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briannanorm's review against another edition
2.0
I was really into this at the beginning but it lost me about half way. I guess as expected some stories were super good and some were really boring. The good ones just seemed few and far between.
adam_armstrong_yu's review against another edition
5.0
While writing my thesis, I'd decided to go back and reread some of my favorite essay collections, and this was at the top of my list. I feel so close to this book. It might seem minor, but there were so many tiny details describing where the author was from that absolutely struck me because they'd also been details in my own life, such as Coconuts, the music and movies store, and Freihofer’s cookies. The essays in this book recount moments in a life consumed by self-loathing, loneliness, talent, ambition, desperation, not caring, only caring, hurting, healing, until finally settling on a note tinged with hope, that a way through the mess might be possible. It’s about finding yourself at the intersection between wanting a home and not knowing where that might be, wanting to trust in yourself but not having a firm grasp on who that person is. Sometimes I found myself stepping away from the book because I identified with portions so strongly that I was nearly breathless, shuddering in recognition. This book will always have a place on my desk while I'm writing.
leighbeevee's review against another edition
5.0
I read this in less than 24 hours. A lot of times, I'll skip an essay or two in a collection if they don't grab me. I didn't skip any this time. So good. I loved every bit.
terrimarshall's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book of essays by a 20-something living in NY. She’s a good writer. She talks about doing drugs a lot, and that made me sad.
zoethydear1850's review against another edition
5.0
Messy, heartbreaking, fun, and wild- very good stuff, people.
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
2.0
New York naughty white girl personal essays.
Maybe that's too harsh but I had much higher expectations for this based on other reviews and blurbs and I was sorely disappointed. I do read a fair amount of essays, so I could have reached my cap for "wowie I was a wild one" recollections or "this is how I (almost) met a famous person" anecdotes or "isn't my anxiety the worst?" navel-gazes. I wanted less introspection and more connection from these essays. In my view, personal essays use the personal details to connect to wider themes. I'm not asking for a treatise on the human condition, but a little more global perspective-taking.
reads somewhat like
Sloane Crosby's NYC intelli-smarm, Lena Denham's narcissism and Mindy Kaling's arbitrarily organized books.
I preferred
Scaachi Koul's reflections in One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter and Samantha Irby's dark wit in We Are Never Meeting In Real Life (and in her other writings).
My take-away is that I should check that the essays are somewhat personal, somewhat political or cultural before I commit myself.
Maybe that's too harsh but I had much higher expectations for this based on other reviews and blurbs and I was sorely disappointed. I do read a fair amount of essays, so I could have reached my cap for "wowie I was a wild one" recollections or "this is how I (almost) met a famous person" anecdotes or "isn't my anxiety the worst?" navel-gazes. I wanted less introspection and more connection from these essays. In my view, personal essays use the personal details to connect to wider themes. I'm not asking for a treatise on the human condition, but a little more global perspective-taking.
reads somewhat like
Sloane Crosby's NYC intelli-smarm, Lena Denham's narcissism and Mindy Kaling's arbitrarily organized books.
I preferred
Scaachi Koul's reflections in One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter and Samantha Irby's dark wit in We Are Never Meeting In Real Life (and in her other writings).
My take-away is that I should check that the essays are somewhat personal, somewhat political or cultural before I commit myself.
kaileycool's review against another edition
4.0
Read this by the pool, which is the perfect setting for feeling bad for/about yourself and reading about someone else who also feels bad for/about herself.