What do you think?
Rate this book
The Adult
An engrossing, page-turning story about an introverted student and the mysterious older woman whose unexpected interest in her sparks an insidious, all-consuming love affair.
Eighteen-year-old Natalie has just arrived for her first year of university in Toronto, leaving her remote, forested hometown for an unfamiliar city. Everyone she encounters seems to know exactly who they are. Chatty, confident Clara from down the hall, who wants to be her friend; intense, determined Rachel from her poetry class, who is going to be a writer. Natalie doesn't know what she wants. She reads advice listicles and watches videos online and thinks about how to fit in, how to really become someone.
Just as she is trying to find her footing, she meets Nora, an older woman who takes an unexpected interest in her. Natalie is drawn magnetically into Nora's orbit. She begins spending more and more of her time off campus at Nora's home, enveloped by the intensity of her feelings and the version of adulthood she imagines Nora leads. Worried about how her floormates will react to news of her relationship with a woman, Natalie explains her absence by inventing a secret boyfriend called Paul; she carefully protects the intimate, sacred adulthood she is building for herself. But when it becomes clear that Nora is lying, too, her secrets begin to take an alarming shape in Natalie's life, even as Natalie tries to look away. What, or who, is Nora hiding?
The Adult is a startlingly gorgeous and perceptive debut novel examining identity, love, insecurity, desire, and deceit.
Eighteen-year-old Natalie has just arrived for her first year of university in Toronto, leaving her remote, forested hometown for an unfamiliar city. Everyone she encounters seems to know exactly who they are. Chatty, confident Clara from down the hall, who wants to be her friend; intense, determined Rachel from her poetry class, who is going to be a writer. Natalie doesn't know what she wants. She reads advice listicles and watches videos online and thinks about how to fit in, how to really become someone.
Just as she is trying to find her footing, she meets Nora, an older woman who takes an unexpected interest in her. Natalie is drawn magnetically into Nora's orbit. She begins spending more and more of her time off campus at Nora's home, enveloped by the intensity of her feelings and the version of adulthood she imagines Nora leads. Worried about how her floormates will react to news of her relationship with a woman, Natalie explains her absence by inventing a secret boyfriend called Paul; she carefully protects the intimate, sacred adulthood she is building for herself. But when it becomes clear that Nora is lying, too, her secrets begin to take an alarming shape in Natalie's life, even as Natalie tries to look away. What, or who, is Nora hiding?
The Adult is a startlingly gorgeous and perceptive debut novel examining identity, love, insecurity, desire, and deceit.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published May 23, 2023
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 906 reviews
Want to read
January 16, 2024judging books by their covers
May 10, 2023
3.5, rounded! The Adult is an solid lesbian coming-of-age story. It was also the author's debut novel, which is surprising given how brilliantly written it is! The Adult is a very intimate story about Natalie, an 18-year-old girl starting college and attempting to become an independent adult. Natalie meets Nora, an older woman, in the park one day, and everything changes for her. Nora's age is never stated, but I believed she was in her 30s. There’s definitely a power dynamic here, and while 18 is technically considered an adult, it is also a baby adult AND a teenager. It was fascinating to read about a lesbian relationship like, as you normally only read about older males and extremely young women. There are several instances in this novel where Nora appears to be mothering Natalie, which is icky given that they are in a sexual relationship - but I think that was the point. Natalie is then put in an unusual situation due to something Natalie reveals to her, and things grow even more complicated, questioning really how “adult” Natalie is.
This book sent me right back to the awkward stage of adulthood when I was asking my parents for help and guidance all the time, trying to figure out what my style was, and who I should be close friends with. It's a really vulnerable time. I like and finished this book quickly, however at times I found it tedious to read and relive that time period (perhaps triggering tbh). I'm so happy I'm in my 30s now after reading this book, haha!
I appreciate the publisher providing my ARC. The Adult is out in Canada May 25!
