I was very intrigued by the premise of this story and I found Peppa to be an interesting character who I grew to love the more I read.

It took me a while to find my feet with this one, but I loved the early 2000s' NYC vibes, and the 'inner voice of Virginia Woolf' who Peppa takes courage and guidance from in her mind, was a great touch.

Whilst there are many heavy topics such as mental health issues and a dysfunctional family dynamic, it was actually a lightish read which still made me smile on many occasions.

I think this was a lovely coming of age novel that many will enjoy.

Butler has crafted an interesting story about a young woman dealing with the pressures of family, work, love, and coming of age in NYC. The story flows quickly, and the main character makes you think about life and how we get to where we are later. The experiences that shape us. A great book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I had great expectations for this story, but "Dear Virginia, Wait for Me" turned out to be just an OK read. It wasn't bad, but it didn't quite live up to what I had hoped for. While it didn't completely captivate me, there were aspects that I appreciated. I liked Peppa's voice, her perspective, and her growing hope for the future. There was also a lot of strength in her weaknesses, which made her a complex, lovely character. The setting was also great! Y2K in New York seemed perfect. The first chapters provided a great starting point, but then it felt like something shifted in the story. Characters were introduced that I couldn't quite grasp. What I loved so much at the beginning of the book (Peppa's strong voice) faded into the background for other voices. Some chapters felt completely unnecessary, and it didn't feel like the story was going anywhere.

I wanted more Peppa, more of her dynamic one-on-one with her boss, more from Peppa's mother. The ending contributed to a positive upswing, but unfortunately, there was too much uninteresting content in the middle. Virginia Woolf's voice was a nice touch to the story and could have been explored even more.

Marcia Butler does it again. One of my favorite authors and it makes me sad that more people don't know who she is! Her voice is singular and each book is very different from the last so you never know what you're diving into, or what story is going to be told.

In DEAR VIRGINIA, WAIT FOR ME, we have a coming of age story in New York in the early 2000s. Peppa is a naive but highly intelligent girl from Queens who gets her first job at a financial firm in downtown Manhattan. She lucks out with an actually good boss who understands her unique perspective, and her overbearing parents who seem to have been holding her back all these years, wanting her to be a part of the family plumbing company instead of finding her own way. She is also obsessed with Virginia Woolfe, who is a voice in her head, so this book is peppered with quotes from Woolfe that enhance the reading experience.

One Peppa gives a chance to a boy her parents set her up with, things go a bit haywire and dormant mental illness that she has inherited from her mom come to the surface. It's a short book, but full of life with wonderful characters and realistic world building. It reminded me of the book BROOKLYN a bit. Once you get to the end, you will NOT be able to put it down. Can't wait for more from Butler.

A dysfunctional family, mental health issues, the Twin Towers and...Virginia Woolf. This is an odd one in many ways and it won't be for everyone but Peppa's story is different from anything I've read lately. She's struggled mightily with those voices but she's gotten herself a job in investment banking and gained a little independence from her family. Can she be happy? That depends on how the Woolf voice speaks to her. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I really enjoyed this character driven book. Dear Virginia, Wait for Me follows Peppa Ryan a first generation American born to Irish immigrants. They live in Queens. Peppa has a very strained relationship with her parents and has long since been a witness to her mother's mental illness. Peppa gets a job in The Twin Towers in 2001 and finds herself slowly become free of her parents grasp. Peppa has a voice in her head always giving her advice which she imagines is Virginia Woolf. I absolutely loved characters Ivan and GoGo and how much they loved and protected Peppa throughout this book. I'd recommend this if you're into contemporary fiction. Thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for this ARC.

I absolutely loved reading this book. Peppa was such a lovable character and hard topics were thoroughly explored.

I'll be reviewing this one on my Instagram @stressiereads and Goodreads.

When this book started off with the main character getting a job in the World Trade Center in November 2000, let me tell you I was STRESSED. I spent this whole book thinking there was going to be some Remember Me twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for sending me this book!

A beautifully crafted 21st century rendering of what Virginia Woolf would've been, Peppa Ryan make me laugh at times, contemplate at times, and kept me thoroughly interested along her journey to redefine her life. A brilliant book, though it didn't strike me as one of my favorite reads. I'm pretty sure a lot of people will enjoy reading this and acquire the courage to explore the lives of us and enjoy the moments and listen to our inner selves when they call us!

Thank you CENTRAL AVENUE and Netgalley for the advance Reader Copy!

This was a quick read, but I really loved the characters. Moved well and even though the main character at times was hard to love, she had the right people around her which helped the reader to realize her potential.

Dear Virginia, Wait for Me follows Peppa, a 20 year old woman searching for her own identity in Y2k New York City.

