanessa Lawrence has an interesting premise focusing on Lily's professional mentorship by Billie. So much to admire as the novel is topical and timely as it is set in NYC and Lily is a bisexual of Asian descent and Billie is a queer woman who has made it to leadership. I liked currency and representation of the novel. And still, somewhere along the way I just didn't get that drawn into the story or the characters.

It's not a bad book, it's just not a great book for me. Solid 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Ellipses is available now.

This was one of those books where the concept was stronger than the execution for me. The story follows Lily, an Asian American writer who works for a women's magazine as print is dying and digital is on the rise. She's stuck and often overlooked in her work. When she has a chance encounter with Billy, a 40something white woman and powerful beauty executive, they start a text based mentorship of sorts that has Lily doubting her every move. The book explores a lot from sexism, to racism, to the differences between Gen X and Millennials, and the changing workforce for creatives. There was a lot I could relate to as a writer and a POC woman in a white dominated field but I just felt like I've read a lot of the conversations and plot points a lot in recent years. This book didn't do enough to make Lily or Billy feel unique, or like they brought something new to the conversation. It was an interesting choice for their relationship to take place solely through text but I don't think the twist of it all stuck the landing. The book was an easy read with a few standout moments for me, and I do think Lawrence is a good writer on a prose level, I just didn't love all of her choices. I'd be interested to see what her title is about. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the arc!

This book was described as a “sharp and witty debut novel”. There was nothing sharp or witty about it. Lily is a whiny thirty-year-old in a job where she is constantly taken advantage of. However, she does get to attend some amazing parties and write about the attendees. An older, successful woman, Billie, befriends her and they only communicate via text. Billie encourages her to show a backbone and stand up for herself which results in all kinds of consequences, both good and bad, for Lily. In the end Lily finally grows up and becomes comfortable with who she is and where she wants to go. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

I wrote about this on Goodreads and the Storygraph and sent links to various social media sites. This book was only okay for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6343748997

I enjoyed this book to an extent, but I didn’t love it. The writing was very verbose (I feel like the words ilk and self-effacement were used like twelve times!) and the author tended to tell, not show. The plot was slow-moving and I really expected things with B (the “mentor” our main character is texting with throughout the book) to escalate into something more climactic. Most of the happenings were followed by paragraphs of editorializing. Some of the discourse was really interesting (I enjoyed the critique of influencers and digital media) but it didn’t coalesce into anything meaningful to the plot IMO, and it was just a bit much. I ended up skimming a lot as I neared the end of the book. Things wrapped up nicely, but I wish the path to the conclusion had been a little different.

Lily is in her 30’s, a worn out millennial with a job that uses and abuses her, she’s over worked and underpaid, and taken advantage of, struggling as the magazine she works for transitions from print to digital. She’s afraid of commitment and doesn’t stand up for herself.

She meets Billie and sees it as an opportunity to have a successful mentor to help her navigate the problems that pop up in her day to day at her job. Except Billie is infuriating and toxic. Her advice was right up there with like your parents or grandparents telling you the way to get the job is to take the resume into the store and ask to speak to the manager.

Billie, a white woman, never took into account the different experiences Lily may have in the workplace being mixed-race, like when one of her male coworkers made sexist, racist comments, Billie was like “he’s probably just being nice.” Like I’m sorry what? And Lily gets frustrated with her constantly yet CONTINUES to go back to her for her thoughts and opinions and advice, and Billie helps move her career forward by putting in a good word for her and in the end has a job opening at her company.

This is ALL through text by the way, which seemed an odd choice. I kept waiting for them to have some sort of affair or something, Lily’s friends hint that Billy might be into Lily, but their relationship never moves past texting about work. It’s sort of an emotional affair I suppose, as it causes issues with Lily and her girlfriend.

The book has a very Devil Wears Prada Ending. I was happy with the path Lily took, it was just SO frustrating to go on that journey with her 😂.

Overall, this book was fine. It was very well written, a quick listen on audiobook. Some of the narrative just sort of felt like things I’ve already heard before, a lot of “this is what our generation deals with” and while I agree with it, it sometimes just gets exhausting.

Thank you @netgalley and @duttonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

"Ellipses" by Vanessa Lawrence is a novel that captures the essence of modern-day New York City life, portraying the struggles and aspirations of its protagonist, Lily, with authenticity. The book touches on themes like wanting to succeed, figuring out who you are, and the challenges of online relationships. While the narrative provides compelling insights into contemporary challenges, such as workplace dynamics and personal growth, some readers might find certain passages overly dramatic or drawn out.

Despite overly dramatic moments, Lawrence's character development and vivid depiction of urban life make "Ellipses" an engaging read. The dynamic between Lily and Billie offers a captivating exploration of mentorship and self-discovery. For anyone who's faced similar challenges in their own life, this book might feel relatable. Overall, "Ellipses" is a solid debut from Lawrence that captures the ups and downs of trying to be successful and true to yourself in today's world.

Thank you to Dutton & NetGalley for the ARC! I had high hopes for this novel as its premise teased themes of queerness / power dynamics / Asian-American livelihood. Unfortunately, what was anticipated to be a lively narrative was really at its core an indulgent confessional cloaked in a monotonous plot.

Ellipses follows Lily and Billie (doomed from the start with this): Lily, self-proclaimed "writer, NOT journalist" (all the while attending events to conduct profiles and interviews and submitting these for publication etc but what I do know), is feeling despondent in her career trajectory when she suddenly meets a top executive, Billie, an older woman known to use shards from the glass ceiling to stab out her competition. Most of their interactions occur over text, which Vanessa Lawrence insists on enunciating as she reiterates "buzz buzz" every time a message comes through.

It's evident that Lawrence has had a comprehensive experience in her industry, but Ellipses seems to teeter the line between contemporary fiction and auto-fiction. I found this impression didn't necessarily work in the novel's favor as our protagonist, Lily, comes off as more pitiable and self-pandering, which in its own right could be useful to the plot and interesting to the audience, but yet... nothing profound, nothing real comes to fruition. It might have been better for Lawrence to have written a memoir of her experiences. At least then it may have felt material and honest. As a reader though, I felt nothing for Lily other than a sincere apathy and borderline disdain for her propensity to self-pity and navel gaze.

It doesn't help either that Lawrence's attempts at squeezing in the more progressive aspects of her novel through Lily's lens comes off as forced and inauthentic. There are a few instances where fetishization of Asian-American women is illustrated, but there's this dissonance between Lawrence's writing and the actual sentiments transpiring from her words that I genuinely can't connect. It could just be a matter of Lawrence's tendency to show rather than tell.

This failure to demonstrate extends as well to the central relationship between Lily and Billie. I kept waiting for the obsession and intensity that was dangled in from the story's premise to materialize, but nothing actually happened. Rather, the story is as simple as a twenty-something year old becoming enamored with the concept of someone who appears to be more beautiful, more accomplished, more renowned. Fantasizing about someone else who seems aspirational and larger than life is a daily hobby for all of us who use social media — I was hoping Ellipses would deliver more than a restatement of what we all already know and do.

All in all, I found it incredibly difficult to take this book seriously. After all when you include sentences like "Loneliness is other people" in your novels it's nearly impossible to consider sincerity.

I liked the premise of this book, but I thought the execution was a bit lacking. I was never totally convinced about the relationship at the center of the novel, either in terms of its enticements or its toxicity, and the centrality of texting just got a bit monotonous after a while. Also, I perhaps have read one too many books set in NYC recently (there are so many!) so though this definitely had the "NYC as a character" vibe that can sometimes be very effective, it grated on me a bit in this instance.