This book sent me right back to the awkward stage of adulthood when I was asking my parents for help and guidance all the time, trying to figure out what my style was, and who I should be close friends with. It's a really vulnerable time. I like and finished this book quickly, however at times I found it tedious to read and relive that time period (perhaps triggering tbh). I'm so happy I'm in my 30s now after reading this book, haha!
I appreciate the publisher providing my ARC. The Adult is out in Canada May 25!
May 28, 2023
Natalie is 18 years old, away from home for the first time attending college in Toronto. She's from a small town in Northern Ontario where her parents run a fishing and hunting lodge. She meets Nora in a park and soon the two of them become involved in a relationship.
If you intend to read this book, I recommend not reading the blurb. I think it says way too much. Probably best to avoid reading reviews as well.
I'm having a hard time reviewing this book even though I was mesmerized by the unfolding story. Natalie is an immature teenager who constantly worries about saying the right thing and about how she appears to others, particularly Nora. As other reviewers have pointed out, I don't think we're ever told how old Nora is but I picture her as being in her mid-thirties. Even though Natalie is considered an adult in Ontario and is over the age of consent for sexual activity, she doesn't appear to be mature enough to handle a romantic relationship with anyone, let alone an older woman. I felt some empathy for Natalie, especially when she would rehearse things to say in order to appear more interesting. I wanted to reach out and tell her to stop. The encounters between Natalie and Nora aren't blatantly sexual but may be offensive to some.
This is Bronwyn Fisher's debut novel and I'll definitely be on the watch for whatever she writes next. Another promising Canadian writer. I worked with a woman years ago who named her daughter Bronwyn and I've loved the name ever since.
My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Published May 23, 2023
If you intend to read this book, I recommend not reading the blurb. I think it says way too much. Probably best to avoid reading reviews as well.
I'm having a hard time reviewing this book even though I was mesmerized by the unfolding story. Natalie is an immature teenager who constantly worries about saying the right thing and about how she appears to others, particularly Nora. As other reviewers have pointed out, I don't think we're ever told how old Nora is but I picture her as being in her mid-thirties. Even though Natalie is considered an adult in Ontario and is over the age of consent for sexual activity, she doesn't appear to be mature enough to handle a romantic relationship with anyone, let alone an older woman. I felt some empathy for Natalie, especially when she would rehearse things to say in order to appear more interesting. I wanted to reach out and tell her to stop. The encounters between Natalie and Nora aren't blatantly sexual but may be offensive to some.
This is Bronwyn Fisher's debut novel and I'll definitely be on the watch for whatever she writes next. Another promising Canadian writer. I worked with a woman years ago who named her daughter Bronwyn and I've loved the name ever since.
My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Published May 23, 2023
February 10, 2024
A passage representative of what annoyed me, at first, about The Adult:
“She smiled and I felt the air pull. I thought of a violin player. And I thought of their violin. Dark-brown wood and the violinist tucking their chin. Bow against strings. The friction that might make that creaking noise or, worse, that screeching noise. Difficult to forget once it’s been made.”
Lovely. But that “I thought.” Did you, Natalie? Did you think about the creaking noise a violin bow makes on a string just before the note begins to sound? Because I don’t think I’ve ever—in my life—met an emotionally charged moment with a thought that abstract. MFA Syndrome, I might say, in an ungenerous review. And sure enough…
But Bronwyn Fischer, your sins are forgiven. Indeed, a thousand overwritten, navel-gazing novels are absolved by your creative act—by the longing of this book, by the way that all those odd imagistic thoughts, those creaking violin bows, come to stand—a paradox!—for Natalie’s inability to express herself, her inability to ground her thoughts, her inability to reconcile herself to her desire. Natalie is a poor poet (that is a plot point!) whose every thought is a poem. Far from an irritant, this is the dramatic irony that underwrites the novel’s heart.
Natalie does not know who she is. Her interiority is unfixed. She has no identity. (Not even the obvious ones like “lesbian” or “college student” quite fit.) Where soon will grow a personality, Natalie has only desire, longing, memory, fantasy. Hence all those beautiful images. Whether Natalie precisely thought them or not—they stand in for the self she hasn’t quite developed yet.
