Impersonation by Heidi Pitlor
Fiction, Contemporary
Algonquin Books | July 13th, 2021
3/5 Stars
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?
**Now in Paperback**
Allie Lang has been a ghostwriter for years on top of being a single mom. While in the middle of ghostwriting a novel for someone, some legal things come to light on his end and the book is cancelled. Allie had already planned where the money from this book was going to go: she found a new house perfect for her and her son Cass and she was finally going to take Cass to Disney World. Unable to get a refund on their trip she takes Cass to Disney anyways, leaving her with even less money.
Allie gets hired to write Lana Breban’s, feminist lawyer and activist, memoir. Allie is excited to finally have another job and be able to replenish some of the money she lost on the last book, but Lana offers very little making it extremely hard for Allie. Allie just wants to get by as a single mother and provide a good life for her son.
There were equal amounts of things I liked and disliked in this book I think. I grew up in a single mom household, so I understood the struggle of just trying to make it. I disliked that Allie didn’t stand up for herself and demand what she deserved.
There were a lot of topics covered in this book: feminism, politics, motherhood, etc. I think the main topic was what it’s like being a single mother parenting a kind and the different ways of doing it.
Thank you, Algonquin Books and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
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