I didn't like this very much and never really connected to it – probably more of a me thing, but I found the writing quite stilted and I wasn't very interested in the story. Easy to read, though, and I did like reading a book set in Stockholm, especially in the second half!

4.5/5

What a Time to Be Alive is Jenny Mustard's second novel. The story is told from Sickan's point of view: she's in her early twenties and trying to figure herself out while studying at Stockholm University. We follow her through her second and third year at uni with all its ups and downs.

Overall, I really liked this coming-of-age story. I enjoyed the writing, the setting, and the little Swedish words sprinkled in (I have a big soft spot for Sweden and speak some Swedish, so it made me happy whenever I understood a word or phrase). It felt very relatable—my own uni days aren’t that far behind me. It was a quick, enjoyable read, not cheesy at all, which I appreciated. For a full 5 stars, I would’ve wanted it to be a bit more impactful or unique. Still, I’d absolutely recommend it, especially if you enjoy literary fiction about women in their twenties who haven't quite found their place in the world.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sceptre for the ARC!

This is the kind of book that makes you feel seen... and also slightly exposed.

As someone with an entire shelf devoted to bildungsroman, What a Time to Be Alive not only stacks up—it front-faces.

Sickan Hermansson is determined to become someone new. To be normal. 21, newly arrived in Stockholm, free from her small-town past, she is without friends (and money) but she has her secret social inadequacy journal where she obsessively records overheard conversations to decode human behaviour and learn how to belong. In Sickan, Jenny Mustard gives us a female protagonist whose awkwardness aches in all the right places - Her first party, first real friend, and first betrayal unfold in a world that’s both darkly mundane, and painfully specific. Sickan will imprint on your soul.

Jenny’s second novel is about class, privilege, loneliness, and the price of trying to be “normal” in a world that doesn’t always make space for the awkward. Darkly beautiful and filled with quiet tension and hyper observations, this awkward girl lit HITS. Heart-breaking and hopeful, this made me want to eat warm cinnamon buns from a fifth-floor windowsill whilst writing a love letter to a city I've never been to but have now made my entire personality.

I would like to thank the publisher Hodder & Stoughton @HodderBooks and the author Jenny Mustard for allowing me to read a digital advance copy via @NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I loved the book and will be purchasing a physical copy for my collection.

London-based, Swedish author Jenny Mustard’s absorbing novel is narrated by Sickan who’s moved away from her small town to attend Stockholm University. Sickan’s a flawed but highly relatable character. Deeply self-conscious, overwhelmed with social anxiety, she finds it hard be at ease around other people, too intent on fitting in to allow herself to relax. But her interactions in Stockholm with her first friend the wealthy misfit Hanna and her relationship with guarded Abbe gradually enable Sickan to give voice to her own needs and desires.

In many ways Mustard’s plot is fairly predictable, a coming-of-age story about learning to navigate the world as an adult and work out who it is you might want to be, but what made it stand out was the accomplished delivery. Although Mustard’s been compared to Rachel Cusk and Raven Leilani, this reminded me more of pieces by Gwendoline Riley or perhaps Sarah Manguso. Like them, there’s an emphasis on character and atmosphere, on the intricate boundaries between self and others. But Mustard also uses Sickan’s experiences to broaden out into a critique of Swedish society: from its complex class hierarchies to school bullying, racism and misogyny - not that it's ultimately downbeat. I particularly responded to Mustard’s style. Her prose could be coolly precise but could also convey a meditative intensity that I found close to irresistible.

Oh this was great, I loved it.
I was a big fan of this authors first book, Okay Days and What A Time To Be Alive, cements the fact that this is a writer everyone needs to be aware of.
The book is beautifully absorbing coming of age story that resonates hard. It brought me effortlessly back to being in my early 20s and Mustard captures yearning and wanting and that need to find your place in the world and your people, with heart aching clarity.
This is a story of just how difficult it can be to be a young woman in the world. Sickan arrives at Stockholm Uni, she knows nobody, is socially arkward but has a quiet determination that she will make this fresh start , work. Plunged into a world of new intimacies, she finds strong friendships and falls in love. Themes of class, fitting in, loneliness and grief, love and reinvention simmer throughout all captured with such beautiful writing. I was wholly drawn in to Sickan's life and was torn so many times between wanting to hug her and wanting to say no don't do that. A really gorgeous read from a supremely talented author. I cannot wait to read more from this author, she should be on everyone's radar.

