Bond Girl - Erin Duffy

Released February 2012


William Morrow

Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth

Kick in your pants fiction is something I always appreciate. I like stories told with such brutal honesty that I often forget it is fictional and not real. I'm pretty sure that some of the material in Bond Girl could only have come from the author's personal experiences during her 10 years on Wall Street, but whether or not it is exaggerated is left to the reader to decide.

As a young girl, Alex Garrett found herself immersed in the world of high finance thanks to her father's innovative "Bring Your Daughter to Work Days," occurring long before the national event started up. Her love of Wall Street developed early, but she had no idea what the world was really like.

After college, Alex lands what she believes is a dream job at Cromwell Pierce. Little does she know that her days are about to become filled with planting herself on a folding metal chair trying to make sense of what her co-workers are doing, running some of the oddest errands imaginable and trying to prove to the men that women can do everything the men do without crying, whining or letting them see you sweat.

I have a friend who works as an account manager for a financial firm, so I have heard about some of the things she endured during her training. None of that compares to what Alex goes through. Quite seriously, my hat is off to some of Wall Street's elite because scratching your way to the top doesn't sound fun.

Among the wackier things Alex must do, the reader follows her to Brooklyn on a quest to find a 50-pound wheel of Parmesan while also picking up dozens of eggplant or meatball grinders, all on her tab. There's also the job detail where she must watch a co-worker eat all of the contents from a vending machine and make sure he doesn't skip anything or throw up if he wants the $28,000 attached to the dare. Finally, there's the married client who will stop at nothing to try to get Alex to sleep with him, and crying sexual harassment isn't allowed in Wall Street's men's world.

I admit Bond Girl infuriated me, made me laugh and definitely had me cheering Alex on. It's a great read and one that is already getting a lot of buzz. Don't miss it!