Sammy's Hill » (Reprint)

Kristin Gore was born in 1977 and graduated from Harvard, where she wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. She has written for several television shows during the past five years, including Saturday Night Live and Futurama, Kristin lives in Boston.

Comedy writer and middle daughter of Al Gore, Kristin Gore has written a funny and moving debut novel about life on Capitol Hill as seen through the eyes of Samantha Joyce, a twenty-six year old health care analyst to Ohio Junior Senator Robert Gary. Hard working, idealistic, extremely competent as well as neurotic and prone to daydreaming, Sammy, as she's known to her friends, has little time for anything, much less a relationship. But in the midst of lobbying and late-night dinners at the office, she meets Aaron Driver, who is hot, smart, and sweet, and who, after a night of binge drinking at a bachelor party, proclaims his love for her. But how will Sammy balance her seventy-plus hour weeks with her budding romance, while keeping her best friend's slimy boyfriend from hitting on her, and making time for family, who insist her outfits match the centerpiece.

Publishers Weekly

This first novel by Al Gore's daughter is a fun, fast read, anchored by likable heroine Samantha Joyce, who spends her days toiling as domestic policy adviser to the noble Ohio senator Robert Gary, while neurotically carving out a social and romantic life. Just 26 and amazed that she's the senator's go-to girl on health policy, Samantha thinks she's gotten another lucky break when she meets Aaron Driver, speechwriter to Democratic presidential front-runner John Bramen. Aaron is "hot, and not just D.C. hot," and Samantha falls hard for him. Early on in their relationship, a Blackberry mishap-she mistakenly sends a message featuring whipped cream and video cameras to a list of important Washington players-gives Samantha her first taste of D.C. scandal, but it's soon eclipsed by politics and deception on a grand scale. As Gary goes up against backstabbing Bramen, eventually accepting the vice-presidential spot on Bramen's rival's ticket, Samantha learns of Aaron's epic infidelities. Samantha's whimsical asides and long-winded explication of political matters give the novel an awkward bulkiness, but her self-deprecating sense of humor and idealism will keep readers entertained. Agent, Andrew Wylie. (Sept.) Forecast: Gore doesn't dish much dirt, but readers will have fun looking for parallels to real-life Washington and her dad's campaigns in this lively novel. 12-city author tour; film rights sold to Columbia Pictures. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.