Peppa's parents wish for her to join the family business and manipulate Peppa into thinking that she needs to stay at home to take care of her mother, who suffers from a mental illness. Peppa does not want to work in the family business, and she longs to create a separate, individual identity. She finds herself a job in the Twin Towers in Manhattan, with a terrific boss who is very kind to her and sees her potential. But Peppa hears a voice in her head, which she thinks is Virginia Woolf talking to her. The voice guides her and makes her believe she is, amongst other things, worthless. When her life falls apart later on, her boss - and other extravagant characters - help her build it back up again. Lots of small plottwist make a greater whole. Reading about Peppa's journey in her own mental illness was tough but it was written beautifully. It was good to see Peppa make some healthy choices. This may just be me, but I feel like Peppa's character may have been autistic coded.

Virginia Woolf quotes, early 2000s New York City and blooming mental health was the perfect mix for this coming-of-age novel. From the start, I was pulled in by the rich descriptions of the setting and the characters, which were never too elaborate to become boring or obsolete. The entire book is not even that long, but Butler is capable of saying a lot in few pages. I think it's great when an author is able to do so. The ending was wonderful.

Would definitely recommend this book to friends.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

When I read that this book portrayed a character who heard Virginia Woolf's voice in her head, it immediately went to the top of the TBR pile. Kudos to the author who portrayed Woolf's voice in her head so well; I was convinced, and it made me want to go back and revisit some of Woolf's non-fiction again.

This isn't my typical kind of book choice, but I enjoyed it; it's an interesting hybrid. It's very much about mental health issues, including body dysmorphia and more; it's also about childhood trauma and a young woman believing in herself despite much stacked against her. These are all rather heavy issues, but it's reads light, almost adjacent to cozy, which works in some instances and is kind of jarring in others. I feel like, tonally, the book couldn't decide whether or not to delve into issues or just gloss past them. For example, in one part of the book, several characters let an obviously (and admittedly) intoxicated man drive a car, and these characters are all intelligent, responsible people. That scene took me completely out of the reading experience; it seems so unlikely that the characters I'd just spent 200 pages or so with would allow that to happen when they could easily have called a cab or given the man, a central side character, a ride. And then, there are ample tender scenes that are beautifully written and resonant. Some dialoge is sharp and observant, and then others - particulary with the romantic interests - did not seem as believable. It's a novel with a promising premise and many good parts.

Thank you Netgalley & Central Avenue for the ARC!

I really wanted to like Dear Virginia, Wait for Me, but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me.

Even though it’s less than 200 pages, I really struggled to get through it. The entire book is very focused on conversations between characters, and I have to be honest, I didn’t really care about them. The characters fell a bit flat; they didn’t feel very realistic to me and therefore I couldn’t really connect to them. Certain transitions also felt a bit fast in contrast to the slow pace of the book.
Overall, it just didn’t quite click for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for the e-arc

tbh i found this book to be quite grating. couldn’t connect with the narrator or any of her decisions. some of the supporting characters felt like caricatures at times, specifically gogo and her father. chapters felt choppy & abrupt. not one i enjoyed reading.

dear virginia, wait for me had an intriguing premise, but unfortunately, it didn’t fully deliver for me. the story felt choppy, with abrupt transitions that made it difficult to stay immersed. certain plot developments felt rushed or unrealistic, which made it hard to connect with the characters and their journey. while there were moments of emotional depth, they didn’t resonate as strongly as i’d hoped, and i often found myself struggling to stay engaged. overall, it had potential, but it didn’t pull me in as much as i expected.

*thank you netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

A beautiful book. Our heroine believes she is guided through life by Virginia Woolf.

Through the pages we learn about her, her family and follow her as she embark on a new career.

Highly recommended!

I really liked the premise of this book and the beginning of it. However, I just really struggled to connect with any of the characters and the pregnancy trope annoys me.

this was a fantastic read, it had that element that I was looking for from the description. It felt like that was supposed to and was a realistic portrayal of the character. I was invested in what was going on and was glad everything worked together. Marcia Butler has a strong writing style and can't wait for more from the author.

Dear Virginia, Wait For Me by Marcia Butler

A brilliant young woman, Peppa Ryan, begins her career in an investment company in Manhattan in 1999. She navigates the world with the help of a voice in her head which she attributes to Virginia Woolf, but she can't escape her family background and mental illness eventually catches up with her. Can Peppa forge a new life for herself with the support of her new friends?

Wow, what a beautiful book - I loved it so much! I've struggled to convey how joyous the story is, despite the themes of mental illness and family dysfunction. I read it in one go and loved Peppa and her new friends so much - I think this book would make a fabulous Netflix film. And the ending.... brilliant! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Peppa is a young woman who goes through life feeling like she's being guided by the voice of Virginia Woolf.

I've been intrigued by this premise, and had high hopes going into this, and they were definitely met. Peppa is such an easy character to root for, and following her journey was such a joy. It was such a short, sweet, interesting read, with a really enjoyable cast of characters. The writing is so masterful and gripping, truly a perfect book to sit and binge.

Many thanks to Central Avenue Publishing & NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.