Reading other reviews, the case against The Adult seems to boil down to: the main characters lack strong personalities, the age gap is icky, and the “twist” is obvious from the beginning. I can perfectly understand how those things might frustrate a reader. But they are, in fact, the point.
I had hoped to end this review with another quotation, one that could represent the sheer gorgeousness of Fischer’s prose. But seeing my highlights out of context, they look overwritten, a little ridiculous even. Creaky violins. But they are not—in aggregate, these images mirror Natalie’s feelings: desire, longing, love; emptiness, longing, lack. Through this same distorted mirror, we see Nora (the lover), Jones (the professor), Clara (the best friend), Rachel (the rival)—and with them, the novel’s complex moral and ethical stakes.
“She smiled and I felt the air pull. I thought of a violin player. And I thought of their violin. Dark-brown wood and the violinist tucking their chin. Bow against strings. The friction that might make that creaking noise or, worse, that screeching noise. Difficult to forget once it’s been made.”
Lovely. But that “I thought.” Did you, Natalie? Did you think about the creaking noise a violin bow makes on a string just before the note begins to sound? Because I don’t think I’ve ever—in my life—met an emotionally charged moment with a thought that abstract. MFA Syndrome, I might say, in an ungenerous review. And sure enough…
But Bronwyn Fischer, your sins are forgiven. Indeed, a thousand overwritten, navel-gazing novels are absolved by your creative act—by the longing of this book, by the way that all those odd imagistic thoughts, those creaking violin bows, come to stand—a paradox!—for Natalie’s inability to express herself, her inability to ground her thoughts, her inability to reconcile herself to her desire. Natalie is a poor poet (that is a plot point!) whose every thought is a poem. Far from an irritant, this is the dramatic irony that underwrites the novel’s heart.
Natalie does not know who she is. Her interiority is unfixed. She has no identity. (Not even the obvious ones like “lesbian” or “college student” quite fit.) Where soon will grow a personality, Natalie has only desire, longing, memory, fantasy. Hence all those beautiful images. Whether Natalie precisely thought them or not—they stand in for the self she hasn’t quite developed yet.
Reading other reviews, the case against The Adult seems to boil down to: the main characters lack strong personalities, the age gap is icky, and the “twist” is obvious from the beginning. I can perfectly understand how those things might frustrate a reader. But they are, in fact, the point.
I had hoped to end this review with another quotation, one that could represent the sheer gorgeousness of Fischer’s prose. But seeing my highlights out of context, they look overwritten, a little ridiculous even. Creaky violins. But they are not—in aggregate, these images mirror Natalie’s feelings: desire, longing, love; emptiness, longing, lack. Through this same distorted mirror, we see Nora (the lover), Jones (the professor), Clara (the best friend), Rachel (the rival)—and with them, the novel’s complex moral and ethical stakes.
May 28, 2023
fellow fans of Sally Rooney and Elif Batuman - this book is for us
February 2, 2024
written in the type of cooly affected prose that will appeal to fans of sally rooney & coco mellors, the adult reads like a bland and uninspired exploration of youth & first love. to be fair, maybe i should not have read this so soon after re-reading batuman's academia/campus duology. still, i doubt that i would been impressed or moved by this novel if i'd read it at another time. the novel is less interested in exploring its main character's interiority, than of setting up this tired dynamic of the younger woman, who is usually portrayed as quiet, naïve, plain even, falling for this older charismatic woman. nevertheless, i was looking forward to seeing a different take on this type of 'love story'. some of my favourite novels feature dynamics similar to this one, or at least explore romantic relationships with uneven power dynamics. sadly, the adult is a thin and superficial novel that fails to bring to life its characters, let alone the supposed connections they have with one another. i'm all for characters that are cold, ambiguous, cyphers even, but here fischer's characters are painfully bland and i never bought into them. the mc is the embodiment of 'mc', there to move the narrative forward. i can think of so many other novels that succeed in focusing and exploring the experiences of young women in college, who are struggling to fit in, to understand what they like, the type of person they want to be and so on (such as batuman's novels, tell me i'm an artist) so suffice to say that 'college' premise alone did not make the adult into an intriguing or compelling read. as usual however ymmv so if the adult is on your radar, i recommend you check out some more positive reviews.
