Review: Precious You by Helen Monks Takhar

Katherine has been editor of Leadership magazine for two decades. Where she was once the youngest editor on staff, she is now simply comfortable. However, the magazine is soon bought out and must undergo some changes. One such change is that she has a new intern, Lily, who seems like a newer, fresher, and more threatening version of Katherine. But not only is Lily threatening to replace Katherine at work, she seems to be dead set on stealing Katherine's life, and partner, Iain. As Lily starts to play a larger and more sinister role in Katherine’s job and life, the older woman can’t help but wonder what Lily’s true motives are.  

Not only must Katherine come to terms with a new office culture that proves she’s no longer at the top of her game, but she’s got to learn to navigate a world in which the forty-something women who are her peers are sliding into invisibility and obscurity, forced to pass the torch to a younger, prettier, and seemingly more capable generation. As Katherine desperately tries to cling to her glory days and stay relevant, she needs to outsmart Lily, and beat her at her own game, before she has nothing left to fight for.

Precious You is a thoroughly enjoyable book with a myriad unpredictable and shocking twists that makes for an exhilarating read. Apart from a brilliant commentary on the power of youth and beauty, as well as the devastating effects of obsession, the author has subtly and cleverly illustrated the horde of challenges faced by the modern woman in the workplace and the wider world. But most impressive is the dynamic between the two main characters, and how they represent the tension between millennials and older generations, and the misunderstandings and jealousies that fuel both groups. As a thirty-something reader, I also consider this book a cautionary tale of what’s to come – what will we have left when, like Katherine, our looks fade and the wrinkles start? There’s nothing like a psychological thriller to get you thinking about what’s really important in life, and it’s not eye cream and hair dye.

Precious You by Helen Monks Takhar is published by Harper Collins and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers