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maremi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
mdeluca's review
4.0
This book is set around 2008, but is still very relatable in 2024. I appreciated reading all about the funny and cringey parts of navigating your 30’s when life is no longer what you planned and you don’t know what’s next. I’m glad I found this book when I did (turning 32 soon!), but any woman can relate to it.
rebelqueen's review
4.0
So funny. I really enjoyed Zoe. Rob is the worst. Dating sucks. But it can also be funny.
marvsbooks's review
5.0
My Thirty-First Year (and other calamities) was an amazing, heartwarming, soul-searching, heartbreaking, cringy, funny, and meaningful chronicle of Zoe’s life.
As a liberal Jewish feminist who met her now-husband on jDate (a few years prior to this book’s setting, but not too many), who’s also a lawyer, had an abortion, and went on TOO MANY bad first dates…this book was an absolute home run for me. I couldn’t love it more. I’ve never (NEVER!) felt so seen or represented in literature in my life. (Though to be fair, my husband is the only U2 fan in our house!)
Everything in this book tracks like real life as fiction. The unpleasant, the meaningful, the heartbreaking, the disastrous…it was all well-written and came alive in the pages. I didn’t really get the letters to U2, but I’ve also never been one to keep a journal or diary. I assume there’s a correlation. I loved Zoe’s group of friends, and their eternal support of her as she lived her roller coaster of a life the best she could. I loved the portrayal of peripheral characters outside of the primary friend group (especially her boss!) because of how quirky and nuanced they were. And more than anything, I loved her journey and where she ended up. (And I was cheering out loud when she walked out on the date where the guy had no idea who Obama or McCain were!)
Read if you like: strong feminist leads, women’s rights, standing up for what matters, democracy, feminism, Roe, strong friendships, finding yourself, and a lot of awkward dating situations.
Thank you to the author for a gifted copy! I’m honored to have been able to read this.
As a liberal Jewish feminist who met her now-husband on jDate (a few years prior to this book’s setting, but not too many), who’s also a lawyer, had an abortion, and went on TOO MANY bad first dates…this book was an absolute home run for me. I couldn’t love it more. I’ve never (NEVER!) felt so seen or represented in literature in my life. (Though to be fair, my husband is the only U2 fan in our house!)
Everything in this book tracks like real life as fiction. The unpleasant, the meaningful, the heartbreaking, the disastrous…it was all well-written and came alive in the pages. I didn’t really get the letters to U2, but I’ve also never been one to keep a journal or diary. I assume there’s a correlation. I loved Zoe’s group of friends, and their eternal support of her as she lived her roller coaster of a life the best she could. I loved the portrayal of peripheral characters outside of the primary friend group (especially her boss!) because of how quirky and nuanced they were. And more than anything, I loved her journey and where she ended up. (And I was cheering out loud when she walked out on the date where the guy had no idea who Obama or McCain were!)
Read if you like: strong feminist leads, women’s rights, standing up for what matters, democracy, feminism, Roe, strong friendships, finding yourself, and a lot of awkward dating situations.
Thank you to the author for a gifted copy! I’m honored to have been able to read this.
mhoffrob's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to the audio version: had a hard time with the narrator at first -but got used to her slightly nasal voice eventually. Face paced story, entertaining, warning for profanity and adult/sexual situations.
magnoliapigeonbookblurbs's review
4.0
My Thirty-First Year (And Other Calamities) is a brutally honest book surrounding post-divorce reentry into the dating scene and everything that comes along with it. I love the strong familial bonds, great friendships, outrageous mishaps and the true reflection of our MC. Great read!
*This book is a journey and tackles some hard subjects(check TW before reading).
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
*This book is a journey and tackles some hard subjects(check TW before reading).
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
cjamison0151's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
eves_reads's review
3.0
3.5 stars!
Zoe is the worst in some of the best and most relatable of ways. Her life is horrifying and hilarious, maddening and mortifying, humorous and all happening to her and at her and around her in all of the ways that made me double check that this was a fictional character and not biographical.
Written with cringe-worthy authenticity Zoe’s reality is at once both depressing and hopeful. So many times I saw a person I could simultaneously be friends with or also potentially be.
This book is all the things it promises to be and more, and I enjoyed every cringe filled “Why though?” moment just as much as I laughed at each calamitous event as they arose.
Zoe is the worst in some of the best and most relatable of ways. Her life is horrifying and hilarious, maddening and mortifying, humorous and all happening to her and at her and around her in all of the ways that made me double check that this was a fictional character and not biographical.
Written with cringe-worthy authenticity Zoe’s reality is at once both depressing and hopeful. So many times I saw a person I could simultaneously be friends with or also potentially be.
This book is all the things it promises to be and more, and I enjoyed every cringe filled “Why though?” moment just as much as I laughed at each calamitous event as they arose.