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Blank: A Novel Paperback – March 1, 2024

4.0 out of 5 stars 8,120 ratings

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A wife, mother, and frustrated writer faces an impossible deadline for turning her life around in a hilarious debut novel about family, friendship, success, and exhilarating self-(re)discovery.

Pippa Jones is a fortyish former literary sensation who fears she will be a one-hit wonder. After the follow-up book she was almost done writing, Podlusters, had to be tossed (it ended up sharing a plot and title with superstar author Ella Rankin’s summer blockbuster!), she couldn’t write a thing. Months of staring at a blank page made her confidence vanish like a one-night stand. When she finds out that she has only five days left to finish (or rather, start) or repay an advance she’s already spent, Pippa has a brilliantly original idea. Okay, fine, her twelve-year-old son came up with it as a joke, but Pippa and her teenage daughter approved.

Pippa’s not only going to make a bold statement, but she’ll change the book world while she’s at it! Can she pull it off? At this point, she doesn’t have a choice.

When Pippa’s publisher gets intimately involved, it unlocks a series of plot twists she never saw coming. From the courtyards of posh Beverly Hills hotels and Malibu mega-mansions to Brentwood and Santa Monica bookstores, Pippa races against time―in her used Volvo―and discovers more about her career, marriage, family, friends, and herself than she ever could have dreamed up.

"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

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From the Publisher

KIRKUS REVIEWS review

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Owens clearly understands the publishing industry…. An enjoyable read full of book industry antics and plenty of dramatic surprises.” Kirkus Reviews

“Owens’s depiction of Pippa’s angst feels genuine, especially given the convincingly portrayed demands of marriage and motherhood…”
Publishers Weekly

“Owens' depiction of a neurotic writer on the brink is presented with comic zeal, but the plot elements focused on Pippa’s personal life are likely to resonate most with readers.”
Booklist

“A fun read from start to finish…”
Midwest Book Review

“Leave it to Zibby Owens to write a novel about a lovable woman single-handedly disrupting the publishing industry.
Blank explores marriage, parenting, friendship, and the competitive high jinks of the book trade with the perfect amount of wit and light-touch humor. I devoured this book in a single sitting.” ―Annabel Monaghan, author of Nora Goes Off Script and Same Time Next Summer

“This is a sunny rom-com with a deep, dark heart―comedic and sad in equal measures. Yes, it’s a meta-satire about the publishing industry, but it’s also an authentically serious story about the pressure to be everything to everyone. Or, in other words, about what it means to be a woman.”
―Catherine Newman, author of We All Want Impossible Things

“Zibby Owens captures every writer’s nightmare in her fiction debut: someone beats you to the bookshelves with basically the same book you are currently writing. Add to this some genuine home drama, financial worries, and trouble in paradise, and you have a book that you race through because you just want to know what is going to happen!”
―Laurie Gelman, author of the Class Mom series

“A witty romp,
Blank is the perfect addition to book lovers’ bedside tables. An insider’s view of the publishing industry and a wise and beautiful celebration of love, Blank kept me happily reading all night and left me bereft when I reached the end of my journey with Owens’s wise and fabulous heroine Pippa.” ―Amanda Eyre Ward, author of The Lifeguards and The Jetsetters

“A delectable, engaging romp through the upper crust of the LA and New York literary worlds but refreshingly grounded and relatable,
Blank is like sharing a cool glass of pinot gris with Zibby on a hot day, which is to say: a total treat.” ―Bess Kalb, author of Nobody Will Tell You This But Me

Blank is full of wit, verve, and heart―a whirlwind ride with a heroine you can’t help rooting for. Readers will laugh, wince, and cheer as Pippa writes the next (blank?) chapter of her career, navigates the pain of betrayal, and seizes the happiness she deserves.” ―Jane Roper, author of The Society of Shame

“Zibby Owens is a tremendous champion for writers, and it’s thrilling to see her own storytelling shine in this smart debut novel about marriage, motherhood, and finding your purpose.
Blank is a romp through the publishing world and a delightful gift to book lovers.” ―Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Meet Me at the Lake and Every Summer After

