I just finished reading Jill Kargman and Carrie Karasyov’s co-written novel Summer Intern, a great YA book which just came out in paperback, and I loved it!

The book follows Kira, a whip-smart, hyper-ambitious girl from Philadelphia who wins an essay contest… and the prize is an internship with Skirt, New York City’s hottest fashion magazine. Kira is faced with lots of challenges at her internship: an uncompromising supervisor, a clique of fake-nice mean girls, and a crush she shouldn’t have. Her work can be fun, too, though: she gets to snoop through the expansive fashion closet and go to romantic photo shoots. However, Kira’s main priority at Skirt is vying for an internship spot with the magazine’s editor-in-chief. Kira is also balancing play with her work–she goes to concerts in Brooklyn with her quirky roommates, she goes to nice parties and independent films, and she has a chivalrous boyfriend… but looks can be deceiving.

There is something in this book for everyone: I was especially interested in it because of the book’s focus on magazine publishing, but it also discusses fashion, music, New York City living, college admissions, and hot clubs/restaurants. Summer Intern is similar to the Devil Wears Prada for a younger set, except that our protagonist Kira proves that the nice girls, who don’t scheme or try to get back at the people who bully them, in the long run are rewarded. Summer Intern also kind of reminds me of Prep and Violet on the Runway… a girl heading to a new, exciting place and is a little out of her element, but uses her smarts and her strong personality to flourish. Actually, what Summer Intern also has in common with Prep and Violet is incredibly well-developed characters, and a heroine who you immediately fall in love with.

I’m not sure whether there is a sequel planned for Summer Intern… but I really, really hope there is!