Startup: A Novel

From the veteran online journalist Doree Shafrir, a sharp, hugely entertaining story of youth, ambition, love, money and technology's inability to hack human nature. Mack McAllister has a $600 million dollar idea. His mindfulness app, TakeOff, is already the hottest thing in tech and he's about to launch a new and improved version that promises to bring investors running. Katya Pasternack, an ambitious young journalist at a gossipy tech blog, is hungry for a scoop that will drive traffic. Sabrina Choe Blum, an exhausted mother of two and failed creative writer, just wants to stay afloat as she tries to escape from her credit card debt and an inattentive husband--who also happens to be Katya's boss. Before the ink on Mack's latest round of funding is dry, an errant text message hints that he may be working a bit too closely for comfort with a young social media manager in his office. When Mack's bad behavior collides with Katya's search for a salacious post, Sabrina gets caught in the middle as TakeOff goes viral for all the wrong reasons. As the fallout engulfs the lower Manhattan office building where all three work, it's up to Katya and Sabrina to write the story the men in their lives would prefer remain untold.