Jane McGregor has been laid off from her job--again. Her layoff notice from Maximum Office, the company she works for, arrives via e-mail. On its heels is Jane's boss, Mark, breaking off their seven-month relationship. At twenty-eight, Jane has been unable to find a job utilizing her college degree in graphic design, or in any other field of work for that matter. She's also been horribly unlucky in love.
In danger of losing her apartment, Jane takes in Missy, another Maximum Office casualty, as a roommate. Throw in a bunch of friends without income, and the group decides to cause a little chaos at their old job to get even for the horrible way they have been treated. Will Jane ever find a fulfilling job? Can she get over her feelings for Mark and fall in love again?
I really looked forward to Pink Slip Party because I thoroughly enjoyed Lockwood's previous book, I Do (But I Don't), but try as I might, I just couldn't drum up an ounce of sympathy for Jane. Her character is simpering, lazy, and a pushover who lets others take advantage of her. At nearly thirty, she should have herself much more together.Pink Slip Party is sprinkled with rejection letters from jobs that Jane has applied to, which are supposed to be funny. But here is a woman, many thousands of dollars in debt, about to be evicted, no food in the house, and she's lying to companies by manufacturing past jobs, degrees, as well as applying for positions that don't exist, i.e. hand painting M&Ms.
By the last chapter Jane finally starts to make strides toward being more mature and responsible, but her casual attitude toward everything that takes place is frustrating. Even the revenge plot at Maximum Office, which is supposed to be the main focal point of the story, fell flat because Jane again is just along for the ride rather than actively participating. Pink Slip Party is rather formulaic chick-lit, and in my opinion, readers can definitely find better choices. Cara Lockwood has a great writing style sprinkled with humor, which I sincerely hope she will use again with a better plot and more sympathetic characters.