What do readers think of Buying In by Laura Hemphill? Write your own review.

Although my career path is very different from Sophie's, I remember long days and nights. I don't think I would have been able to keep up her hours though. As a new graduate moving to New York and a lucrative job would have been very exciting.

This book really gave a great insight into the corporate and banking system. It was well written and I liked the way the book moved between characters and talked about them at the same time. The character study was well done and there were four very strong characters and several minor ones.

I really enjoyed the book and the look into a failing system and the reasons for that failure in the financial crisis.

As a novice in the world of investment banking and making "the deal" I found this book to be very informative and straightforward. If the author wished to teach the reader about her career, then Ms. Hemphill was very successful...

On a more personal note I found myself cheering Sophie on to succeed in the chauvinistic world in which she found herself, under appreciated and largely ignored. But she did soldier on at great personal service. She learned how to play the game, all the back stabbing that goes with the territory and so much more. She left wise beyond her years, often acting more mature than her superiors.

I also liked the ambiguous ending. A good Book Club discussion, perhaps?!?

No, it's not a thriller or a horror novel, but it's scary, nevertheless. The writing is excellent, I like Sophie, but I'm not sure I agree with reviewers who praise her for outfoxing the men around her. Is this what banking is about? Fooling and manipulating people, including co-workers, clients, and the public? This book is quite thought-provoking and I do recommend reading it. You may, like me, wonder if Sophie's success is worth the sacrifices she makes, and what the long-term consequences of staying in the field will be. My favorite character was Vasu, and I'd love to read a sequel with Vasu as the main character.

I have been interested in finance and economics all of my life and was very excited to read this novel (and was a Literature major). Unfortunately it was horrible. There is one protagonist, but the story is told from the POV of a few main characters. The characters are two-dimensional at best. The obnoxious stereotype of one immigrant is particularly disgusting. The protagonist's fetish would be impossible in any office. Anyone would know this right away. I understand it's a novel, but are we to suspend disbelief completely? As far as financial details: Excel spreadsheets, a model, and due diligence. Wow! Way too hard to believe she is so naive after four years at Yale (did she not have any internships?), so insecure, and so clueless. No friends from college except the boyfriend? I get she's from the "small town," but it's the 21st Century! It's not cute or sweet or heartwarming that she's so lost. It's insane. Route 71? I live in Cincinnati. It's Interstate 71--hope your editor gets to that; and they wouldn't be driving out of downtown to go to lunch. As for all the tangential relationships, they add nothing. I don't think writing is this author's passion or talent. Definitely change the genre to fantasy or Young Adult. It reads more like a soap opera or a slight thriller with some sensationalism. And really mostly, I was just insulted. And the ending is icing on that cake--I wanted to throw it out the window. Really? There? Really, that is hilarious. So maybe it's a comedy.

Overall this was a very well written and enjoyable book. I liked it because I'm fascinated with the volatility of the market. I was impressed with the plot development from Sophie's naïveté when she first arrives in NYC to her becoming a successful realist and taking charge of her own life and future. I liked her mentor's insightful comment of "don't go all Pollyanna on me". I'm not sure why she thought a high profile job of analyst wouldn't make huge demands on her time and, ultimately, cost her relationship with Will. The other thing that bothered me (and seemed out of place) was why a new hire would risk everything by rifling through co-workers' desk drawers (her boss included). It came across to me as "oh, it's after hours, I think I'll go see what I can find in Ethan and Vasu's desk drawer". It seemed like a more plausible way of snooping could have been developed, perhaps with an employee on the 'inside' feeding her the information she wanted. Every company has its share of 'loose lips' to be exploited.

The ending built to a surprising climax and yet managed to tie up the loose ends. Sophie seemed torn when it came to her loyalty between with Hutch or Ethan. Good to see that in the end she managed to survive the chaos and gain leverage and an upper hand on Ethan and ultimately get what she wanted. Sophie's naiveté seemed to evaporate a bit and be replaced with a healthy dose of reality and skepticism.

Looking at the author's background I always commend people for writing what they know about first hand, and Ms. Hemphill definitely succeeded. I'll look for her next work.

"You have to buy in before you can sell out" is a quote from Sophie, the protagonist of Buying In, who has just begun her career as an analyst in a Wall Street investment bank. It's an attempt to explain her devotion an often unrewarding, life-consuming job. Sadly, the reader has a much harder time buying in to Sophie's story: how did she get this job and why should we care whether she keeps it?

As a former woman in banking, I really wanted to like this book. And being set in the months leading up to the financial crash of 2008 gives others a glimpse into the failure of a system that shook lives globally. I would have loved to see the setting developed more fully. The author's prose is clear and often sparse, which sometimes left me feeling as if I was reading only the outline of the story.

I did enjoy how the book presented a diverse cross-section of characters in addition to Sophie. Overall, an average read.

Initially, this book is highly reminiscent of "The Devil Wears Prada." Fresh, naive, ambitious young woman, with a sweetly altruistic boyfriend, family pressure, long hours, predatory colleagues, etc., but the protagonist, Sophie, is a very different character indeed. She manages, sometimes by luck, but more often by sheer determination and what can only be called manipulation - which in her investment banking job is not a bad thing - to make a name and a place for herself. And all at the time of the Wall Street implosion of a few years ago.

I did find myself slogging through some of the book, particularly the factual parts about how deals are actually made, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be interesting to others. I was more interested in, and held by the various characters, who are not all what they first seem to be.

Also, the book jacket describes the story as a woman's struggle in a man's world, but this is misleading. The genders of the characters are essentially irrelevant. Yes, Sophie is a young woman, and yes, her bosses are mostly men, but that just seems to be a reality of the business. Nobody is all bad or all good, male or female.

I was actually somewhat surprised by the ending, which is much more complex than the beginning chapters would lead you to expect. Since it was written by a woman who spent some years in this business, I think it is probably pretty accurate - which is a little scary.

"Buyiing In" is an absolutely fascinating portrayal of the inside wheeling and dealing of the fictional Wall Street investment bank, Sterling. The main characters are fully developed...from the shrewd veteran to the wide-eyed newly hired. Having spent seven years working on Wall Street, Ms. Hemphill certainly understands and capably shares with her readers what it takes for a young, ambitious woman to make her stand in this complex world. Even with complete ignorance of this type of high finance, I was utterly drawn into this exciting, dramatic, and totally readable novel. The story gives one good insight into the rise and fall of investment banks such as that which our country has recently experienced. An excellent choice for any reader and for any book club.