4.5

Jenny Mustard’s What A Time To Be Alive is a sharp, emotionally resonant coming-of-age novel that captures the aching urgency of young adulthood with piercing clarity. Told through the eyes of Sickan Hermansson—a socially awkward, fiercely self-aware 21-year-old—it’s a story about reinvention, vulnerability, and the quiet heartbreaks of trying to belong.

Newly arrived at Stockholm University, Sickan is determined to shed the isolation of her small-town past and become normal—to build a self that fits. But finding her place proves more complicated than expected. Friendships bloom and falter, love arrives with thrilling unpredictability in the form of the magnetic Abbe, and Sickan begins to question just how much of herself she’s willing to trade for acceptance.

Mustard writes with elegant restraint and biting insight, delivering a narrative steeped in emotional nuance and quiet tension. The novel’s power lies in its intimacy—how it captures the everyday moments that define us, and the invisible weight of class, shame, and self-doubt in shaping who we become. Introspective, hauntingly relatable, and beautifully written, What A Time To Be Alive is a quietly devastating portrait of early adulthood that lingers long after the final page.

This was such a beautiful read that felt very relatable at points. It dealt with many topics brilliantly and showed growth and development.

What a Time to Be Alive is a beautifully strange, thought-provoking read — minimal but packed with emotion. Jenny Mustard has this way of writing that feels deeply human.

The book explores loneliness, connection, identity, and modern life in a really unique way. I

loved the atmosphere — it’s sleek, stylish, and a little bit haunting.

If you’re into introspective, offbeat storytelling, this one sticks with you.

Jenny Mustard continues to be a must read author for me

An introspective read that slowly grew on me. Sickan is a relatable character, especially as someone who seems neurodivergent-coded, and her self-reflection, insecurities, and social discomfort are portrayed well. There’s no big overarching plot, but instead a series of everyday moments that slowly build a picture of how her character and relationships evolve, which feels very true to life.

I wasn’t sure about the writing style at first; the prose felt a bit flat, which made it hard to connect with the characters. I felt quite detached from the side characters in particular, but maybe that was an intentional way of reflecting how Sickan relates to the people around her. They felt realistic, but I still didn’t really feel invested in them. I liked the location descriptions, though - the Swedish setting came through really nicely.

Side note: I read this as an e-book and the formatting was messy, which disrupted the flow a bit. It’s not the author’s fault, so I won’t deduct any stars for this, but it did take away from the experience slightly.

In this coming of age novel Sickan finds ways to earn money, makes a female friend and finds love with Abbe. She also learns acceptance, of herself and her parents, and deals with the end of a romance. "And it seems I have finally learned it, the correct use of niceties and vagaries, the kindness of treating difficult conversations as if easy."
The novel deals with some difficult themes but Sickan's courage and resilience shines through.

What A Time To Be Alive by Jenny Mustard

Sickan moves to Stockholm for university and tries to reinvent herself, leaving behind bullies from school and neglectful parents. Her friendship with Hanna and relationship with Abbe are fraught with difficulty yet joyous at times, as she tries to find herself in her new world.

Excellent writing although disturbing at times - I really wanted to hug Sickan sometimes and found some parts of the book upsetting, for example the bullying in school and her parents' indifference. I was rooting for Sickan all along, even when I could foresee that she hadn't made the best decisions/choices, and the book ends on an optimistic note. Very highly recommended.

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

I don't know what drew me to What A Time to Be Alive by Jenny Mustard, but I'm glad I decided to request an early reading copy ahead of its advance next month. I hadn't read Mustard before but there's something really offbeat and charming about the style, and while it is very dark in places, it's very easy and enjoyable to read.

Mustard uses a close first person narration style to tell Sickan's story, of her life in university in Stockholm. Sickan has always felt out of place, from her isolated childhood amid well meaning but preoccupied academic parents, to her misery at the hands of bullies in school, to the anonymous liaisons with older men. University is a chance to start afresh, and she is determined to fit in and make friends, no matter the cost or what she has to change or hide to do so.

The friend she makes is unlikely - Hanna is even more odd than Sickan, but very happily so - and Sickan is both drawn to and wary of her, especially as she finds Abbe and begins to fall in love for the first time. Meanwhile, being the best student in her computer science course becomes far less important than maintaining the friendships she has started to make and monitoring her own behaviour and those around her for conformity and palatability.

In a lot of ways this reminded me of elements of Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine or Convenience Store Woman, though while there are very dark elements I found the book in general to be more hopeful, and I really did root for Sickan. i admittedly did feel it lost steam after a while, and I did briefly leave the book aside to read something else, but I also just think this is natural when I've read so many lonely-girl-at-university, coming of age books, but I can see my younger self really enjoying this, and it will definitely find lots of readers who will love it.

