A review by paulafschr
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

3.0

i really don't get why this book is so popular. not in the sense of great (goodreads) reviews or whatever, but in the sense that it was published in 2016 and i still see it all over booktube/bookstagram/booktok. sweetbitter is just a (slightly worse) version of every other "smalltown-girl-goes-nyc"-story that we've all seen/read/heard a hundred times by now. and i get it - it's supposed to be a bit different, because of the food and restaurant descriptions or whatever and because she falls in with these complicated, edgy, flawed people... but let's be honest. they're just losers. sorry, but jake is a 30 year-old bartender (the flag seriously doesn't get redder than that) who forgets to change his underwear days on end (i'm not making this up, it literally says it in the book). how can anyone romanticize that???

the writing was beautiful tho!

still, all i can say is: if you're interested in this book, just watch the trailer for the tv show. it'll be more entertaining and it'll save you a lot of time.