About the Author

Zibby Owens is the author of Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature and the children’s book Princess Charming and is the editor of two anthologies: Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids: A Timeless Anthology and Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology. Creator and host of the award-winning daily podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, Zibby is the founder and CEO of Zibby Media, dubbed “the Zibby-verse” by the Los Angeles Times. It includes publishing house Zibby Books, online magazine Zibby Mag, Zibby’s Book Club, retreats, classes, and events. She also owns Zibby’s Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica, California. A regular contributor to Good Morning America and other outlets, she loves recommending books as “NYC’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” (Vulture). A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, Zibby currently lives in New York (with frequent visits to LA) with her husband, Kyle Owens of Morning Moon Productions, and her four children ages nine to sixteen. Follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens and on Substack, where she tells it like it is.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little A (March 1, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 267 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1662516703
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1662516702
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 8,120 ratings

About the author

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Zibby Owens
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Zibby Owens is the author of Blank: A Novel, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, and Princess Charming, a children's book, and is the editor of two anthologies. A frequent contributor to Good Morning America, Zibby has been called "NYC's Most Powerful Book-fluencer" (Vulture).

Creator and host of the award-winning daily podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, Zibby is the co-founder and CEO of publishing house Zibby Books, owner of Zibby's Bookshop, an indie bookstore in Santa Monica, CA, and creator of "the Zibby-verse" (L.A. Times) community of book lovers, for which she offers retreats, events, classes, a book club, and more.

A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, Zibby lives in New York with her four children ages 9 to 16 and her husband, Kyle Owens, Co-President and Founder of Morning Moon Productions. Follow her on Instagram and Substack where she tells it like it is.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
8,120 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this novel engaging with unexpected twists and turns that are relatable. The book is a quick read that flows easily, and customers appreciate its thought-provoking themes about life and creativity, along with its portrayal of amazing female friendships and fierce love for children. Customers describe the story as heartfelt and emotional, though some find it uninspiring.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

250 customers mention "Enjoyment"250 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and engaging, noting it's a fun diversion from real life.

"...It’s nice to read a story where the good people are winners and the bad people are losers. Even if it is a fantasy. We WISH it were a reality...." Read more

"...mints and pretended to like kids, Josh is uber charming, kind and funny (also a hero of biblical proportions)...." Read more

"...The plot was complicated, and what could have been boring was somehow very interesting...." Read more

"...It's a bit of a fairytale and I loved every minute of reading it. It's like a deeply satisfying visit with your best friends...." Read more

176 customers mention "Twists"145 positive31 negative

Customers enjoy the book's twists and turns, finding them relatable and easy to follow, with a happy ending.

"A quick read with a few plot twists. Lessons learned are current and wise. Main Characters are well developed.enjoyed it and will read more by Owens." Read more

"I really enjoyed this book for its different plot elements, well-defined characters, and its multitude of life lessons regarding family and friends..." Read more

"This was a nice read. Maybe even an instruction manual for life. Pippa is not always an angel, but her heart is in the right place...." Read more

"...a great Seinfeld episode, the story is relatable, memorable, and unpredictable. I was especially taken with Josh, the hot Hebrew School teacher...." Read more

138 customers mention "Pacing"104 positive34 negative

Customers praise the book's pacing, describing it as a quick and easy read that breezes by at a rapid clip, with one customer mentioning they read it straight through in one afternoon.

"...While concisely written, there are a lot of ideas and emotions revealed in this book to ponder - spousal relationships and intimacy/infidelity,..." Read more

"...March 1, 2024 (I snagged a presale offer on Kindle) and is a fun, fast read...." Read more

"...It was a quick, easy to read book. There was a little sex, but it was mostly closed door...." Read more

"Began a bit slow for me, but it clicked in and it was quite the ride...." Read more

106 customers mention "Thought provoking"102 positive4 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, appreciating its unique concept and power of creativity, with one customer noting how it makes you think about life.

"A quick read with a few plot twists. Lessons learned are current and wise. Main Characters are well developed.enjoyed it and will read more by Owens." Read more

"...I also particularly enjoyed the Jewish aspects of the book, which added warmth and soul and comfort in religious ritual (regardless of religiosity)...." Read more

"...It's like a deeply satisfying visit with your best friends. Thank you Zibby Owens for this delicious piece of heaven." Read more

"...Get what I mean now? It's a simple publishing practice and a rather brilliant marketing one...." Read more

91 customers mention "Character development"76 positive15 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one customer noting how the layers of personality are revealed gradually, while another finds the portrayal of two teenagers engaging.

"...Lessons learned are current and wise. Main Characters are well developed.enjoyed it and will read more by Owens." Read more

"I really enjoyed this book for its different plot elements, well-defined characters, and its multitude of life lessons regarding family and friends..." Read more

"...Amusingly written and likable (and hate-able) characters." Read more

"This story was mostly great. I loved the characters and relationships, and how well each one was introduced and developed...." Read more

45 customers mention "Family dynamics"45 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the family dynamics in the book, particularly the fierce love for children and amazing female friendships.

