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Slacker Girl
A hilarious debut novel about life, love, and the pursuit of leisure
Jane Cooper is a different kind of New York woman. Charmingly unambitious in workaholic New York City, Jane believes that until corporate life was unfairly glamorized in “propaganda” films of the 1980s such as Working Girl, there were more people like her: connoisseurs of leisure. Still, a girl does have to pay the rent, so Jane finds a corporate job that supports her lifestyle. Unaware that her cute, hipster boss Ray just put his neck on the line to keep her from being fired, she and her best friend, Rebecka, take off on possibly the worst timed vacation. When Jane finds out that her commitment to slacking may be causing real world problems, she springs into action, putting even Joan Collins’s character in Dynasty to shame to save her job, her company, her friendship, and her heart. Fun, edgy, and starring an irresistible heroine, this is a book for every working girl (and slacker) who has ever wanted to step outside the corporate box.
Jane Cooper is a different kind of New York woman. Charmingly unambitious in workaholic New York City, Jane believes that until corporate life was unfairly glamorized in “propaganda” films of the 1980s such as Working Girl, there were more people like her: connoisseurs of leisure. Still, a girl does have to pay the rent, so Jane finds a corporate job that supports her lifestyle. Unaware that her cute, hipster boss Ray just put his neck on the line to keep her from being fired, she and her best friend, Rebecka, take off on possibly the worst timed vacation. When Jane finds out that her commitment to slacking may be causing real world problems, she springs into action, putting even Joan Collins’s character in Dynasty to shame to save her job, her company, her friendship, and her heart. Fun, edgy, and starring an irresistible heroine, this is a book for every working girl (and slacker) who has ever wanted to step outside the corporate box.
252 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2007
4 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Koslow
6 books13 followersAlexandra Koslow was born in New York City, New York. She grew up in Fort Lee, NJ.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 3, 2010
This books is a jewel and I simply loved it. Jane Cooper is a true slacker, what she values above everything is leisure.
I think I really liked this book because I do work for a corporate and some situation (see the firing speech given by Leetsmann and Jane hilarious remarks ) really made me laugh:
This is from an “interview” scene:
“Gotcha.” This job is going to suck. Ray should have just said,
“This job is going to suck some ass. And when it’s done sucking ass, it’s
going to go and suck some more.” That would have been a lot more direct.
Although, maybe he doesn’t think it sucks? Nah, impossible.
I also love leisure and I am a huge fun of New York and Foxy Hipster Guys who blush easily. The thing about me is that I can’t read romance (with a few exceptions as jennifer Crusie and Julie james) because I usually find that male characters in romance are very masculine and very boring, this is why I stick to chick lit and characters I can relate to.
You don’t expect reality from a chick lit and certainly not from “slacker girl”, what is so great about this book is the way Koslow is opening every chapter with a wit sentence like “Dynasting noun : When your future depends on acting like anyone in the cast of Dynasty“, the bantering dialogues between Jane and Rebecka, the way Jane’s mind works (I could really relate to her “to achieve list” but for the Celebrity thing) and Ray (who I totally feel for).
I read many bad reviews about this book but from my prospective It will have to be a 10!
"
Awkard Day noun An antiholiday, Awkward Day is a heinous day filled with insecurity, vulnerability, and tension, created to highlight the newness of a romantic relationship and to test the living shit out of it. If you make it through Awkward Day, your relationship has legs. Good news is that it only lasts one day, if that long. Bad news is that it’s tedious and you might not have that new boyfriend by the end of it."
I think I really liked this book because I do work for a corporate and some situation (see the firing speech given by Leetsmann and Jane hilarious remarks ) really made me laugh:
This is from an “interview” scene:
“Gotcha.” This job is going to suck. Ray should have just said,
“This job is going to suck some ass. And when it’s done sucking ass, it’s
going to go and suck some more.” That would have been a lot more direct.
Although, maybe he doesn’t think it sucks? Nah, impossible.
I also love leisure and I am a huge fun of New York and Foxy Hipster Guys who blush easily. The thing about me is that I can’t read romance (with a few exceptions as jennifer Crusie and Julie james) because I usually find that male characters in romance are very masculine and very boring, this is why I stick to chick lit and characters I can relate to.
You don’t expect reality from a chick lit and certainly not from “slacker girl”, what is so great about this book is the way Koslow is opening every chapter with a wit sentence like “Dynasting noun : When your future depends on acting like anyone in the cast of Dynasty“, the bantering dialogues between Jane and Rebecka, the way Jane’s mind works (I could really relate to her “to achieve list” but for the Celebrity thing) and Ray (who I totally feel for).