May 26, 2023
ohhhh i loved this so much. absolutely enrapturing and a perfect companion for a sleepless night
April 3, 2023
Giving this four stars though it's more like a 3.5. The extra star stays because it's coming of age (non-fantasy!) lesbian story, which is rare.
First and foremost, I haven't seen many reviews talking about the age difference here. Yes, Natalie is 18 and technically an "adult," but we all know people would be up in arms if Nora was a dude and the lack of criticism on this point because it's two women bothers me. Nora's age is never stated directly, but Natalie is quite clearly still a child. That dynamic wasn't romantic to me, it was kinda gross. Power imbalances aren't only for straight relationships, and while it didn't ruin the story here (even I have my own unconscious biases that made this "okay" in my head), it shouldn't be ignored.
Aside from that, I found a lot of this really hard to read, particularly because 18 is such a painful age and Natalie in particular is awkward as hell and very exhausting. She has crippling anxiety and insecurity that is, frankly, incredibly annoying to deal with. I found myself growing impatient with her throughout much of the book, which made me feel mean, especially since I remember being a lot like that at her age. Still, as someone nearly entering my last year of my 30s, it's a bit exasperating.
There's also the predictability of the story. I clocked one of the "twists" within the first few pages. The comedy of errors when it came to communication between Natalie and Nora at times (their phone convos while Natalie was home for Christmas being the big example) was so unrealistic, I could barely read on since my eyes were rolled so far back in my head.
And yet, I still gave this 4 stars. I think it's largely because all the things I disliked about it (and the people in it) felt very real, for better or worse. Natalie is the star here, of course, and she's written with much compassion and care. I've been where she is in this book (though not literally, thank goodness), and reading this, I just kept thinking how glad I am that I'm not anymore.
First and foremost, I haven't seen many reviews talking about the age difference here. Yes, Natalie is 18 and technically an "adult," but we all know people would be up in arms if Nora was a dude and the lack of criticism on this point because it's two women bothers me. Nora's age is never stated directly, but Natalie is quite clearly still a child. That dynamic wasn't romantic to me, it was kinda gross. Power imbalances aren't only for straight relationships, and while it didn't ruin the story here (even I have my own unconscious biases that made this "okay" in my head), it shouldn't be ignored.
Aside from that, I found a lot of this really hard to read, particularly because 18 is such a painful age and Natalie in particular is awkward as hell and very exhausting. She has crippling anxiety and insecurity that is, frankly, incredibly annoying to deal with. I found myself growing impatient with her throughout much of the book, which made me feel mean, especially since I remember being a lot like that at her age. Still, as someone nearly entering my last year of my 30s, it's a bit exasperating.
There's also the predictability of the story. I clocked one of the "twists" within the first few pages. The comedy of errors when it came to communication between Natalie and Nora at times (their phone convos while Natalie was home for Christmas being the big example) was so unrealistic, I could barely read on since my eyes were rolled so far back in my head.
And yet, I still gave this 4 stars. I think it's largely because all the things I disliked about it (and the people in it) felt very real, for better or worse. Natalie is the star here, of course, and she's written with much compassion and care. I've been where she is in this book (though not literally, thank goodness), and reading this, I just kept thinking how glad I am that I'm not anymore.
