Review: An Innocent Fashion by R.J. Hernández

An Innocent Fashion by R.J. Hernández

Blurb from Goodreads:

The literary love-child of The Devil Wears Prada and The Bell Jar, this singular debut novel is the story of Ethan, a wide-eyed new Ivy League grad, who discovers that his dream of “making it” at leading New York City fashion magazine Régine may well be his undoing.

When Ethan St. James graduates from Yale, he can’t wait to realize his dream of becoming a fashion editor at Régine. Born Elián San Jamar, he knew from childhood that he was destined for a “more beautiful” life than the one his working-class parents share in Texas—a life inspired by Régine’s pages. A full ride to the Ivy League provided the awakening he yearned for, but reality hits hard when he arrives at Régine and is relegated to the lowest rung of the ladder.

Mordantly funny and emotionally ruthless, An Innocent Fashion is about a quintessential millennial—naïve, idealistic, struggling with his identity and sexuality—trying to survive in an industry, and a city, notorious for attracting new graduates only to chew them up and spit them out. Oscillating between melodrama and whip-smart sarcasm, pretentiousness and heartbreaking vulnerability, increasingly disillusioned with Régine and his two best friends from Yale, both scions of WASP privilege, Ethan begins to unravel.

As the narratives of his conflicted childhood, cloistered collegiate experience, and existential crisis braid together, this deeply moving coming-of-age novel for the 21st century spirals towards a devastating truth: You can follow your dreams, but sometimes dreams are just not enough. 

My Review:
I'm not sure where to begin with this book -- it wasn't anything like I expected but it was juicy in its prose and plot and seriously lovely all the same. I would almost say this is a mash-up of The Devil Wears Prada and The Secret History with a smattering of Less than Zero and The Bell Jar. Considering that all of these are favorite books of mine, this was such a compelling read for me -- I had no idea what I was in store for when I started this book but I loved it. Unlike those recent books I've read this year about millennials graduating from college and moving to NY that were complete failures, this was the book I've been waiting for!  I think the difference was that there wasn't the adolescent obsession with money even though money plays a very big part in this book but there was a focus on more than just money and struggling to make it.  It was complex and the relationships in it were very real to me and extremely entangled.  I also immediately connected to Ethan -- I loved the narrative of his past told in scenes juxtaposed in the present to give a better sense of understanding of the him as a person but also his circumstances.  This was a pretty wild ride -- I particularly loved the ending although I know it won't be for everyone.  It was just so perfect for the mood and tone of the book.

An Innocent Fashion came out yesterday on July 5, 2016, you can purchase HERE, and I definitely recommend this one! 

He ran his fingers lightly through my hair, his touch feeling like a hundred Holy Spirits flowing through me.  I looked up from lap and into one of those moments in life marked by utmost clarity. From the depths of Dorian's expansive eyes, I saw the truth flowing: Aside from Madeline, Dorian was the best love I had--the best love I'd ever had, and ever would.  A love so perfect, it even looked perfect.