I read many bad reviews about this book but from my prospective It will have to be a 10!
"
Awkard Day noun An antiholiday, Awkward Day is a heinous day filled with insecurity, vulnerability, and tension, created to highlight the newness of a romantic relationship and to test the living shit out of it. If you make it through Awkward Day, your relationship has legs. Good news is that it only lasts one day, if that long. Bad news is that it’s tedious and you might not have that new boyfriend by the end of it."
August 2, 2012
hilarious book. I loved it. It will not change your life or make you think. It was not even the story I liked. It was the way she wrote it.
August 28, 2025
3.5 stars
This quirky book was entertaining and full of early 2000s vibes. Jane Cooper has somehow landed a corporate job that she 'likes' well enough, only because her boss looks the other way when she spends half her time in 'meetings' (in the cafe, actually, consulting with the Universe and satisfying her compulsive need to craft). The truth is, she has a strong aversion to work and an all-encompassing love of leisure.
She does feel guilty though when she decides to take a few days off for a South Beach vacation during a dire time for the company. Jane and her best friend Rebecka, whose long-term relationship just ended, get makeovers and jet off for a trashy time, which surprisingly ends up doing everyone a lot of good. Not sure what the message is there...
Nothing ground-breaking but I relate to Jane and liked it overall, unrealistic as it was. My greatest criticism is that there was a bit too much dialogue. I'd love to watch this as movie though!
This quirky book was entertaining and full of early 2000s vibes. Jane Cooper has somehow landed a corporate job that she 'likes' well enough, only because her boss looks the other way when she spends half her time in 'meetings' (in the cafe, actually, consulting with the Universe and satisfying her compulsive need to craft). The truth is, she has a strong aversion to work and an all-encompassing love of leisure.
She does feel guilty though when she decides to take a few days off for a South Beach vacation during a dire time for the company. Jane and her best friend Rebecka, whose long-term relationship just ended, get makeovers and jet off for a trashy time, which surprisingly ends up doing everyone a lot of good. Not sure what the message is there...
Nothing ground-breaking but I relate to Jane and liked it overall, unrealistic as it was. My greatest criticism is that there was a bit too much dialogue. I'd love to watch this as movie though!
December 30, 2021
I absolutely loved this book! I just went searching for it because it popped back into my head after probably 15 years and I wanted to read it again and buy it to give away. I didn’t even know she had written more books since. If you’re looking for something that’s different than other things that you already have read or that differs from concepts of “reality“ that you already ascribe to then check this book out. The writing is different, the main character is different and has different traits, and I absolutely related to this character and this concept. I’m also not attached to things being “realistic“ as I feel that term is totally subjective. It was not just an escape for me. I feel a kinship with this approach to life and “the slacker” is what I refer to myself as affectionately. I took it as a very subtle humor and irony. It’s efficiency at its finest.
July 17, 2018
I wrote this. It’s for fun and to give you some escapism. I love it, it’s positive energy!
July 30, 2022
Cute story
May 6, 2009
My overwhelming reaction to this book was one of "Eh." It made for good poolside reading, but I kept getting pulled out of the story by a few things:
1. The writing was really not all that good. I often said to myself, Goodness, I could have written this better than she did. Which is not really saying much. I am fairly certain a preschooler with a crayon could have scrawled a story with more feeling.
2. It was beyond unrealistic. Don't get me wrong, I am totally okay with the suspension of disbelief and the embrace of wish-fulfillment that characterizes so much of the "chick-lit genre" (this is a phrase I have serious issues with but I am using it here for the sake of expediency). But this...it was just a bit too far-fetched. For an example of wish-fulfillment done right, I suggest reading "Good in Bed" by Jennifer Weiner.
3. Straight lines have more depth than the characters in this book. Everyone was a collection of cliches. Which reminds me - the author's handling of non-white characters was just depressing. Having your Asian model say "Broomingdale's" just feels insulting, not just to the Asian peeps of the world, but to everyone.
4. The narrator was just so damn unlikeable. I can respect someone who loves leisure and who hates to work, but the woman was so irresponsible and so dippy about it that I actually wanted her to get fired and end up broke, homeless and alone on the street, panhandling for pocket change to buy a bottle of Boones to help her cry herself to sleep at nights over the decent life she once had but so carelessly frittered away. It is never a good sign when your reader finds herself wishing indigent destitution on what is supposed to be the focal point of sympathy for the book.