"...ponder - spousal relationships and intimacy/infidelity, married partner responsibilities, impacts on children of parental behavior and availability,..." Read more

"...We WISH it were a reality. Still, doing what is right—being kind, caring passionately for those you love, being faithful and true, etc etc...." Read more

"...popped breath mints and pretended to like kids, Josh is uber charming, kind and funny (also a hero of biblical proportions)...." Read more

"...some of my very favorite themes: female friendship, marriage, and motherhood. (Parents of teenagers will certainly relate to this one!)..." Read more

26 customers mention "Heartfelt story"23 positive3 negative

Customers find the book emotional and heartbreaking, with one customer noting how it deals with heavy and painful themes in life.

"...While concisely written, there are a lot of ideas and emotions revealed in this book to ponder - spousal relationships and intimacy/infidelity,..." Read more

"...This is a rom-com style book that touches on unhealthy relationships and appearances versus reality...." Read more

"A tad too much for me. There were some funny and thoughtful moments but the tone didn’t always seem consistent to the story...." Read more

"...She got the emotions just right though she sped things up compared to what happened with me." Read more

45 customers mention "Value for money"6 positive39 negative

Customers find the book's value for money negative, describing it as uninspiring and pretty stupid, with one customer noting it's far-fetched at times.

"...Some major details were a bit far-fetched, but, ok, this is fiction, right?..." Read more

"...It just seemed so twee and silly. In the end there were thought provoking elements that made me glad I preserved." Read more

"...implausible: the changes in people and the world seemed too great, and certainly too fast...." Read more

"At first I thought this was the dumbest book I'd ever read. After about the 40% mark it became much more interesting and moved along quickly...." Read more

Warm-hearted fiction about a struggling mom, wife, and writer
4 out of 5 stars
Warm-hearted fiction about a struggling mom, wife, and writer
4 stars/5 for Blank by Zibby Owens Blank tells the story of Pippa, a wife, mom, and writer who is struggling from writer’s block as her deadline looms ever closer. Her 17-year marriage is a huge disappointment, her 12-year-old son is behind on his Hebrew lessons, and her 15-year-old daughter Zoe is stressing her out over Instagram posts. With humor that brings to mind Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan (minus the murder mysteries), Owens creates a warm-hearted novel that incorporates the very imperfect world we live in while showcasing that there is beauty and love to be found, even when everything seems to be falling apart. This novel is a February 2024 First Reads option from Amazon, so Prime members can pick it up for free for a few more weeks! Thanks Amazon!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2025
    A quick read with a few plot twists. Lessons learned are current and wise. Main Characters are well developed.enjoyed it and will read more by Owens.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2024
    I really enjoyed this book for its different plot elements, well-defined characters, and its multitude of life lessons regarding family and friends relationships. While concisely written, there are a lot of ideas and emotions revealed in this book to ponder - spousal relationships and intimacy/infidelity, married partner responsibilities, impacts on children of parental behavior and availability, friends relationships, work responsibilities and associated relationships/behavior. If it was only just these plot elements, “dayenu” (it would have been enough), but there is even more to be discovered. I also particularly enjoyed the Jewish aspects of the book, which added warmth and soul and comfort in religious ritual (regardless of religiosity). Highly recommended!
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024
    This was a nice read. Maybe even an instruction manual for life. Pippa is not always an angel, but her heart is in the right place. She has her standards, even if she is tempted to do the wrong thing. It is a bit simplistic. It is not always the case that if you do the right thing, everything will turn out wonderfully and you will live happily ever after. We all wish that was the case, and in this book, the author creates a fiction where that IS the case. It’s nice to read a story where the good people are winners and the bad people are losers. Even if it is a fantasy. We WISH it were a reality. Still, doing what is right—being kind, caring passionately for those you love, being faithful and true, etc etc. (all the things Pippa tells her children—and us—to do) may not land you in the fantasy of happily ever after, but more into an ending where you feel self respect (even if you don’t get your “just rewards”). In the end, you become a mensch—a person who can look their own self in the eye and not feel shame. It may be the only good ending you get, but it should be enough. Amusingly written and likable (and hate-able) characters.
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2024
    If Seinfeld at its core is a show about nothing, then BLANK, Zibby Owens' debut novel, is a book about nothing. But like Seinfeld, which brilliantly satirized the best and worst of our humanity, BLANK laser focuses on four M’s with surgical precision-- motherhood, marriage, money and men. Even better, with Owen’s sharp observations, readers are quickly drawn in with a pen that becomes a sword skewering everything we hold dear.

