Publication date: June 5, 2018
Genres: Chick Lit, Contemporary, Fiction
Just when you thought The Devil Wears Prada series was finished, author Lauren Weisberger is back. Previously, she visited Andi in her new incarnation as a magazine editor in Revenge Wears Prada (which I liked, not loved). Now, in When Life Gives You Lululemons, it is the snarky fashionista Emily who takes center stage. Which, if you ask her, is exactly as it should be. At thirty-six time hasn’t mellowed her at all: she’s left the magazine world, is living in L.A. with a hot husband, and has her own image consulting business. When she finds herself stranded on the east coast, after losing another client to a younger, hipper woman, she decides to visit an old friend in Greenwich, CT and stumbles into what may be her biggest gig yet. And yes, Miranda still wants her to come back to Runway.
Emily is joined by two new characters in When Life Gives You Lululemons. Miriam is the old friend and was a high-powered partner at a prestigious law firm until her husband cashed out on his lucrative start-up and they decided to move to the oh-so-elite suburbs of Greenwich for the ‘simpler’ life. She’s gone from Louboutins and power lunches to yoga pants and juice cleanses and it’s not as relaxing or fun as she thought it would be. Karolina was a supermodel and is Miriam’s friend. She moves back into her home nearby to hide out from the media after she is arrested for DUI. Her teenage stepson and his friends were in the car and her ambitious, senator-wanting-to-be-president husband refuses to speak to her and initiates divorce proceedings. Suddenly, a quick but boring trip to the suburbs turns into Emily’s lucky day as, thanks to Miriam, Karolina hires her to repair her reputation.
I’m not going to lie—one of the reasons When Life Gives You Lululemons works so well is because it’s impossible not to picture actress Emily Blunt playing Emily Charlton. She was perfect in the role in The Devil Wears Prada movie and if not for her persona, Emily’s bitchiness on the page could come off as shrill and frenetic, instead of bored and dismissive. Key distinctions. Which means I’m already lobbying for this book to be made into a movie with Blunt, and a Streep cameo, of course.
There’s no pretense of deeper meaning to When Life Gives You Lululemons. There’s a comeback, a resurrection, serious retribution, and a lot of sly commentary about modern day America. When done right, as Weisberger does it, it is exactly what’s needed when you’re tired of heavier fare and ready for something light. When Life Gives You Lululemons is cotton candy fabulosity and is as slick, glossy, and fun to tear through as the pages of Runway.
Sounds like fun. So this Emily was Emily Blunt’s character in the movie? & no Anne Hathaway character in this book?
Yes- could they have been more confusing? Picking an Emily actress to play an Emily character. Andi has maybe a paragraph. The second book Revenge Wears Prada was more about Andi and it was good not great.