What I did like about it? Descriptions of clothes, the New York bars, when they'd shout-out to famous chicas like Karen O and Selma Blair, and of course, the fact that she set part of the book in South Beach, which may very well be one of my most favorite places on the planet. In short, I liked it for completely superficial reasons, which is fitting, considering that this book had all the depth of a rain puddle.
1. The writing was really not all that good. I often said to myself, Goodness, I could have written this better than she did. Which is not really saying much. I am fairly certain a preschooler with a crayon could have scrawled a story with more feeling.
2. It was beyond unrealistic. Don't get me wrong, I am totally okay with the suspension of disbelief and the embrace of wish-fulfillment that characterizes so much of the "chick-lit genre" (this is a phrase I have serious issues with but I am using it here for the sake of expediency). But this...it was just a bit too far-fetched. For an example of wish-fulfillment done right, I suggest reading "Good in Bed" by Jennifer Weiner.
3. Straight lines have more depth than the characters in this book. Everyone was a collection of cliches. Which reminds me - the author's handling of non-white characters was just depressing. Having your Asian model say "Broomingdale's" just feels insulting, not just to the Asian peeps of the world, but to everyone.
4. The narrator was just so damn unlikeable. I can respect someone who loves leisure and who hates to work, but the woman was so irresponsible and so dippy about it that I actually wanted her to get fired and end up broke, homeless and alone on the street, panhandling for pocket change to buy a bottle of Boones to help her cry herself to sleep at nights over the decent life she once had but so carelessly frittered away. It is never a good sign when your reader finds herself wishing indigent destitution on what is supposed to be the focal point of sympathy for the book.
What I did like about it? Descriptions of clothes, the New York bars, when they'd shout-out to famous chicas like Karen O and Selma Blair, and of course, the fact that she set part of the book in South Beach, which may very well be one of my most favorite places on the planet. In short, I liked it for completely superficial reasons, which is fitting, considering that this book had all the depth of a rain puddle.
October 4, 2011
Such a small font isn't a picnic in the park for shortsighted people like me but I pushed on.
At first, I liked Jane. And then Jane annoyed me. And then I hated Jane.
Sure, it's fiction but the reality in this book was kinda whack and made me want to smash something.
Workplace situations were handled recklessy, in the name of infatuation: Jane telling her boss that her coming in to work at 9am is not plausible..to his face..and the fool just flashed her a smile. Uh huh. Okay. And then, Jane and her buddy meet Pamela Anderson, something that's on her 'prayer' list to the Universe, while on a vacation to Florida that she 'coerced' her boss into letting her go on. WTF was that?! I know the book was meant to be easy and fun but cynic and skeptic that I can sometimes be, I didn't feel that joy. I was pissed by everything that was happening, especially in the second quarter of the book, particularly towards smitten Ray when Jane was dicking him around...Things fell into place for Jane a little too much that it became predictably boring and unexciting to hear her whine about her 'miserable' life any longer.
At first, I liked Jane. And then Jane annoyed me. And then I hated Jane.
Sure, it's fiction but the reality in this book was kinda whack and made me want to smash something.
Workplace situations were handled recklessy, in the name of infatuation: Jane telling her boss that her coming in to work at 9am is not plausible..to his face..and the fool just flashed her a smile. Uh huh. Okay. And then, Jane and her buddy meet Pamela Anderson, something that's on her 'prayer' list to the Universe, while on a vacation to Florida that she 'coerced' her boss into letting her go on. WTF was that?! I know the book was meant to be easy and fun but cynic and skeptic that I can sometimes be, I didn't feel that joy. I was pissed by everything that was happening, especially in the second quarter of the book, particularly towards smitten Ray when Jane was dicking him around...Things fell into place for Jane a little too much that it became predictably boring and unexciting to hear her whine about her 'miserable' life any longer.
June 17, 2009
Books like this are why I don't read chick lit.
Given that I've been sick in bed, I was ready for something light and fluffy. And Slacker Girl was a little of both -- but not in a fun way. Instead of cotton candy, it was like greasy Funyuns. They leave my teeth coated and my stomach grossly full.
A lot of it is that the narrator, Jane Cooper, just isn't likable. She wants a life of "leisure" -- who doesn't? She has a wish list for the Universe, and she literally spends most of the book waiting for her wishes to be granted and fall right into her lap.