June 26, 2023
gorgeous writing. reminds me of younger and dumber by indigo de souza (in that both leave me screaming crying throwing up)
September 23, 2023
3.5
this is another classic coming-of-age story following natalie, an 18 year old who moves to toronto for university and begins a secret relationship with a mysterious older woman. it perfectly captures the confusion and intensity of going away to university and trying to figure out who you are as an adult. i found the whole ‘fish out of water’ experience of moving from a small town to studying in a big city aspect very relatable, it really reminded me of when i moved away for university.
the story felt a little rushed at the end for me, but i enjoyed the writing and the overall mood, so will be looking out for what this author does next.
this is another classic coming-of-age story following natalie, an 18 year old who moves to toronto for university and begins a secret relationship with a mysterious older woman. it perfectly captures the confusion and intensity of going away to university and trying to figure out who you are as an adult. i found the whole ‘fish out of water’ experience of moving from a small town to studying in a big city aspect very relatable, it really reminded me of when i moved away for university.
the story felt a little rushed at the end for me, but i enjoyed the writing and the overall mood, so will be looking out for what this author does next.
January 20, 2023
Sometimes a book makes you tear up at the end, not because it was devastating or moving or even necessarily sad, but because it was just so, so beautiful. This was that.
The Adult is a novel shrouded in innocence, a gentle and deeply intimate story, that follows Natalie - an 18 year old starting her first year at the University of Toronto. Moving away from her family and her small Ontario hometown for the first time, Natalie feels dislocated and homesick; throughout the book, we watch the ways the big city slowly estranges her from the life she has back home. This transformation is intensified by an inexplicable and consuming relationship she starts with a much older woman: Nora. Nora is mature and confident and established; she guides Natalie, teaches her, inspires her. The inherent power dynamic between them defines every interaction they have, and yet Natalie expresses nothing but tenderness. Is tenderness what Nora feels back, though? Do either of them feel love? Could they?
Natalie's descriptions of mundane things and the way she perceives the world is so enjoyable that it makes it hard not to get immediately sucked into her POV each time you pick up the book. She's cleverly observant, cripplingly unsure of herself, and naive. If these comments are reminding you of The Idiot by Elif Batuman, yes! If you liked The Idiot, I am confident you will like this. But this book is so much more than that too - the vulnerability of its narrator and the centrality of its delicate relationship reminded me a lot of All The Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami, and I think the mix of all this together creates a compassionate portrait of the desire and confusion and helplessness that defines a lot of first relationships and first forays into adulthood.
The Adult comes out in May 2023 and is definitely a book to watch out for!!
The Adult is a novel shrouded in innocence, a gentle and deeply intimate story, that follows Natalie - an 18 year old starting her first year at the University of Toronto. Moving away from her family and her small Ontario hometown for the first time, Natalie feels dislocated and homesick; throughout the book, we watch the ways the big city slowly estranges her from the life she has back home. This transformation is intensified by an inexplicable and consuming relationship she starts with a much older woman: Nora. Nora is mature and confident and established; she guides Natalie, teaches her, inspires her. The inherent power dynamic between them defines every interaction they have, and yet Natalie expresses nothing but tenderness. Is tenderness what Nora feels back, though? Do either of them feel love? Could they?
Natalie's descriptions of mundane things and the way she perceives the world is so enjoyable that it makes it hard not to get immediately sucked into her POV each time you pick up the book. She's cleverly observant, cripplingly unsure of herself, and naive. If these comments are reminding you of The Idiot by Elif Batuman, yes! If you liked The Idiot, I am confident you will like this. But this book is so much more than that too - the vulnerability of its narrator and the centrality of its delicate relationship reminded me a lot of All The Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami, and I think the mix of all this together creates a compassionate portrait of the desire and confusion and helplessness that defines a lot of first relationships and first forays into adulthood.
The Adult comes out in May 2023 and is definitely a book to watch out for!!
