*3.75 stars*
Initially going into this I expected a plot similar to "My Dark Vanessa" By: Kate Elizabeth Russell however that wasn't what this story was. While having some similaries they ranged into point of view and topic. I believe they are for the same audience however they do not showcase the same story
"My Last Innocent Year" follows Isabel, who is a college student getting a degree in writing. The novel follows her throughout her senior year of college and her relationship(s) throughout.
This book wasn't what I expected. The tone is quite melancholy and monotone in some ways. Isabel is an interesting character as even when she makes bad decisions you somewhat feel the need to route for her and/or excuse her wrongdoings. Isabel's relationship with Connelly was dynamic and unique which I enjoyed along with the conversations around it.
Overall, the plot and topics were interesting however throughout the book I had the feeling of meh. This book was very easy to put down and I never quite felt invested completely. This book has value and the writing is beautiful however there was problems within it that made it between a 3 and 4 stars.

This wasn't my favorite, but I am a picky reader. I am a bit tired of seeing this plotline - while it is an important one (and obviously one that far too many of us women can relate to), it is starting to feel trite and "done". Still, we will be getting a copy for our collection.

My Last Innocent Year is a bleak coming of age story set in the background of a prestigious New England college.

Isabel Rosen is first introduced during a seemingly nebulous sexual encounter between herself and another student. This event becomes a catalyst for further developments in her final semester of her undergraduate career.

She tumbles into an illicit affair with her professor. A relationship that she uses to shape her final months at school and later causes further conflicts in her adult life.

Florin’s storytelling is crisp and lyrical. The plot moves along diligently with no rushed urgency. Flowing beautifully. We learn along with Isabel the power of consent and strength behind your voice.

Thank you to Henry Holt & CO and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Innocent Year was a book I did not know I needed to read until I read it. Daisy Alpert Florin’s lyrical writing captivated me from the beginning. The pace and writing make it so easy to sit and take in every detail. I devoured this book in one sitting. Afterwards, I had to take a day long break before I could even pick up my next book just to process solely the ending. Dark and heartbreaking in the perfect consumption, the coming of age and loss of innocence is shown through Isabel’s eyes. Listening to the narrator speak about the haunting past and how it affected her future shows beautiful character development. I find it hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The pain felt in Isabel’s words, watching her struggle, and losing a part of her she never knew she had, all aided in the process of breaking me. “You were never the victim.” I think the most heartbreaking sentence in that entire book. It made me sick to my stomach. Such a short sentence but one repeated to so many victims that they eventually believe themselves. I think it is important to be in a good headspace when reading this book, but if you get a chance, I highly recommend.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. This book totally sucked me in. It ended up being different than I thought, but still by the ending I felt like it was well done & relatable to some of my own experiences.

My Last Innocent year follows Jewish college student Isabel Rosen through her final year at Wilder College- where a nonconsensual sexual encounter and the introduction of a new professor change her life.

Readers of My Dark Vanessa will likely enjoy this book as it covers similar subject matter, though this book is a lot less heavy than MDV.

The writing style made this book easy to get sucked into and once I got started, I read the book the whole way through in a single sitting.

After her nonconsensual experience with a fellow student Isabel is left to battle with her own feelings over what happened to her and whether or not she truly wanted it. Was it rape? