Reviews

Thirsty: A Novel by Jas Hammonds

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esmewasreading's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very well written! The harder topics were handled with grace and care. It's a very relatable book. I think this could make a good book for high schools since it brings a good conversation about, toxic relationships and addiction. I enjoyed the characters (other than the ones were meant to dislike iykyk). They were all very well developed and felt relatable. I was hooked from the first chapter, the book is very fast paced with an easy to follow plot. I need to check out 'We Deserve Monuments'. The Narrator was fantastic I really liked their voice. Side note S/O to the stunning cover for this book.

This book will be triggering for some people so please read the full trigger list before reading!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an advance listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

raebereading's review

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kimiloughlin's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.25

A really cutting look at alcoholism and dependency in a teen. I really enjoyed the exploration of the main character's mixed background and how her family's comments and actions have affected her view on her identity. Exploration of class and the ickiness of club culture (both yacht clubs and university clubs). Jas Hammonds cuts deep, as always, in this one and it will have you reeling for days!

caitiep92's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

5.0

serareadthat's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If i could give it more stars, I would. Y’all have your tissues on deck for this one!!

Content Warnings

blakeandbooks's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off this review by saying that I completely agree with @bookish.millennial that it was an absolute privilege to read this story. Go read her review—she always has the best insight and graphics about her book reviews. The one about Thirsty is no exception.

We Deserve Monuments was one of my favorite reads of 2023. Hammonds writes in a way that causes you to hold your breath—to peel back later after layer of her characters and their flaws, struggles, strengths + see them for what they are: PEOPLE. I love how complicated and vulnerable they write their characters. Being a human being is so complex and Hammonds writes in a way that makes you face these complexities head on as the reader. The author’s note at the end of the book RUINED ME 😭🖤

Blake (I love that her name is Blake because so is my middle name hehehe) has just graduated high school, dating her girlfriend of 4 years, and is working on being accepted into the Serena Society of her new college. As the trials to slowly become members escalate, Blake comes face to face with her problem—alcoholism.

Annette was an incredible friend to Blake, even when they fought. You need people to tell you when you are on the path to self-destruction. You need people who will tell you they are worried about you and that you need to take actions and face the problem. Blake struggles with this realization/addiction throughout the entire book. My heart broke for Blake over and over again as she worked through so much in her life: upholding her new persona, her resentment towards her parents, her desperation to be “fine” in all aspects of life, and keep her relationship in the spotlight. When Annette tells her how means she is to herself when she is drunk, I could not help but be emotional 😭😭😭

The ending of this book was just so so so so good. I cannot express enough how much I loved this book.

Highly, HIGHLY recommend this one, friends. Read it on 5/14/24!

Content Warnings

melsuke's review

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challenging hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

kemorgan4's review

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Right from the beginning, Blake captivated me. She has anxiety that she mutes by drinking with her incredibly rich girlfriend and all of the country club teens. Her girlfriend, Ella, and their best friend, Nettie, plan to go to the same college in the fall. They also plan on rushing the ultra-exclusive, super-secret, girls-would-kill-to-get-in sorority for women of color, the Serena Society. With Ella always toting around Blake in high society, Blake finds that people seem to like her more when she’s drunk. Blake also feels like her girlfriend loves her more when she’s drunk and not when she’s being a “nervous Nettie” coined by the girls.

Blake keeps going hard, literally. With micro aggressions within her family, her own anxieties intensify the further she gets along in the rushing process. Blake does sketchy things, but she doesn’t have a problem..does she? Her girlfriend loves “Big Bad Bee”.

This trio of girls really clicked. The raw vulnerability and reality of Blake’s life is too real to count. I was sucked in by the beautiful prose, unwavering dialogue, and a shy girl who is just trying to find her place in the world.

This is a dark and sparkling novel. Pick it up when it comes out.

5/5 stars. This book made me fall in love with YA novels again.

Content Warnings

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

This is the story of the summer before 18-year-old Blake Brenner (biracial Black & white) goes to college with her longtime girlfriend Ella (biracial Filipina & Black) & their best friend, Annette, who is recently reeling over her mom leaving Virginia to pursue her career in NYC. Ella is the epitome of wealthy elite, being a legacy kid at their upcoming college and in the secret Serena Society that Ella's mom is an advisor for now. Meanwhile, Blake puts more and more distance between her and her family, especially her white mom who never put in the effort to learn what is necessary to raise a biracial Black child.