October 31, 2023
'the adult' is a "sad girl", coming-of-age novel following natalie as she moves to university. she develops a relationship with an older woman. it's primarily about this toxic relationship and the power disparity between the two, all while natalie is navigating stepping into the world for the first time
i can't explain why this worked so well for me. i didn't relate to it much; natalie is so different from me personality-wise that i found it difficult to resonate with her and the way she perceives the world, but this book still managed to impact me so deeply. it was gentle, tender, and intimate. with a soft but vivid style of writing, fischer depicts the all-consuming power of first loves and heartbreaks. she captures post-adolescent confusion and the clumsy awkwardness of entering adulthood perfectly.
this book was beautiful, i can see myself rereading it many times in the future <3 what a stunning surprise
i can't explain why this worked so well for me. i didn't relate to it much; natalie is so different from me personality-wise that i found it difficult to resonate with her and the way she perceives the world, but this book still managed to impact me so deeply. it was gentle, tender, and intimate. with a soft but vivid style of writing, fischer depicts the all-consuming power of first loves and heartbreaks. she captures post-adolescent confusion and the clumsy awkwardness of entering adulthood perfectly.
this book was beautiful, i can see myself rereading it many times in the future <3 what a stunning surprise
May 14, 2023
holy shit!!! this is one of those books where it feels like the author climbed into my brain and mined my thoughts, even though none of this stuff has happened to me. I loved it.
May 18, 2023
This was one of those books that’s hard to explain why I loved it. It was beautifully written, but that’s just the half of it. I never went to college but I see myself reflected in Natalie’s life there. I just really connected with it. It’s something you either get or you don’t and for me, I did.
*thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
*thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
August 24, 2023
BOOOOOORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
maybe one day i’ll learn to not be duped by a pretty cover
maybe one day i’ll learn to not be duped by a pretty cover
December 6, 2023
this was set at my university!! the characters walked where I walked!! they sat where I sat!!! I was so entranced by this story and I’m so grateful to have read it
March 14, 2023
I have been anxiously waiting to get approved to read this ARC since I requested it last December. As soon as I read the synopsis I knew that I would love this book.
And I was right, I did love this book. For so many reasons. It is set in Toronto, which is something that I always appreciate. There's something special about seeing your home depicted in a work of fiction. Natalie, the protagonist, is a first-year student at the University of Toronto, which is also my alma mater. Although it is not explicitly confirmed, I like to believe that Natalie lived at Victoria College and that she slept in the same dorm building and ate at the same dining hall that I once did.
The novel follows Natalie as she moves from a small town in northern Ontario to Toronto for university. The reader accompanies Natalie as she tries to navigate school, friendship, and relationships. At the beginning of the school year, Natalie is approached in a park by an older woman. Allured by her charm and self-assuredness, Natalie quickly falls for her, and the two begin a relationship. We then follow Natalie for the rest of the novel as she tries to carve out her own identity and find her footing in a new city while becoming increasingly co-dependent with her older partner.
The book was at once devastating and beautiful and I found myself becoming invested in Natalie's life and rooting for her success. I highly recommend this book to those who love sad girl fiction and authors like Sally Rooney, Elena Ferrante, Elif Batuman, Lilly King, and Melissa Broder.
In all, this book has everything - self-discovery, queer love, female friendships, mommy issues, and the Northrop Frye statue outside of the E.J. Pratt Library.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the e-ARC of this title.
And I was right, I did love this book. For so many reasons. It is set in Toronto, which is something that I always appreciate. There's something special about seeing your home depicted in a work of fiction. Natalie, the protagonist, is a first-year student at the University of Toronto, which is also my alma mater. Although it is not explicitly confirmed, I like to believe that Natalie lived at Victoria College and that she slept in the same dorm building and ate at the same dining hall that I once did.
The novel follows Natalie as she moves from a small town in northern Ontario to Toronto for university. The reader accompanies Natalie as she tries to navigate school, friendship, and relationships. At the beginning of the school year, Natalie is approached in a park by an older woman. Allured by her charm and self-assuredness, Natalie quickly falls for her, and the two begin a relationship. We then follow Natalie for the rest of the novel as she tries to carve out her own identity and find her footing in a new city while becoming increasingly co-dependent with her older partner.
The book was at once devastating and beautiful and I found myself becoming invested in Natalie's life and rooting for her success. I highly recommend this book to those who love sad girl fiction and authors like Sally Rooney, Elena Ferrante, Elif Batuman, Lilly King, and Melissa Broder.
