sapphic_library 's review for:

Making It by Laura Kay

4.0

emotional reflective 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

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MAKING IT is a heartfelt and relatable story about isobel "issy" bailey, a girl whose life consists of her part-time job at a pottery studio, her mom, and her pet chinchilla, abigail, and the art she makes of abigail. when elizabeth staggs, a famous artist whose work issy loves, shows up at her house and offers her a job in london, issy packs up her life and abigail's cage and moves into a flat in london with three quirky roommates. moving to a new city is no small feat, and issy attempts to balance her depression along with her new job working with elizabeth, her burgeoning crush on her roommate robin, and life in a new city. 

while i didn't immediately connect with issy and her story, the more i read, the more i related to her struggles and anxieties. beyond a romance novel, this is a story about mental health, identity and community, and i found it so heartwarming and emotional. issy was a very realistic heroine—she was kind of a mess in a lot of ways, she fucked up, she struggled, but that made her all the more relatable to me because she was deeply human. i loved seeing how her relationships with her roommates and her friends developed, how she found herself and became more comfortable with who she was, and how she grew throughout the course of the book.

read if you like:
- found family
- mental health rep
- pet chinchillas

thanks to netgalley and vintage for the advanced copy! MAKING IT comes out july 2nd.