Well researched historical fiction of the 1950’s, Chicago, a strong female character who, though working in a traditionally male profession (journalism) before it was savvy or even acceptable, is living her dream, while retaining her femininity –what’s not to love? I’ll have to read Renee’s earlier books now! ( )

4.5 stars.

Set in the 1950's, White Collar Girl by Renee Rosen is a riveting novel about a female journalist's attempt to break into the historically male dominated field. Fighting to be taken seriously during a time when female reporters were relegated to writing "fluff" pieces, Jordan Walsh never loses sight of her goal although she sometimes questions her motivation for trying so hard to make a success of her chosen career.

Jordan comes from a long line of reporters and after her brother Eliot's death two years earlier, she is determined to make him and their parents proud. Excited by the job offer at the Chicago Tribune, she is brought back to earth in a hurry when she discovers she will be writing society pieces and articles about women's issues. With one eye on achieving her goal of writing hard hitting news stories, Jordan never hesitates to take risks and investigate the leads that come her way but convincing her editor to take her seriously takes grit, patience and perseverance.

Jordan is definitely a woman ahead of her time and her drive to succeed eclipses nearly everything in her life. She is frustrated by her colleague's attitudes toward her and the other women she works with but she never lets them deter her from her goals. She is smart, savvy and inquisitive and although she sometimes rushes into situations without thinking things through, her instinct about newsworthy material is sound. Although her career is her top priority, Jordan does have a serious relationship with a fellow news reporter but her success threatens to derail their romance.

Unlike some of her friends and co-workers, marriage and family is oftentimes the last thing on Jordan's mind. Although she becomes engaged, planning her upcoming wedding is low on her list of priorities. She is also ill-prepared for her very traditional fiancé's and his family's expectations about her role after the wedding. Jordan often minimizes her success at the Tribune in order to protect her fiancé's ego and his frustration about her higher profile assignments and news scoops leads to discontent for both of them.

White Collar Girl is a mesmerizing novel that is quite fascinating and based on many historically accurate scandals and newsworthy events of the late 50s and early 60s. The characters are multi-faceted and brilliantly developed with realistic flaws and imperfections. Renee Rosen's meticulous attention to detail, the captivating plot and an interesting main protagonist bring the story and the time period vibrantly to live. An informative and enthralling novel that I absolutely loved and highly recommend. ( )

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Jordan, the main protagonist of our story, is an aspiring journalist who aspires to write real hard-hitting stories and not the society pieces she’s assigned at the Chicago Tribune. She’s spunky, fearless, inquisitive, smart, and confident making her a very likable character, but she’s not without faults. Through working at the Tribune Jordan learns some very serious lessons about life and the rules of journalism.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about Jordan’s character is that even though she is mostly assigned fluff pieces from her start at the paper she always tries makes the best of it. She soon figures out that news is news, and no matter how trivial the story may be (to her) she always puts out her best work. This fuels Jordan’s desire to strive for the day she’ll have her own big front page story.

Through reading this novel readers will get to see the real life workings of a 1950s newspaper which has its own similarities and differences to today’s press. It was interesting to see the newspaper from a historical aspect, especially at a time where women didn’t prominently work at newspapers. Jordan has to keep her guard up because of the gender inequality that occurs in her workplace. She constantly deals with crass comments and men who think women can’t write. This only pushes Jordan to work even harder.

The pace of plot throughout the entire story is pretty smooth and not once did I ever feel bored while reading this book. There are elements of mystery of what goes on behind the politicians doors, the suspense that builds every time Jordan takes on a big news story, and the drama that occurs in the newsroom. All of these things combined kept me constantly entertained and I never wanted to put down the book. Every character shows development over time and most of them benefit from their transitions for good. Rosen also did an incredible job of mixing historical events with fiction and it shows that she did her research. Overall, I ended up learning a little more of Chicago’s history from what I previously knew. ( )

WHITE COLLAR GIRL by Renee Rosen
Although not as good as Rosen’s earlier WHAT THE LADY WANTS, WHITE COLLAR GIRL tells an interesting and informative tale of what it was like to be a “professional girl” in the 1950’s working for the illustrious Chicago Tribune. Jordan Walsh, hired as a cub reporter under the assumption she was a male, is quickly relegated to the “women’s page”, society weddings and food stories. Her struggle to be taken seriously is the plot of this tale.
Jordan and the other reporters are well drawn characters. The working conditions and pay of the 1950’s are laid out clearly as is the politics in Chicago under the first Mayor Daley. Although occasionally dropping to the level of women’s romantic fiction, the book still offers a wise glimpse into the workings of a big city newspaper and the blatant discrimination against women in the work force.
4 of 5 stars ( )

Corrupt politicians, questions about what it means to be a journalist, and a young woman struggling to make a career for herself - this feels like a very contemporary story, not historical fiction set in the 1950s Chicago. Or perhaps, so little has changed since then and this is merely a reminder? Either way, this is a great, well-paced read featuring a determined lady journalist who wants to move from the cultural, ladies' stories (recipes & clothing advice) to the front-page stories. Good reading and with plenty of contemporary themes to make one wonder how much has changed between then and now. ( )