Pleasantville native's debut novel picked up by Hollywood

It's not often that a debut novel gets published to wide acclaim, much less optioned by a major Hollywood movie studio.

But when it does, it's magical.

Just ask Pleasantville native Jessica Tom. Her  "Food Whore: A Novel of Dining and Deceit" was published in October by William Morrow. DreamWorks Studios just acquired the rights to the novel. Tom will be at the Chappaqua Library for a talk and a book signing at 7 p.m. Friday.

Tom grew up in Pleasantville and attended school there. After graduating from Pleasantville High School, she went to Yale University, where she was named a food critic at the Yale Daily News Magazine; the experience inspired her novel.

Pegged as a mixture of "Kitchen Confidential" and "The Devil Wears Prada," the novel follows Tia Monroe, whose expected trajectory in the New York City food world comes to a crashing halt when she loses a coveted internship. Enter restaurant critic Michael Saltz, who loses his sense of taste, and enlists Tia to serve as his palate, ghostwriting his reviews in exchange for lavish meals and a boundless cache of designer clothing. What could possibly go wrong?."

You can connect with her at jessicatom.com and @jessica_tom.

If You Go

What: Jessica Tom, author talk and book signing.

Where: Chappaqua Library, 195 S Greeley Ave., Chappaqua, 

When: 7 p.m. Friday