Ellipses

DEBUT There is a lot to parse in Lawrence’s debut, from microaggressions and racism to misogyny and workplace power plays, all told through the lens of a young woman clashing with a changing culture. Lily, a queer, mixed-race writer at a women’s print magazine in New York City, covers social media influencers and doesn’t exactly love the job. She spends her life trying to blend in, whether it is at work or at the social gatherings she attends for the magazine. The industry is shifting to digital, but there is a certain snobbism to print journalism that Lily can’t seem to shake off. She meets Billie, a powerful lesbian running a beauty empire who seems to want to mentor Lily via text message, but Lily doesn’t always like her advice. Nonetheless, she becomes obsessed with Billie and puts her own relationship with her long-term girlfriend at risk, all while her career feels like it is plunging downhill. This mentorship is quite toxic, but it takes Lily way too long to figure that out, leading to a somewhat surprising ending.