It’s 1983 and 22-year-old Phoebe has moved to New York city and is struggling to get by when events conspire to make things much, much worse. However, a bright opportunity in a dark time comes to light: Phoebe’s habit of trying to predict her own future by pulling ticket stubs out of a box becomes a sideshow at one of the coolest clubs in the city. For five dollars, Phoebe, who has become Astrid for her new gig, will predict the futures of models, actors, and New Yorkers hip enough to get in the doors. Will Phoebe/Astrid seize opportunities and move forward with her life or will she continue to make bad decisions that keep her running in place or, sometimes, moving backwards?

The writing of this book is good and the story original. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 6, 2021.

Wow, this was not what I was expecting, but I absolutely loved reading it and had a very hard time putting it down! I loved going back in time, especially to an era I grew up in, although I was much younger, it still felt a bit nostalgic. This book was a bit dark, at times, but the characters were developed flawlessly, the setting done perfectly, and absolutely grabbed me. Maybe a darker Sex in the City type of read, but unique, and fun! I would highly recommend to those who enjoy books that depict a persons life in an era, in a big city, with some darkness laying beneath.

Will make sure to buzz around and use lower Amazon reviewer number on release date!

This book took me back to the 1980’s. The characters were depicted in a honest way. The author takes you on a journey about two girls rocky friendship. You learn of the struggle of living in New York and trying to make a living and navigating the drug scene. I enjoyed the book. I would definitely look for more books by this author.

Life in NYC in the 80s got my attention; seemed like it would be a fun read.
Phoebe Hayes is a twenty-two year old young woman in search of excitement and adventure. She is living with her friend Carmen in New York in1984 and is trying to make ends meet. She seems to have some connection to the dead so is able to get a job as a fortune teller in a restaurant and calls herself ‘Astrid the Star’! Carmen waits tables and Astrid “Sees All” that is in the future! They are both making some money so get caught up in a new fun lifestyle.

The tough thing about this story is the characters are not likeable and at the times the story is disturbing to me. This really didn’t work for me (I realize that I am not the target audience); but have no doubt others will love it.
⭐⭐. 5 rounded up

Want to thank NetGalley and Atria for this advance, uncorrected reader’s proof. This eGalley was made available to me for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 6, 2021

A party scene book in the 80s - I was ready to read this one. While I'm sure this vibe was a home run for so many, it felt a bit choppy and underdeveloped for me. But, I totally appreciated a time capsule to head back into the 80s' and imagining a pandemic-free world! Thanks for letting me read this book and have the opportunity to review it - NetGalley!

This is a compelling coming of age story about Phoebe Hayes, 24, who falls into a life as a club kid (not her words) and ends up working as a fortune teller at an East Village nightclub. Phoebe struggles with relationships, friendships, her father's death and figuring out who she is. NYC's gritty East Village circa 1984 is also its own character in this novel. It's a far cry from the club scene of the 1990s that I dipped my toe into. Really interesting and fast paced story!

I've been waiting a long time for Natalie Standiford to publish a new book. Her young adult novel, "How To Say Goodbye in Robot" was achingly beautiful. It's one of my favorite YA novels of all-time. I was so happy to find out that her newest creation, "Astrid Sees All" will be her very first adult novel.

First off, no one can write an empathetic and relatable character like Standiford can! Phoebe Hayes (aka Astrid, the Star Girl) is someone that felt so real from start to finish. Even though most of this novel has this shallow feel, thanks to the early '80s New York drug culture and art scene, I still felt this story was intriguing and heartfelt. I like how Phoebe is insecure. The reason I found this appealing because it made her a more sympathetic and honest character. She tries so incredibly hard to emulate her college friend, Carmen that it becomes painfully aware that she will never seek her unconditional love and approval no matter what she does to impress Carmen. The friendship is one-sided. It broke my heart for Phoebe because she lacks so much insight and self-awareness.

The real meat and potatoes part of this book is the death of Phoebe's father. Phoebe was very close to her father, we learn as the story opens that he dying of cancer. Every time she mentions her father or has flashbacks to her childhood, it made me well up. Those sections of this novel were beautifully written. Phoebe does a lot of questionable things, but I felt connected to her. Highly recommended!

Thank you, Netgalley and Atria for the digital ARC.

This book was a whirlwind. I just loved the vibe of "Astrid Sees All." Natalie Standiford's writing was so descriptive and it had such a good energy. The 1980's world that Standiford featured was completely encompassing. After finishing the novel, I didn't want to leave Phoebe's New York and thought about rereading it. It was a really fresh novel of a girl trying to find herself and navigate her early 20s.

In "Astrid Sees All," Phoebe is a young college graduate living in New York City. But after her father's sudden death, Phoebe moves back home to Baltimore to grieve. Once living in her childhood home, she realizes that she'll do anything to return to her New York life with her best friend Carmen, including telling fortunes with movie tickets in a seedy nightclub.

"Astrid Sees All" takes place in the 80s but it was a really modern story of friendship, grief and growing up. It's a coming-of-age novel, but it was very raw and realistic, especially as we see things may not always go according to plan. "Astrid Sees All" just felt very honest. This book will be every where this year.

I did not enjoy this book at all. Even though I grew p in the same place and time as the protagonist, I couldn't relate to her or any of the characters. It didn’t make much sense and seemed really random. I also kept waiting for some big reveal that was never realized. Even the relationship and subsequent consequences of the affair with Bergen seemed completely underwhelming and under-developed. I found myself rushing to finish it just so I could be done with it. 2 stars.

