DNF 54%
Great cover. I’m always excited to hear about novels involving trans women. I found Edith’s previous relationships with their lesbian friends, Tessa and Valerie, to be an interesting aspect to explore. Unfortunately there’s nothing keeping the audiences attention. I don’t know where the story is headed.

It’s difficult to pass impartial judgement on autobiographical theater. If a playwright has written a play about their own life, then I have to assume the directors and producers and editors and agents in sure have a hard time saying “oh sorry this scene doesn’t quite work” when it’s a scene that the author literally experienced in their very own life. “Oh this dialogue sounds weird” okay well someone actually said it. Autofiction is the same slippery beast. If it’s you, your literal life, how can someone apply the same editorial lens as a piece of purer fiction? Katherine Packert Burke’s debut is a tangly fun read about an interwoven group of friends reckoning with their pasts/life changes/general messiness. The feelings were raw, the writing was lovely, the characters were authentically frustrating and endearing. However, I do wish a more heavy handed editor had chopped away at this debut a bit more. Did all dialogue need to be in italics? For what purposes? It seemed like a style-for-style’s-sake choice. Did we need to know every song and artist the main character was listening to? What do we gain from that? It may be /accurate/, but was it necessary? I love Sondheim, but did we need plot summaries of so many of his shows? Chop chop chop! Burke’s voice shines brightest in dialogue, conversations between friends, digging deep into the minds of her characters. I will be excited to read more of her fiction. Her Twitter is very funny. I do love that the book is exactly 272 pages long, as all good books are. For fans of Idlewild (not just because Thomas blurbed this book), Maggie Nelson, having a personal identity crisis because of the evolving identities of people from your past, Greta & Valdin by Rebecca Reilly, and owning (and actually reading) the Finishing the Hat box set.

Thank you to Norton and Netgalley for the ARC!

The friendships we form in college create a special bond that lasts a lifetime. Edith forges these connections while navigating her journey into womanhood. This novel offers valuable insights into the deep bonds of friendships and relationships, and the complexities that can arise from these connections.

What an amazing debut. Burke's writing is beautiful and grips the reader in the ways it needs to. This book explores womanhood and all that goes into it while following the stories of three different woman, and you are transported right into their lives. This book was such an impactful read, and I think it shows that Burke is an author to look out for in the future. These characters are well-rounded and real as they struggle with what life throws at them while also learning to live. This was a great read