Reviews

Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao

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chandeclipse's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a Bay Area native, I absolutely LOVED reading this book which is set in Palo Alto, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All the references to iconic Bay Area spots (most of which actually exist!!) were so much fun, like little Easter eggs for me. Also, this book 100% captures the essence of Bay Area culture, attitude, perspective, and all that jazz. That super tech bros and how they speak, the anti-woke vs legitimately progressive crowd, the overall VIBE was just accurate beyond all belief. If you want to know what the Bay Area/Silicon Valley is like, this is the book to read. Also, the characters are so fun, but I gotta say! Zoe not being able to catch red flags and true intentions when I spotted all of them?? Girl, come on!! But at the same time, I love the way this book handles uncomfortable situations in the workplace from feeling like outsider to even harassment, and how sometimes when we’re in the moment and experiencing things, we don’t register what’s happening till later. Overall, such a fun and easygoing read!

wrenl's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

An average women’s empowerment story. There isn’t anything unique or new in this book. It reinforces ideas about how to break into a boys’ club like tech. It’s a very girl power story with a side of romance and lots of friendship heaped on top. Nothing new but still a quick and light hearted read.
But I did enjoy all of the tech lingo. It felt very real, and you can trust because I also work in tech

Content Warnings

anjja's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

lauren_soderberg's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars

Fashion meets Silicon Valley in this fish-out-of-water tale. While the initial pacing was a little slow, I ended up enjoying the story. I do feel like Zoe, the protagonist, at times felt a little artificially obtuse, but it was all in service of the plot. And I enjoyed the way that author Kyla Zhao wrapped up the story. (I also kind of really wish that FitPick was real because it was super well-sketched and socially aware.)

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for providing an ARC.

casuallycolorado's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

lokiisreading's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I don’t normally read Contemporary stories like this one, but I want to challenge myself and spread out to different genres.

This was a fun read though! This is definitely one of those books I could see becoming a movie.

Zoe was a really well rounded and relatable character! Definitely a girl boss, but not cringy AT ALL! We see Zoe get to a point where she got where she worked so hard to get and it’s not everything she’d hoped it would be.

Zoe definitely took the leap of faith venturing into the tech world, and we get to meet some very great characters. I mean all of her coworkers, and friends were very well written people. I wasn’t sure about this book I first, but I’m surprised I ended up liking it as much as I did.

Thank you @berkleypub for the free finished copy! #berkleypartner

aco91's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

aftereliza's review

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funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Really enjoyed the premise of the story, it reminded me of Sourdough by Robin Sloan due to the setting! I will say that the writing let me down in some places, it felt like the character was too juvenile and naive at times and that the dialogue felt like it moved too fast while also being very telling. Overall, not a bad read, I finished it in two sittings!

taravis_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

3.0

ruby_kitsune's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A fun read that delved into the struggles of working in fashion and in tech. If you love "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Princess Diaries" I feel like this will be the book for you. There were some things that irked me about this book, if you really struggle with naive protagonists and/or secondhand embarrassment this is probably not for you, but despite that I did have a lot of fun with this. The audiobook was well done, and I definitely want to read more from Kyla Zhao.

Content Warnings

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