See I don't check my email often - my job doesn't depend on it🤷. But every now and then, I clear out the useless ones. And that’s how I stumbled upon Hachette’s email offering me early access to Ms. Mustard’s second book… a full ten days after they sent it. I'm cringing so much rn because I told the nice lady who sent me the link that I loved her 😭.
I'm an Okay Days (her first book) enthusiast so What a time to be alive was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. And it did not disappoint 🥰.
I like Jenny's narration. Maybe people will say it's Rooney-esque but I've not read Rooney yet so I don't know.
This is a coming of age book about our protagonist leaving the past behind and looking forward to a newer, fresher life in college in Stockholm after a not so enjoyable past in Skåne. About the people she meets, friends she makes, places she visits, handling and exploring emotions.She tries to construct a life that's the opposite of what she's lived till now brick by brick to fit in and to never have to suffer exclusion.
The past is told in periodic flashbacks and we get to know little by little why Sickan is the way she is.Basically being young and newly independent with a chance for fresh starts.
Side note:
While I understand she sees Hanna as someone who is weirder than her, who's being unapologetically herself and is in awe of her inviting ridicule when all her life she's worked hard to be the opposite of it , it breaks my heart every time she thinks negative things about her best friend, of all people. Especially the ones involving physical appearance. I know it's projection, like why would you want to stand out in a not so good way when I was bullied my whole life for it.But still beh.(I know it's part of the book, it's shown as flawed in the book also, and it was addressed later.Just makes me sad)
Loved this book, really dug the vibes. But did I like it more than Okay Days?  probably not.

This moved me a lot more than I expected.

It’s such a relatable, coming of age story I was shocked by how bereft I felt to be leaving Siv behind by the end.

Siv is a young woman from a small town in Sweden studying in Stockholm. She was bullied as a child, never fitted in, doesn’t know how to make friends and her parents are distant.

This is the story of her time at university and her friendships and relationships as she learns who she is.

It sounds like nothing and maybe it is, but seeing her development by the end, her growth and her realisations about herself really took me by surprise.

I’m a sucker for a messy young woman trope but this feels more nuanced than that.

It’s a 4.5 for me and I hope this becomes huge. A book I’ll remember for a long time.

An introspective account of young adult Sickan who has moved from her home town to university in Stockholm.
For me the story seemed to be about Sickan’s reflections on her life up until this point, and her search for an identity. She seemed to have made some sort of peace with that by the end but it was hard work getting to that point as a reader. I did have flashes of really getting on with this story but then the weird time narratives were confusing and made me frustrated. Also there was nothing really to root for so left me meh by the end.
Formatting on kindle was a nightmare too.

Jenny Mustard’s What a Time to Be Alive is the weird girl coming-of-age story I’ve been craving—part messy friendship drama, part introspective existential meltdown. Sickan Hermansson is the kind of protagonist who simultaneously makes me feel seen and secondhand embarrassment, navigating university life with a level of relatable chaos that’s honestly refreshing. Mustard brilliantly captures the gritty awkwardness of young adulthood, filled with those cringey-but-essential moments that shape who we are (and make us glad we’re no longer 21). The story had me laughing, wincing, and nodding along, especially in the scenes that exposed the brutal absurdity of trying to reinvent yourself. It’s witty, painfully honest, and perfect for anyone who’s ever thought adulthood was just an elaborate joke.I

To be completely honest, this was not for me. I found the writing style to be quite remote and this just wasn’t to my taste. The actual story just didn’t draw me in and I just wasn’t in to this. nothing necessarily bad with it, i guess i just felt a bit underwhelmed

In 2023 I read ‚Okay Days‘ by Jenny Mustard and really loved it! So it was a no brainer to try and get access to the ARC of her newest novel 🤗

Even though the story started out slow, I managed to form some sort of connection to the characters, but just didn’t really fall in love with the whole book. I wasn’t a big fan of the time jumps that were a part of the story, that often confused me and threw me off.

Overall I really liked the writing style, and the book definitely had its moments, but compared with ‚Okay Days‘, I just didn’t connect with this story as much.

I flew through this book so quickly! I really like Mustard's writing, and her characters feel so real. The protagonist in this book felt very relatable and I often had to pause and take a breath because I could pinpoint moments in my own life where similar things had happened.

A really good addition to the ‘sad girl’ genre popularised by Sally Rooney, and a much better read (in my opinion!) than the author’s debut.