What Pretty Girls Are Made Of

What Pretty Girls Are Made Of breaks the lipstick seal of silence in this thinly veiled tell-all about what it's like working in the cosmetic trenches. Roth's roman-a-clef centers around the indefatigable Alison Kraft, who lands a new career in the cutthroat world of high-end makeup, ensnared under a new boss who could give even Miranda Priestly a run for her money. A boss who secretly wires the office halls, requires coffee in the shade of Beyoncé, and locks misbehaving employees in her red Mercedes for drive-by-ambush scoldings. While this cosmetics company doesn't test on animals, it certainly isn't cruelty free.

But beyond the circumstances of Alison's job, What Pretty Girls Are Made Of brings a new, hopeful spin to the woes of late twentysomething life, it isn't fluff-it isn't a miracle story. It's about how this winning modern heroine invents herself, about covering up and wiping away. An act of desperation to achieve inner satisfaction.

What Pretty Girls Are Made Of is honest about its character's flaws, while also maintaining a fresh-faced outlook at what happens when life doesn't go your way. For what really is makeup? You'll find out.