In all, this book has everything - self-discovery, queer love, female friendships, mommy issues, and the Northrop Frye statue outside of the E.J. Pratt Library.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the e-ARC of this title.
August 23, 2023
i cried so hard i threw up. mainly cause natalie had a happy ending and i don’t.
August 16, 2023
it wasn’t something about the plot or characters, it was just something about the feeling that the book captured: the exhausting youth
so simple yet it hit idk why
November 23, 2023
Ugh… I knew who Nora was the minute she sat on that bench… predictable and dull.
December 13, 2024
gorgeous.
May 10, 2023
4.5/5 - Though this is another campus novel with a (sapphic) affair between a student and older woman, the execution and plot were really unexpected! It felt original and thoughtful, but the strong point for me was the beautiful writing.
February 4, 2023
(This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy provided by NetGalley.)
This is very good. It’s what it says on the tin — if it sounds like something you’d like, you’ll probably like it — but it also managed to surprise me. The title is apt — it’s a love story (of sorts), but it’s also very much a coming-of-age story about figuring out what it means to be an adult and how to be one. It has painfully/hilariously awkward freshman dorm socializing, and trying to figure out what kinds of alcohol you like, and going to a sex shop for the first time. I love all the things Natalie googles (“things to ask people you don’t know,” “how to date an older woman,” “people that date people older than them”), and the random and highly specific YouTube videos she watches (“crunchy chicken cooked in the middle of the forest (NO TALKING),” “12 *actually* good classic book recommendations”).
My main complaint: I love books about characters who are obsessed (romantically or otherwise) with another character, but as a reader I want to be able to see the appeal of the object of obsession, and in this book I couldn’t really. I saw the appeal of Oliver in Call Me By Your Name (which is not to say I’d condone that relationship in real life), and in The World Cannot Give I found Virginia fascinating (even though I’d hate her if she was a real person). But in this book I just didn’t find Nora that compelling a character, especially at the beginning. She’s a bit more interesting later on, when you realize the extent of the bad choices she’s made, but when the protagonist finds her most interesting is when I found her the least interesting.
A smaller complaint: I think this book portrays grant writers as much richer than they actually are! How on earth would a grant writer afford a nice house in an upscale neighborhood of one of the most expensive cities in North America? AND afford ??
But, overall, I really liked this. Now that I've finished it, I don't feel like reading any of my other books in progress, because I don't like any of them as much as I liked this one.
Recommended for fans of We Do What We Do in the Dark or My Education.
Rep: Main character and love interest are both cis women, no race specified. They are probably both lesbians, but they neither explicitly select nor explicitly reject any sexual orientation labels for themselves.
Content notes: Infertility. Stalking. Depressive episode (or similar experience). Sex scenes (not super explicit but not closed-door either).
This is very good. It’s what it says on the tin — if it sounds like something you’d like, you’ll probably like it — but it also managed to surprise me. The title is apt — it’s a love story (of sorts), but it’s also very much a coming-of-age story about figuring out what it means to be an adult and how to be one. It has painfully/hilariously awkward freshman dorm socializing, and trying to figure out what kinds of alcohol you like, and going to a sex shop for the first time. I love all the things Natalie googles (“things to ask people you don’t know,” “how to date an older woman,” “people that date people older than them”), and the random and highly specific YouTube videos she watches (“crunchy chicken cooked in the middle of the forest (NO TALKING),” “12 *actually* good classic book recommendations”).
My main complaint: I love books about characters who are obsessed (romantically or otherwise) with another character, but as a reader I want to be able to see the appeal of the object of obsession, and in this book I couldn’t really. I saw the appeal of Oliver in Call Me By Your Name (which is not to say I’d condone that relationship in real life), and in The World Cannot Give I found Virginia fascinating (even though I’d hate her if she was a real person). But in this book I just didn’t find Nora that compelling a character, especially at the beginning. She’s a bit more interesting later on, when you realize the extent of the bad choices she’s made, but when the protagonist finds her most interesting is when I found her the least interesting.