And they do.
So, I wasn't expecting reality here. But this was worst than the pinkest princess story you can imagine -- helpless girl gets saved by good looks, rich guy and savvy friends. Ugh.
Given that I've been sick in bed, I was ready for something light and fluffy. And Slacker Girl was a little of both -- but not in a fun way. Instead of cotton candy, it was like greasy Funyuns. They leave my teeth coated and my stomach grossly full.
A lot of it is that the narrator, Jane Cooper, just isn't likable. She wants a life of "leisure" -- who doesn't? She has a wish list for the Universe, and she literally spends most of the book waiting for her wishes to be granted and fall right into her lap.
And they do.
So, I wasn't expecting reality here. But this was worst than the pinkest princess story you can imagine -- helpless girl gets saved by good looks, rich guy and savvy friends. Ugh.
March 20, 2008
I was going to give Slacker Girl a 2 out of 5, but since it started off good, I gave it a 3 instead. I feel like the author got lazy the last 50 pages or so and went straight for a fairy tale ending rather than make the heroine suffer more for her slackerish ways. I was expecting her mother to make an appearance after the set-up she was given in the beginning of the book. I don't know why she was even mentioned since she had zero impact on the plot. Overall, I thought the lead, Jane, was very likeable and the dialogue was very witty. The contrived romance and quick fix to her work problems at the end brought this story down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2009
It took me a few pages to get into it, but once I did, it was a quick and fun read. I know it was totally unrealistic, and all the good things wouldn't really happy to someone who doesn't try at all, but it was refreshing anyway.
And personally, I liked that the girls weren't typical socialites. They sure had a twist.
So not a great read if you want to do any kind of soul-searching, but it was entertaining to me!
And personally, I liked that the girls weren't typical socialites. They sure had a twist.
So not a great read if you want to do any kind of soul-searching, but it was entertaining to me!
October 9, 2007
There were a lot of things I really liked about this book: the characters (particularly Jane), the blunt language, the humor, and the unique story line, but ultimately I thought it was a little unrealistic and hokey. I mean, they meet Pam Anderson for crying out loud. I just didn't see the point. Nontheless, it is a quick read with a predictable ending if your looking for something breezy.
October 16, 2010
A quick read with lots of wit and charm!
Koslow knows how to sling the whole downtown chic vibe but is never condescending or too cool for school... It's got an edgy groove but is still entirely relatable. The story is cute but the real heartbeat of the book is the author's voice- flip and cynical, yet still insightful and optimistic- all the while being completely hilarious.
Koslow knows how to sling the whole downtown chic vibe but is never condescending or too cool for school... It's got an edgy groove but is still entirely relatable. The story is cute but the real heartbeat of the book is the author's voice- flip and cynical, yet still insightful and optimistic- all the while being completely hilarious.
June 21, 2011
Hilariously dated in 2011. When did anyone think it was a good idea to spell out "Pabst Blue Ribbon" all of the way? Pretty entertaining that there was the written equivalent of a makeover montage, though I'm not going to say that it was actually good.
July 31, 2007
This book is totally hilarious! I loved the unique story and particularly loved the ending. Perfect beach read or cheer-me-up book.
January 8, 2009
A quick and funny read. Jane Cooper gives hope to slackers everywhere.
October 18, 2007
I didn't have very high hopes for this one, but it still managed to disappoint. Bratty and selfish narrator, boring plot, lackluster writing.
April 15, 2009
--- degenerated as the book went on. Stock characters (awful names), bad writing, silly plotline. Avoid.
Want to read
November 26, 2007I just liked the title
February 24, 2008
I was a bit hesitant to read this one, and I should have passed on it. I really couldn't get into the characters, and once they started to annoy me, I gave up on finishing it.
July 15, 2008
meh! Is all I can say, I tried to get into this, but failed miserably!
Not my cup of tea I'm afraid!
Not my cup of tea I'm afraid!
February 20, 2008
A really light a cheery read. I enjoyed this book a lot, read it in a day at the beach! Highly recommended to lift your spirits and keep you engaged.
September 17, 2008
This book blew chunks.
May 3, 2012
Considerably better than I expected. I wish my library had her books.
August 2, 2011
It's decent so far.
February 25, 2012
Entertaining and worth the read.
August 26, 2014
Dear Universe, I wish my life was as easy as Jane's.
November 6, 2013
Sooo funny
April 5, 2014
Complete mindless reading. Good to read at the beach, or on vacation.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews