Looking for your next read? Welcome to Bazaar Book Chat, an inside look at our editors’ Slack channel, where we candidly review the latest literary releases.
Rosa Sanchez (senior news editor)
Hi @here! Welcome to another Bazaar Book Chat. For September, we read The Most Famous Girl in the World by Iman Hariri-Kia. It’s a satirical drama-meets-crime-meets-rom-com novel about a young journalist, Rose, who becomes so obsessed with her subject—Poppy, a socialite who is also a serial criminal—that she burns her own life to the ground.
What were your first thoughts, and how did you feel overall about the book?
Chelsey Sanchez (associate editor)
I was so excited for this read! As a fellow entertainment journalist, I related to Rose’s connection to her work. I think anyone who has ever made a living off of writing celebrity news can find the discrepancy between the public figures we write about and the reactions they provoke kind of jarring—and being in the middle of it all can sometimes be awkward.
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Rosa Sanchez
Definitely agree, and it’s so easy to become obsessed. Maybe not to her degree, but certainly in general.
With Poppy, I do like what the author says about America’s fascination with socialite antiheroes like Anna Delvey—who literally just appeared on Dancing With the Stars—and people’s tendency to glamorize (primarily attractive) criminals, like everything going on with the Menendez brothers right now and Aaron Hernandez and Elizabeth Holmes.
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Joel Calfee (editorial and social media assistant)
The themes certainly felt timely as well! With the recent obsession with figures like Delvey, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, and so many others, I thought it was interesting to see that obsession through the eyes of someone trying to report on them, but who also gets sucked into the drama and scandal of it all.
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Joel Calfee
Jinx!
Rosa Sanchez
Haha jinx!
Chelsey Sanchez
The parasocial relationships are very real.
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Joel Calfee
What did you guys think about the fact that Poppy turns out to be not your average white-collar criminal? I feel like there’s a very big difference between finding Anna Delvey camp and being obsessed with famous murderers, lol.
Rosa Sanchez
I wish we had more action with Poppy earlier on. We don’t really understand the drama with Rose’s sources disappearing and with the cult she eventually finds until the very end, after many, many descriptions of how badly Rose is doing at work and in her personal life. One issue that I had with this book is that, to me, Poppy didn’t feel like a real person—which maybe was part of the point, but she felt more like an idea of a character, with her influencer-esque phrases, than a truly developed character. And when we finally meet her and learn she’s a KILLER, that doesn’t change. I think the author could’ve dug deeper with her and humanized her more to make her point.
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Did you guys think the author’s voice catered to the plotline?
Joel Calfee
Yeah, I definitely agree with that point—I feel like focusing on a character like her would’ve been more interesting if we got to see some of her more vulnerable/everyday side. The book explores this idea of our parasocial relationship to celebrities, but it didn’t really challenge that by showing us Poppy’s perspective. Instead, it sort of just makes her into this twisted figure to obsess over.
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And to your question, I feel like it was a distinct voice, very zillennial, which lent to the sort of gossipy modern narrative, but I’m not sure how much it catered to the plotline. It did sort of read like you’re zipping through one of those tabloid magazines, which felt purposeful to me.
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And it helped sort of lean into the camp of it all.
Rosa Sanchez
Yes, exactly. What I liked about it is also what sort of annoyed me a bit, and that is that it felt like a group chat, almost. On one hand, I like when writers can keep it real and speak in a way that is relatable to their audience, but on the other hand, I felt like the casual, sarcastic language sometimes made the plot and characters less believable?
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Joel Calfee
Yes!! Totally agree.
Faith Brown (senior social media manager)
What I like about the author is that she truly is in on the bit. It’s camp, it’s satirical, and it’s just not that serious. Cringing at some of the dialogue, in some ways, just means that it really works? Because IRL those characters and their words would be cringy as hell. I think she did her job. Also! I can’t help but liken it a bit to Girls in the way that no character is likeable and yet the show is so likable—but only if you truly understand that Lena Dunham knows what she is doing. Iman Hariri-Kia knows what she is doing!
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Chelsey Sanchez
I had trouble buying into the dialogue.
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I know this book was a satire, but the banter between Rose and her archnemesis-turned–love interest just didn’t really click for me.
Rosa Sanchez
Their tension slash romance did feel forced, although I feel like she nailed the sex scene. And I liked the plot twist at the end where it turns out he’s been lying to her this whole time, though I can’t say I was surprised; when is anything that easy?
Chelsey Sanchez
I saw the plot twist coming from a mile away, lol.
Rosa Sanchez
Lmao.
Did you guys sympathize with Rose at all?
Chelsey Sanchez
I sympathized with Rose in the way I sympathize with a friend who keeps complaining about her toxic boyfriend that she won’t break up with. (For the record, I have been that friend.) Like, I’m sorry that’s happening to you…but you’re kind of not helping your situation either…
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Rosa Sanchez
Yeah, like we get it, you’re spiraling again.
Joel Calfee
So true, she really was that friend who just can’t stop digging herself deeper into bad situations, lol.
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Rosa Sanchez
It also very often felt like, yes, she was obsessed with Poppy, but she only really cared about herself. Plus, she basically ignores her so-called best friends until the very end, and they still agree to risk their lives and help her find the criminal!
Joel Calfee
Like, you could tell that she was right, but it was hard to root for her.
Rosa Sanchez
Yeah, the girl did not grow on me. I will say, though, that the author has noted that she tends to write about Middle Eastern female protagonists who are first-generation Americans, and I appreciated the moments in which she brings up key identity issues, especially in the media space.
Who was your favorite character, or what was your favorite plot twist?
Joel Calfee
I loved Roommate because I thought she was so funny, and I loved that twist of her being a spy.
Chelsey Sanchez
I liked Roommate and Roommate’s Boyfriend.
Rosa Sanchez
OMG SAME!
Joel Calfee
Jinx!! She was such a funny side character, like I was obsessed.
Rosa Sanchez
Them always being naked and playing Twister was low-key the best part of this.
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Joel Calfee
Like, that’s not my life, but it should be.
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Chelsey Sanchez
Our unproblematic queen.
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Joel Calfee
Well, the fact that she always calls her “Roommate,” too.
Rosa Sanchez
And her calling Rose out was so good. Like, thanks for not ever learning my name.
Joel Calfee
YES! Just says so much.
Rosa Sanchez
We said how we felt about the writing, how did you feel about the storyline? In particular the action-packed ending? Was it believable?
Chelsey Sanchez
I mean, I don't know if believable is the right word for this story, since so much of it is intentionally outlandish and satirical, but I do feel that the ending fulfilled the premise of the story. I felt totally satisfied with how the Poppy situation resolved itself (or didn’t resolve itself…)
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Joel Calfee
The action kept me hooked for sure. I thought the ending certainly felt like a nice closure (with a cheeky cliffhanger) to wrap up the story. But I was also slightly conflicted, because I didn’t want it to be another story where the protagonist just turns out to be crazy, yet I kinda wanted it to end with all the conspiracies about Poppy not being true, ha-ha.
Rosa Sanchez
Hahaha, wait, Joel that would’ve been so good. Like, oop! She’s actually just insane.
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When I step back from it now, it’s a fun story. I like the idea of a sociopath socialite running a secret criminally inclined cult and the main character suddenly finding out everyone was in on the crime except her.
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Joel Calfee
It’s definitely a fun, light read and I loved how well it tapped into our current obsession with celebrities and the constant dialogue around that.
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It also got me thinking about celebrities and cults like the Illuminati? They’re gonna be pissed when they find out about this.
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Rosa Sanchez
OMG, literally. I was like: Ummm, hope that’s not a real cult and you’re gonna get in trouble, girl.
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To our readers, I’ll say I think this story could’ve been rounded out better if the characters and the dialogue had been developed more, but I did have a lot of fun reading it on my commute to work this month, and it made me find Anna Delvey a lot more cringe, because I pictured her face every time I read about Poppy. (Though I am not accusing Delvey of murder, lol.)
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Joel Calfee
and I think fellow journalists will DEF relate to the story and what it’s like to be engulfed in an obsession/your research.
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Our Bazaar Book Chat pick for October is The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich. Pick up your copy of the book here, and read along with us.