A smaller complaint: I think this book portrays grant writers as much richer than they actually are! How on earth would a grant writer afford a nice house in an upscale neighborhood of one of the most expensive cities in North America? AND afford ??
But, overall, I really liked this. Now that I've finished it, I don't feel like reading any of my other books in progress, because I don't like any of them as much as I liked this one.
Recommended for fans of We Do What We Do in the Dark or My Education.
Rep: Main character and love interest are both cis women, no race specified. They are probably both lesbians, but they neither explicitly select nor explicitly reject any sexual orientation labels for themselves.
Content notes: Infertility. Stalking. Depressive episode (or similar experience). Sex scenes (not super explicit but not closed-door either).
May 22, 2023
4,5/5
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending a review copy!
This is a sapphic 'sad hot girl' literary fiction pick definitely worth adding to your tbr this summer. It follows 18-year-old college freshman Natalie as she starts her first year of university in Toronto and is consumed by an illicit affair with an older woman.
My favourite part was the coolness and slightly detached introspection of Natalie's narrative voice. I found myself transported back to the time in my life when I was fresh into adulthood, still a blank canvas trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted. I couldn't help but feel for Natalie as she learns the difference between love and obsession—a lesson that feels like a sort of universal right of passage into adulthood.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending a review copy!
This is a sapphic 'sad hot girl' literary fiction pick definitely worth adding to your tbr this summer. It follows 18-year-old college freshman Natalie as she starts her first year of university in Toronto and is consumed by an illicit affair with an older woman.
My favourite part was the coolness and slightly detached introspection of Natalie's narrative voice. I found myself transported back to the time in my life when I was fresh into adulthood, still a blank canvas trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted. I couldn't help but feel for Natalie as she learns the difference between love and obsession—a lesson that feels like a sort of universal right of passage into adulthood.
Shelved as 'dnf'
April 23, 2024I'm disappointed because I was hoping I might like this as much as WE DO WHAT WE DO IN THE DARK by Michelle Hart, a book I loved about a first year university student in a relationship with an older woman, as much as that story has been told many times. I especially thought I would appreciate it being Canadian (It's set in Toronto).
But I'm finding it overwritten and a bit pretentious, almost too formulaic in a literary fiction kind of way? Like, the first person perspective sounds like someone who has an MFA, not an 18-year-old who just arrived in the big city.
I think I might have loved this if I'd been able to read it closer to the protagonist’s age, though.
But I'm finding it overwritten and a bit pretentious, almost too formulaic in a literary fiction kind of way? Like, the first person perspective sounds like someone who has an MFA, not an 18-year-old who just arrived in the big city.
I think I might have loved this if I'd been able to read it closer to the protagonist’s age, though.
August 17, 2023
A new all-time favorite!!! 💚
July 6, 2023
this fell flat for me. The twist was not much of a twist, I could see it coming from the very beginning of the book. I felt like the story telling was very fragmented out of laziness but would be used to justify some artistic decision - for instance, later in the book, suddenly we don’t hear from the main character’s parents ever again. this felt lazy to me, but the artistic decision defence could be made that it implies the main character has outgrown that part of her life, therefore it is no longer included in the narrative. I liked the story but I wish it went deeper and tied up loose ends/didn’t leave so many plot points hanging
March 21, 2023
This book hit me in a way I didn't expect - it's a tender reflection on queerness and identity, and that feeling when you're a teenager that believes you've already seen the world for what it is. It made me feel scrutinized and naïve and the language throughout was absolutely beautiful. Natalie is a fascinating character, and her relationship with Nora was real in a way that sent me spiraling back to being eighteen all over again. Can't recommend it enough, especially if you're a fan of books like We Do What We Do in the Dark!
August 14, 2023
My only qualm with this book was the unrealistic idea (or maybe it’s just my jealousy) that it’s that easy to just find other queer people without awkwardly trying to hint at figuring out if the other is queer first? Otherwise. Excellent beautiful book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 906 reviews