    Set in a quiet LA neighborhood, Pippa Jones, a busy wife, mom and one and done author whose insecurities know no bounds, struggles to meet her two-book obligation to her publisher. With her advance spent and her deadline long passed, disaster strikes when her most inspired idea is hijacked by another writer. Buh-bye two hundred pages and her agent. Now she literally goes blank… until her young son suggests a "novel" concept so ridiculous and insane it just might work.

    But does she have the chutzpah to pitch it?

    She does and from there we board Pippa’s roller coaster which takes breathtaking twists and turns, often plunging into darkness and despair. Yet with Owen’s humor and keen you-are-here insights, readers should hold on ‘til this ride comes to a complete stop.

    BLANK comes out March 1, 2024 (I snagged a presale offer on Kindle) and is a fun, fast read. And like a great Seinfeld episode, the story is relatable, memorable, and unpredictable. I was especially taken with Josh, the hot Hebrew School teacher. Whereas mine were always bald, bespeckled men who popped breath mints and pretended to like kids, Josh is uber charming, kind and funny (also a hero of biblical proportions).

    In my book, BLANK is the fifth M- marvelous! Great job, Zibby! Keep ‘em coming.
    37 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2025
    This story was mostly great. I loved the characters and relationships, and how well each one was introduced and developed. The plot was complicated, and what could have been boring was somehow very interesting. Some major details were a bit far-fetched, but, ok, this is fiction, right? And maybe I’m just old fashioned and not “with it,” but the portrayal of people hopping out of one relationship, directly and quickly into another, as being a good and normal thing, just seems wrong.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2025
    This was exactly what I needed this weekend. It's a bit of a fairytale and I loved every minute of reading it. It's like a deeply satisfying visit with your best friends. Thank you Zibby Owens for this delicious piece of heaven.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2024
    Pippa is in a writing slump. She's several years late on getting a new book to her publisher. Just as she was feeling confident about her most recent attempt, another author published a book with the same premise. Her new idea for a book is a statement about the world. Pippa is soured about the book world in general. She doesn't think people actually read and finish books nowadays. This is where the premise misses the mark. People obviously read and finish books or this book, Blank, would not be published. The audience for the book are readers. They might identify with the statement that is being made, though. At first, I thought I would be angry if I bought Pippa's book. As I saw how the book was received, I realized I would definitely add it to my bookshelf.

    Another prominent piece of the book is mid-life relationships. One of Pippa's friends have an open relationship. Another is cheating on her husband. Pippa is married to a man who abhors touching. She is contemplating life without him.

    It was a quick, easy to read book. There was a little sex, but it was mostly closed door.

    There was a scene where Pippa's day went from bad to worse. It was easy to identify with. I could easily picture a similar snowball of events happening to Mr.

    The climactic scene was a little overboard. It felt made for a movie, but not realistic.

    I recommend Blank to people who enjoy reading about book people, who love reading about (and being jealous of) a strong tribe, and for moms who struggle with balancing work, kids, and marriage.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Stokerwife
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous.
    Reviewed in Canada on March 26, 2024
    I took a chance on this book and I’m so glad I did. 5 ⭐️ for me. It takes you on a very original journey and the twists were fabulous. Not your standard story line. Very cleaver.
  • Dr Wood
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting concept and quick read
    Reviewed in Canada on March 22, 2024
    There were good and not-so-good parts about the book. I received it from the Amazon First Reads list and I wasn't sure whether to pick it or try another one. So I read it and quite enjoyed the story. The characters were mostly well developed and I liked the ones I was supposed to like - Pippa, Max, Zoe, Gabby, Josh, Ella, Josie. Kelly, Michael, and Ethan were less well developed. The pacing of the story was good except the last few chapters went on too long or maybe there were too many distinct chapters that could have been combined into fewer chapters. All in all, a good read on a snowy week.
  • Michelle Stronghorn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rooting for Pippa
    Reviewed in Canada on April 13, 2024
    It was such a great book. It’s a shame it’s not a series. I’d love to read more! I hope the author re-considers!
  • feri
    5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh and learn
    Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2024
    Amazing and interesting
    I read it with my son and we enjoyed it
    I recommend it to anyone who wants to laugh and learn while can't stop reading
  • Vic
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
    Reviewed in Canada on February 13, 2024
    This was funny, engaging, and had a completely original story- I didn’t think that could happen in this era. Highly recommend.