When Jemma lands her dream job as au pair for the rich and famous, she thinks she has hit the jackpot. She will live in a house she nicknames The Palace, drive a Porsche, have a cordon bleu chef prepare her meals, and spend her time looking after two adorable princesses. But Jemma soon discovers that all that glitters is hard and cold. The mother of the girls in her charge is the polished and terrifying Khunying who places demands on Jemma that threaten to change her into somebody else – starting with her wardrobe. The father, and Khunying's ex-husband Alak, is the classic older-man with sexy forearms who befriends Jemma and treats her and the girls to sometimes inappropriate outings. But what about Ryan, with his CrossFit abs and good intentions? In a rags-to-bitches coming of age story, the once naïvely colourful Jemma navigates her way through a transformation that involves free couture, malicious maids, and a boss who is always watching. When her old life starts to fall apart because of her new persona and employers whose wealth is as staggering as their bad behavior, Jemma has to decide which path to take; the familiar meandering one paved in pink, or the high life of new possibilities, where the streets are rumored to be paved with gold.
***
Something Pink takes place in an opulent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The local flavours running through the characters makes this a unique addition to light hearted contemporary fiction, playing out on urban African soil.