Blake's family is *not* wealthy, and this comes up a lot as the three besties rush for the Serena Society all summer, especially under the scrutinizing eye of Roxanne, a current Serena Society member. Blake confronts all the things she hates about herself: her behavior when she drinks, her family's class and lack of status, her white mom, her relationship with Ella, and more. Side characters explore their gender identities, familial dynamics, and more, and each character is layered, and cleverly nuanced.

Okay, as to not spoil this book for you, but to pitch it to you, and convince you to read it, I know that nothing I say will do this book justice. It is a privilege to have read it, and to have had the physical book in my hands, I'm serious!!!! To put it quite simply: This is one of the best books I have ever read. Jas Hammonds is a master of their craft, and I am quite simply in awe of their talent. I genuinely feel so lucky that I got to read an ARC of this?! Blake interrogates her feelings, both about herself and those surrounding her; she makes messy, painful decisions out of insecurity, spite, and fear; and though you may question her choices at times, no one is harder on Blake than Blake herself.

This delved deep into the shame, regret, pain, agony, grief, and self-hatred that one feels in the midst of alcoholism and addiction, but never painted them as a villain. Blake was just.... human. She was still worthy of redemption, of forgiveness, of hope, of something more. She still deserved better from those who claimed to care for her. Damn, this book wrecked me but then gently nudged me to remind me that it would be okay, and to believe in and root for Blake.

Some other things that stood out to me that are kind of spoilers, enjoy these unstructured thoughts:

Ella's motivations were driven by this need to uphold the status that was already placed onto her perfect lil' head at birth, but I found her character to be so fascinating. It shows that you do not have to be white to uphold systems that do not serve people of color, even if they are seemingly targeted towards them? Like the Serena Society is specifically for young women of color, but it also perpetuated problematic messaging that you needed to drink, be friends with the "right" people, and have the right clothes / job / partner / etc. in order to fit in. That's just subscribing to what colonialism and white supremacy taught us, and Ella makes decisions based on upholding Black excellence, when it is only depriving herself of genuine, authentic connections with herself and others; and it's actively harming those around her who are struggling. Wild. JH, you making Ella half-Filipina was the right move because Ella's people-pleasing, gaslighting, toxic positivity, and fear of not delivering perfection was *wildly* authentic.
The conversation between Blake and her mom about her comment that Mariah Carey was "only half Black" was a reckoning. I appreciated that Blake held her mom accountable for microaggressions with that as a salient example, but still gave her the chance to do better. Blake seemingly wrote her mom off with Ella's influence, as Ella called Blake's mom "so hopelessly white," and like sure, that can be true. However, you can also name those feelings and invite your mom to do better if you feel like the relationship is salvageable, and instead, Ella just posited her mom as perfect and Blake's mom as irredeemable, which is interesting because Ella actually felt almost irredeemable to me for a lot of this book (but she isn't, she just needs to go on her own unlearning journey).
I fear I may never recover from the carnival family day where Blake just left. I cried and shook my head, I yelled at the book, and I got such deep secondhand-shame. JH's writing is phenomenal. Stellar. Unbelievable. I could feel the heartache through the page. Still recovering. Still tearing up thinking about this scene! It is indelibly seared into my brain forever.

I am simmering in the pure wonder that I have as I ruminate on how JH does what they do. I'm speechless at how moved I was by this. I sobbed into my pillow, took breaks to hug the book, and whispered, "Blake baby, noooooo" so many times. I cannot properly express how monumentally this book affected me (okay wait, do you get it? Because JH's other book is named "We Deserve Monuments" ?! GET IT?! okay, I'll stop being corny)

Check content warnings below, and take care while reading.

Content Warnings

moreadsnrambles's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was incredible! I went through such an emotional journey from devastated to hopeful. I found myself really connecting with different pieces of the characters and rooting for Blake.

The premise of the story was so interesting, with the inclusion of a secret society reminiscent of Greek life and the pledging process. Jas did an incredible job creating an intricate story that not only makes you feel for the characters but also touches on the effects wealth inequality, racism, and mental health issues can have on people.

I absolutely recommend this book to folks who enjoy queer and coming-of-age stories that center mental health issues.

Content Warnings

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