Ada is our main character and we follow her as she explores the world of her own thoughts and feelings. and Ada seems to feel a whole lot. she is trying to be fun, out there, go explore. but the fun can sometimes feel like chaos. this isn't helped when she finds herself wanting to date two people. and why not? she has Sadie who makes her feel the fizz and pop and so their time seems grand. and also there is a time limit to their time together because Sadie will be going to her home country soon. so then there is also a really nice guy who saw her in one of her acting gigs and is very sweet on her. what could go wrong?
it feels to me like Ada has had some big feelings in life that might need help working through for example an awful lot that is underlying between her around her sister. there seems to be a tension which i never felt was explored to it max potential. and managing to balance that and the romance felt like they both couldn't compete for the top slot.
but you feel for Ada. she is finding her way in a world that she doesn't ever seem to find easy. her relationships with this man and woman who at first dont know about each other makes for more stress.
this book fits its title. as Ada to me is not flawed but shes also a woman living outside the norms of what boxes we so often want to place people in and Brydie observes her character so well and then writes it so we can imagine this young woman in our own mind. i have a picture of Ada going through this book that is so vivid and full of colours. and i was rooting or so much good things to come her way. and at some points for her to just feel settled in her own skin. this world doesn't make that easy to do sometimes.

Ada is a 20-something Australian expat living in London, trying to break into the acting world. She hooks up with Perth-based Sadie on the last night of the Edinburgh Fringe and somehow ends up with her as a houseguest for the coming months. Their connection is hot but not exactly romantic. But that's ok, because there's this sweet guy in Liverpool who saw Ada in her play and now thinks he's in love with her. She doesn't need to tell Sadie, who is leaving soon, does she?

This book all felt strikingly familiar to me as a queer, non-monogamous Australian who has been based out of London for the past 20 years. I feel like this was a beautifully observed story about what it feels like to live outside the norm, where there's rarely a social script to follow. I usually don't like books that are partly told through transcripts of messaged conversations, but in this case, it amused me.