First of all this was a well written story and was very atmospheric of 1980’s New York. I felt transported in time and was enjoying the city life. The story is about finding identity, and friendship but there is mystery as well. It was an enjoyable read.
Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book just wasn’t for me. I quit less than halfway through. The promise of being for fans of Fleabag is what drew me but this was nothing like it. It didn’t have the charm or comedy. I couldn’t care less about these characters.

Astrid Sees All is Phoebe & Carmen's coming of age story, set in 1984 NYC. It is chock-full of sex, drugs, drinking, and partying. Mix all of the above with a story of female friendship, love and loss.

This book was hit or miss for me. I enjoyed the 1980s New York club/party scene descriptions. I loved the description of the clubs and the fact that Phoebe became Astrid to tell fortunes at a prominent NYC club. What a cool concept! But, this one missed the mark for me - it was a bit repetitive (party/drugs/alcohol/crash/repeat) through the first 70% of the book and then Carmen disappeared and things wrapped up really quickly. I would recommend this book to people who liked Valley of the Dolls and The Chelsea Girls.

In 1984 Phoebe dreamt of being a true New Yorker, cool and blasé, like her friend Carmen when they were in college. After moving to the city and suffering multiple emotional blows, she finally gets her chance to live with and emulate her idol and best friend. She becomes Astrid the Star Girl, telling fortunes at a club every night until darkness and betrayal take over.

This gritty view of the New York club scene in the 80's was a peek at the time when you are just starting to find yourself and who you want to be. The atmospheric tale was more than just a story about Phoebe,; it was a love letter to a New York in the past.

Thank you to Netgalley.com for the ARC.

This book takes place in NYC Lower East Side in the mid 1980's when it wasn't the trendy place it is now. I grew up in NYC at the at time, but was 14 at the time so in an entirely different world than the characters in this book.

I enjoyed reading about the city as it was at the time. The characters were all flawed and had their own issues relating to issues in their childhood. The way they interacted with each other was at times cringy to read but you understood why. The main character's need for acceptance and love has her making so many questionable and regrettable choices in her life.

I would recommend this book for any one who enjoys reading books about the 80's in NYC - which I am realizing now probably makes this book historical fiction!

This novel paints a vivid portrait of New York City in the 1980s. But the characters in their revelry, are unsympathetic and the plot fizzles as the scene gives way to story.

This was a great read, provided such a perfect escape. I loved the timeline and the character development. I did get twisted around at times, but was able to catch back up fairly quickly. Have already recommended to a friend!

I can't remember how I came to know about this book, but I'm glad I did! When I read the description I got a Sex in the City vibe and I did throughout reading the book as well.
It was a fast read but enough of a story that gets your interested in the characters. They was a little jumping of the timeline which leads to finding out some details in a mysterious manor almost.
I was allowed to read an ARC by Netgalley of this book.

Astrid Sees All was such a fun read! It was different (in a good way) What intrigued me the most about this book when I first learned about it was the setting! It sounded very artsy and very grunge and I loved it. It so fun seeing Astrid/Phoebe during her time in NYC and seeing how her and her friend Carmen lived. The author was very realistic and didn’t hold back on how much drug usage there was during that time. I honestly felt that Phoebe and Carmen were the epitome of lost souls and it was very amusing seeing their journey through NYC and pretending to have everything figured out. I thought this book was clever, fun, and above all creative.

Astrid Sees All is nothing short of electrifying.

Set in the gritty New York City of the 1980's, Astrid follows a year in the life of Phoebe, a lower east side neophyte. She sells books by day, and tells fortunes as the star girl Astrid at the hip and eclectic Plutonium club by night. Her friends are her lifeline to the world, and although she tries to define who she is at any given turn, it seems like her life mirrors the transience and contradiction of the city itself.

The story deals as much with the personal lives of the characters as the undeniable setting of a city governed by Koch and a country by Reagan, the equally strong cultures of art and drugs in a new horizon of bohemia, and despite palpable grief on any front, the hope of a future to be told.

Although it is standalone and somewhat finite, Astrid, in its setting, aches for a companion read (or at the very least, comparisons to similarly vibrant stories told in a comparable setting): I found myself relating Phoebe's story to The Carrie Diaries, RENT, and from 2020 releases, Deacon King Kong and to a certain extent Age of Consent, and of COURSE, Luster. New York City will never run out of stories to tell, and Astrid seems a welcome addition to the canon.

I was delighted to join Phoebe on her trip through New York in the 1980s. She has recently graduated from college, and like many of us at that point in our lives, is full of dreams. Of course, having very little money means that she shares an apartment with Carmen, a friend she always felt like she was chasing after in college. Phoebe becomes Astrid when she lands a job telling fortunes at a night club. Carmen waits tables and Astrid sees the future, and the two get involved with a fast lifestyle that revolves around alcohol, drugs, and dubious friends.
It isn’t the life she envisioned, but for now, she is having fun, until she isn’t. A bad relationship, a death in her family, and a fracture in her friendship with Carmen, and Phoebe is questioning her choices. Only Phoebe can decide what comes next, and she will need more than a crystal ball to choose.
I really loved Phoebe/Astrid. I could relate to her feeling lost, not good enough, and not knowing what she wanted out of life. Also, seriously, she is such a great character! A girl who loves baseball, tells fortunes, seems to have some sort of connection to the dead, and hides her address from her mother, fearing what she will think. Yep, Phoebe’s tale mimics stories I have heard about fast living in NYC during the eighties. I wanted to shake her at times and also wanted to allow her to figure things out for herself.
The characters were great, and the NYC backdrop was so well done. If you have any interest in immersing yourself in a flawed character’s life, Astrid Sees All is the book to choose.