Wry…literary…. His characters are vivid enough to stand alone….Victims of their affected apathy and subject, beneath their veneer of disinterested sophistication, to the same immemorial terrors and heartbreaks, Madeline, Dorian and Ethan are eminently believable.” — Washington Post
“Writing in a fervently literary style that flirts openly with the traditions of Salinger, Plath, and Fitzgerald, Hernández is a diamond-sharp satirist…. Honest and absurd, funny and tragic, wild and lovely, this novel describes modern coming-of-age with poetic precision.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Hernández’s writing is beautiful, and the story offers a searing take on privilege, glamour, and the socialite scene. Charming and very astute.” — Travel + Leisure
“By turns mordantly dark and charmingly funny, R. J. Hernández’s debut is a modern fable with a timeless heart.” — Rumaan Alam, author of Rich and Pretty
“Hernández’s coming-of-age story…[an] unapologetic view into the underbelly of fashion media, chronicles its protagonist’s experience trying to fit into a world where a person’s social background is scrutinized just as much as his skills and intellect.” — People Magazine online
“Delivers a mixture of satire, fashion, postcollege depression and confusion, all delicately rolled into a turquoise binding with lyrically gifted accents.” — TimeOut New York , “The best and most erotic LGBT books to read this summer”
“Lose yourself in the world of a fictional fashion magazine . . . . Hernández creates a hybrid coming-of-age story mixed with a fashion industry tale that’s fast-paced and full of drama.” — Elle.com, “19 Summer Books That Everyone Will Be Talking About”
“Like The Devil Wears Prada , but better. The new novel takes on the fashion magazine world with fresh perspective.” — Racked.com
“The Devil Wears Prada for millenials…. Explores the magazine industry through a different lens than past insider tomes….With a sure hand, Hernández leads his readers into an overlapping world of Ivy-League pedigree and corporate hustle.” — VanityFair.com
“Compelling…. Entertaining…. Hernández’s dark view of innocence makes him a novelist to watch.” — Telegraph
“A tussle of identity politics set against a background of fashion.” — Guardian
“A story about dreams, and how the one that saves you today can just as easily crush you tomorrow.” — Rookie
“Triumphant…. A gripping journey through the halls of high fashion told through a voice seldom used on today’s shelves: that of great American Classics.” — Out Magazine online
“Hernandez’s debut ambitiously combines the socialites of The Great Gatsby , an Oscar Wildean sexual fluidity, and cutthroat fashionistas reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada .… Vivid and relatable.” — Booklist
“Approaches a typical portrayal of the high-brow worlds of academia and fashion only to break them open, exposing the racist and classist stigmas that govern them.… Darkly entertaining, emotionally exhausting, and overall, well worth reading.” — Edge Media Network
“Using the fast-paced, flamboyant fashion industry as a backdrop to highlight personal and social struggles, Hernandez’s darkly humorous novel outlines the familiar millennial conflict of sacrificing our values for success…. Incredible.” — Bullett Magazine
“An Innocent Fashion is reflective of our contemporary New York City—rollicking, indulgent and full of beauty one minute, and despairing, haunting, and full of grit the next. And above all—one of a kind, and the best of its kind.” — Christine Reilly, Sunday’s on the Phone to Monday
“Just when you think you’ve read enough about the rising American generation, the smartest debut comes along and proves you wrong. Hernandez slow-cooks Ivy League privilege, high fashion orthodoxy, ambition, and the agony of not belonging, teasing you between hysteria and resignation. A feast.” — Ioannis Pappos, author of Hotel Living (finalist for Lambda Literary and Edward White Debut Fiction awards)
“Full of flashy fiascos and dark humour, An Innocent Fashion was one of the sharpest and most fascinating books I’ve read in a while.” — The Daily Star
By turns mordantly dark and charmingly funny, R. J. Hernández’s debut is a modern fable with a timeless heart.
Lose yourself in the world of a fictional fashion magazine . . . . Hernández creates a hybrid coming-of-age story mixed with a fashion industry tale that’s fast-paced and full of drama.
“19 Summer Books That Everyone Will Be Talki Elle.com
The Devil Wears Prada for millenials…. Explores the magazine industry through a different lens than past insider tomes….With a sure hand, Hernández leads his readers into an overlapping world of Ivy-League pedigree and corporate hustle.
Like The Devil Wears Prada , but better. The new novel takes on the fashion magazine world with fresh perspective.
Compelling…. Entertaining…. Hernández’s dark view of innocence makes him a novelist to watch.
Hernández’s coming-of-age story…[an] unapologetic view into the underbelly of fashion media, chronicles its protagonist’s experience trying to fit into a world where a person’s social background is scrutinized just as much as his skills and intellect.
Delivers a mixture of satire, fashion, postcollege depression and confusion, all delicately rolled into a turquoise binding with lyrically gifted accents.
Hernández’s writing is beautiful, and the story offers a searing take on privilege, glamour, and the socialite scene. Charming and very astute.
Wry…literary…. His characters are vivid enough to stand alone….Victims of their affected apathy and subject, beneath their veneer of disinterested sophistication, to the same immemorial terrors and heartbreaks, Madeline, Dorian and Ethan are eminently believable.
Wry…literary…. His characters are vivid enough to stand alone….Victims of their affected apathy and subject, beneath their veneer of disinterested sophistication, to the same immemorial terrors and heartbreaks, Madeline, Dorian and Ethan are eminently believable.
Full of flashy fiascos and dark humour, An Innocent Fashion was one of the sharpest and most fascinating books I’ve read in a while.
Approaches a typical portrayal of the high-brow worlds of academia and fashion only to break them open, exposing the racist and classist stigmas that govern them.… Darkly entertaining, emotionally exhausting, and overall, well worth reading.
Using the fast-paced, flamboyant fashion industry as a backdrop to highlight personal and social struggles, Hernandez’s darkly humorous novel outlines the familiar millennial conflict of sacrificing our values for success…. Incredible.
A tussle of identity politics set against a background of fashion.
Just when you think you’ve read enough about the rising American generation, the smartest debut comes along and proves you wrong. Hernandez slow-cooks Ivy League privilege, high fashion orthodoxy, ambition, and the agony of not belonging, teasing you between hysteria and resignation. A feast.
An Innocent Fashion is reflective of our contemporary New York City—rollicking, indulgent and full of beauty one minute, and despairing, haunting, and full of grit the next. And above all—one of a kind, and the best of its kind.
Hernandez’s debut ambitiously combines the socialites of The Great Gatsby , an Oscar Wildean sexual fluidity, and cutthroat fashionistas reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada .… Vivid and relatable.
Triumphant…. A gripping journey through the halls of high fashion told through a voice seldom used on today’s shelves: that of great American Classics.
A story about dreams, and how the one that saves you today can just as easily crush you tomorrow.
Lose yourself in the world of a fictional fashion magazine . . . . Hernández creates a hybrid coming-of-age story mixed with a fashion industry tale that’s fast-paced and full of drama.
“19 Summer Books That Everyone Will Be Talki Elle.com
Hernandez’s debut ambitiously combines the socialites of The Great Gatsby , an Oscar Wildean sexual fluidity, and cutthroat fashionistas reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada .… Vivid and relatable.
★ 2016-05-05
