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emilymhb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
5.0
I think I chose to read this book at the perfect intersection of my life, at nineteen years old after the start of a New Year. Nothing felt more right that to have the first words I read in my year to be such open, raw, and personal anecdotes from a woman who knows about love in all of its forms. I am so excited to revisit this book at 21, at 25, at 28, and at the dreaded age of 30 to see what else I can mine from this lovely author’s words. Thanks Doll.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Sexual content
tenderrebellions's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
- very much was a love letter to her best friend - I appreciated that this book didn't center romantic love
- at times felt like the alcohol and hook ups were a bit glorified. It was described as self-destructive inone sentence - and then like a great adventure and loads of fun in the following paragraph.
- While reading I got all the details about the spiral into anxiety and a dark mental place. But the journey into a healthy life didn't receive as much attention in the story. I was left feeling like the dark times were the best ones, they were the adventure - everything that follows just a footnote. As someone who sometimes struggles with not glorifying their own turbulent past this wasn't a great read.
- the book does a beautiful job at capturing the "is this all there is"-feelings when nearing your 30s. And the feelings of jealousy / being left behind by all your couple friends and the loneliness that can sometimes come with being single.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Alcohol
kajasversion's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
I liked the familiar feeling writting styles but it often felt like she was narrating a romanticised version of her life. The recipes in between were not necessary and completely unrelated to the story. So were the letters that i am still confused about since they had no connection to the life of the narrator plus i have no idea whether they were sarcastic and overly sincere for a reason. I however quite enjoyed the overlying message that love female friendships give is far greater and more permanent than any other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Eating disorder
herjournalofbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Drug use, and Eating disorder
carizwerg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
madelinedalton's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Dolly Alderton’s writing has absolutely knocked my socks off once again. What an incredible talent. It’s like she crawled inside my brain and put some of my deepest, gnawing feelings into words. Some of those feelings I didn’t even know I had—she just laid them out on the page and revealed them to me. I feel so seen by this woman and will definitely be re-reading both this book and Ghosts sometime next year.
This isn’t a five star book because: 1) I felt it didn’t hit its stride till around ~80 pages in and 2) there’s a teensy bit of casual fatphobia in here that I didn’t particularly like (such as her friend Farly loving reality TV programs like My 600 Lb. Life, except it was the UK equivalent which I can’t remember the name of). Also, I found myself deeply relating to the “Being a Bit Thin, Being a Bit Fat” chapter quite a bit, but I wonder if there was some fatphobic stuff in there that I couldn’t clock because I’m not a fat person. I’d be curious to hear how fat readers feel about this book.
I think this book has a really specific target demographic. All the negative reviews I’ve seen have been from folks outside that demographic. I am squarely within the target demographic for this book, so I loved it. Cannot recommend this enough if you’re a 20-something or 30-something woman!!
This isn’t a five star book because: 1) I felt it didn’t hit its stride till around ~80 pages in and 2) there’s a teensy bit of casual fatphobia in here that I didn’t particularly like (such as her friend Farly loving reality TV programs like My 600 Lb. Life, except it was the UK equivalent which I can’t remember the name of). Also, I found myself deeply relating to the “Being a Bit Thin, Being a Bit Fat” chapter quite a bit, but I wonder if there was some fatphobic stuff in there that I couldn’t clock because I’m not a fat person. I’d be curious to hear how fat readers feel about this book.
I think this book has a really specific target demographic. All the negative reviews I’ve seen have been from folks outside that demographic. I am squarely within the target demographic for this book, so I loved it. Cannot recommend this enough if you’re a 20-something or 30-something woman!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Fatphobia
k_sara's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use
eralbesu's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t expect to relate to the author as much as I did. The glimpses into the author’s existential dread and attachment styles in relationships, was a small reminder for me to get back into therapy lol.
The chapter titled Thirty hit the nail on the head about the feeling of entering your 30s and missing the compassion and grace offered to you in your 20s.
Loved reading about her relationship with her friends.
The chapter titled Thirty hit the nail on the head about the feeling of entering your 30s and missing the compassion and grace offered to you in your 20s.
Loved reading about her relationship with her friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use
katielou22's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Eating disorder
ryanbada's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use and Suicidal thoughts