From the author of The Balance Project comes a dual-timeline narrative featuring a 1949 Miss Subways contestant and a modern-day advertising executive whose careers and lives intersect. “Schnall has written a book that is smart and timely…Feels perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Liza Klaussmann.” –Taylor Jenkins Reid, acclaimed author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo “A fast-paced, … Evelyn Hugo
“A fast-paced, clever novel filled with romantic possibilities, high-stakes decisions, and harsh realities. Perfect for fans of Fiona Davis’s The Dollhouse, this engrossing tale highlights the role that ambition, sexism, and true love will forever play in women’s lives.” –Amy Poeppel, author of Small Admissions
In 1949, dutiful and ambitious Charlotte’s dream of a career in advertising is shattered when her father demands she help out with the family business. Meanwhile, Charlotte is swept into the glamorous world of the Miss Subways beauty contest, which promises irresistible opportunities with its Park Avenue luster and local fame status. But when her new friend–the intriguing and gorgeous fellow-participant Rose–does something unforgivable, Charlotte must make a heart-wrenching decision that will change the lives of those around her forever.
Nearly 70 years later, outspoken advertising executive Olivia is pitching the NYC subways account in a last ditch effort to save her job at an advertising agency. When the charismatic boss she’s secretly in love with pits her against her misogynistic nemesis, Olivia’s urgent search for the winning strategy leads her to the historic Miss Subways campaign. As the pitch date closes in on her, Olivia finds herself dealing with a broken heart, an unlikely new love interest, and an unexpected personal connection to Miss Subways that could save her job–and her future.
The Subway Girls is the charming story of two strong women, a generation apart, who find themselves up against the same eternal struggle to find an impossible balance between love, happiness, and ambition.
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Great easy to follow story about a piece of NY history
It was a fun read during quarantine. There was one storyline that could’ve been a bit more uplifting but maybe not having it all was okay, too.
I learned about the Miss Subways contest, which was interesting, but I thought the resolution of the modern storyline was just a little too pat.
Loved this story! As an avid reader of historical fiction, I devoured this fast-paced story set in two time periods. I think Susie Orman Schnall knocked it out of the park by delivering to the reader an opportunity to see into problems women had and have while trying to juggle the world of work and personal life decisions about family. If you like strong characters and their struggles while learning about history, this book is for you. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.
The Subway Girls by Susie Orman Schnall is an enthralling tale juxtaposing the lives of two unrelated women. Charlotte is a product of the 1940s. Her brother was killed in the war and her father expects her to help him in the family paint and wallpaper store in the Bronx. Although she will graduate from Hunter College this year, 1949, with her degree in business and her dreams of working in advertising, the societal norms of the day will never get her further than the typing pool.
Current day Olivia is in advertising and left a major firm to follow her boss as he opened his own struggling agency. Due to Olivia’s opening up to a stranger, the agency has the opportunity to pitch a campaign for the New York City MTA. Both Olivia and her colleague Thomas are charged with coming up with ideas for the account and the one Matt, the boss, feels is strongest will represent the firm. In her research, Olivia discovers a mid century advertising campaign called Subway Girls which was part beauty contest, part personality contest designed to feature local ladies as representatives of the system.
Charlotte had been the July 1949 subway girl. Her next door neighbor, Olivia discovers this quite by accident, but her discovery of Charlotte’s grandson is no accident at all.
In such a brief synopsis, there is no way to do this elegant story justice. The story of Charlotte, Rose, and Sam requires a book to unfold. The story of Olivia, Matt, and Ben does as well. But when the two stories are woven together, you have a beautiful multigenerational tale that is hard to put down! I very much enjoyed this book and wholeheartedly recommend it!
I can’t begin to express how very much that I enjoyed this book. It features a highlight in our past that I wasn’t aware of. Told through dual timelines, all the characters pop off from the page. Don’t miss this gem!
I really thought I would love this book. The subject was so intriguing to me. I really like stories that span over a long time and include the elderly population. I hear stories on NPR and often am prompted to research them more. So when I read that this book was formed from that same point of view, that made me very happy.
That being said, besides the plot of the story, I was not delighted by much more. Some of the characters were so weak and their personalities had drastic changes that were not supported by the story. The dialogue did not flow well and the entire story was very wordy to me. I found myself beginning to skim through some of it in the 3rd part of the book, to just get to the end.
I read a few other reviews, to get a feeling of what other readers felt, and that was a bit strange. It seems either a reader loved the book or did not like it much. I guess that is what makes the world, everyone has their own opinion. I am sorry I am in the part that did not care for this book. I think the Subway Girls is a great place to start a fiction story, it just was not written to my taste.
I want thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley.com for the Advanced Reading Copy for my honest review.