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katieelise602 's review for:
The Roxy Letters
by Mary Pauline Lowry
ARC kindly provided by Simon & Schuster via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Wow, I can honestly say that this book is unlike any I’ve ever read. Quirky, full of heart, and sometimes just plain weird, diving into the world and mind of Roxy was an experience.
So what is this book about?
Twenty-eight year old Roxy is in a slump; after a rough break-up and betrayal over a year ago, she feels romantically and artistically blocked. To make matters worse, she's still working in her menial deli maid job at WholeFoods after 3 years when she was sure that she'd be making her art full time by now. Oh, and her ex-boyfriend is now her new roommate. That's not awkward, right? A proud Austin native and lover of all the weird that comes with it, Roxy finds a new passion when a beloved local business gets replaced by a Lululemon, sparking a fire in her that starts her personal fight against the gentrification in her hometown. Roxy, along with her two best friends, decide to tackle this fight head on, and along the way just might find new friendships, healing, and even love.
The Roxy Letters is the kind of book that throws you in head-first (literally) into the crazy brain and life of our main character. Written in letters to her new roommate / ex-boyfriend, Roxy chronicles her struggles at work, her romantic failings, and so much more. And while the letter formatting of the book was difficult to adjust to at first, I ultimately began to enjoy seeing everything from Roxy's biased POV, even if it left me wanting to know more.
If you aren't familiar with Austin, this book gives you an inside look at all the beautifully-weird people that make the town so unique: there are quirky local businesses, offerings made to Venus and Mars, sex cults, and so much more that make every adventure and twist of Roxy's life so hilarious, and it'll leave you so curious to find out just what will happen next.
What I love so much about this book was the focus that it put on positive female relationships. One could argue that this book is about Roxy finding love, or getting back in touch with her artistic side, or even saving Austin, but I would argue that this book is first and foremost about friendship. The book begins with Roxy down on her luck in every way, and while it takes us the whole book to wade our way through each aspect of her life, it is her new friendship that starts the book off beautifully and spring-boards Roxy into her adventures. The consistent love, support, and growth that comes out of the multiple female friendships in this book is so empowering, and speaks to the true healing that can be found in a good friend. If it were up to me, I would've loved to see these friendships be focused on even more in this book.
"There is so much cultural hype about boyfriends and husbands, but I am starting to think that having good girlfriends really is the greatest thing on earth"
Unfortunately, sometimes these beautiful relationships took a backseat to Roxy's quest for love (or just a reprieve from her year-long man drought). While lots of points surrounding this plot led to many hilarious encounters, I felt like this plot was the most confusing, mainly because there were just so many men. Add that to the fact that the letters themselves (while they eventually just become a diary and she doesn't give them to her ex) are written to her ex-boyfriend, and you've got a very convoluted love map. Yet even though this part of the plot was a bit messy, it was incredibly relatable as well. Roxy's struggles with love and sex are the struggles of so many millennials that you can't help but nod your head along and say "yep, I've been there!"
All in all, this book leads you on an Austin-weird journey through Roxy's life that will make you laugh, warm your heart, and give you hope. Buckle up for a lot of hilarious shenanigans, soul-searching, epiphanies, and beer.
Wow, I can honestly say that this book is unlike any I’ve ever read. Quirky, full of heart, and sometimes just plain weird, diving into the world and mind of Roxy was an experience.
So what is this book about?
Twenty-eight year old Roxy is in a slump; after a rough break-up and betrayal over a year ago, she feels romantically and artistically blocked. To make matters worse, she's still working in her menial deli maid job at WholeFoods after 3 years when she was sure that she'd be making her art full time by now. Oh, and her ex-boyfriend is now her new roommate. That's not awkward, right? A proud Austin native and lover of all the weird that comes with it, Roxy finds a new passion when a beloved local business gets replaced by a Lululemon, sparking a fire in her that starts her personal fight against the gentrification in her hometown. Roxy, along with her two best friends, decide to tackle this fight head on, and along the way just might find new friendships, healing, and even love.
The Roxy Letters is the kind of book that throws you in head-first (literally) into the crazy brain and life of our main character. Written in letters to her new roommate / ex-boyfriend, Roxy chronicles her struggles at work, her romantic failings, and so much more. And while the letter formatting of the book was difficult to adjust to at first, I ultimately began to enjoy seeing everything from Roxy's biased POV, even if it left me wanting to know more.
If you aren't familiar with Austin, this book gives you an inside look at all the beautifully-weird people that make the town so unique: there are quirky local businesses, offerings made to Venus and Mars, sex cults, and so much more that make every adventure and twist of Roxy's life so hilarious, and it'll leave you so curious to find out just what will happen next.
What I love so much about this book was the focus that it put on positive female relationships. One could argue that this book is about Roxy finding love, or getting back in touch with her artistic side, or even saving Austin, but I would argue that this book is first and foremost about friendship. The book begins with Roxy down on her luck in every way, and while it takes us the whole book to wade our way through each aspect of her life, it is her new friendship that starts the book off beautifully and spring-boards Roxy into her adventures. The consistent love, support, and growth that comes out of the multiple female friendships in this book is so empowering, and speaks to the true healing that can be found in a good friend. If it were up to me, I would've loved to see these friendships be focused on even more in this book.
"There is so much cultural hype about boyfriends and husbands, but I am starting to think that having good girlfriends really is the greatest thing on earth"
Unfortunately, sometimes these beautiful relationships took a backseat to Roxy's quest for love (or just a reprieve from her year-long man drought). While lots of points surrounding this plot led to many hilarious encounters, I felt like this plot was the most confusing, mainly because there were just so many men. Add that to the fact that the letters themselves (while they eventually just become a diary and she doesn't give them to her ex) are written to her ex-boyfriend, and you've got a very convoluted love map. Yet even though this part of the plot was a bit messy, it was incredibly relatable as well. Roxy's struggles with love and sex are the struggles of so many millennials that you can't help but nod your head along and say "yep, I've been there!"
All in all, this book leads you on an Austin-weird journey through Roxy's life that will make you laugh, warm your heart, and give you hope. Buckle up for a lot of hilarious shenanigans, soul-searching, epiphanies, and beer.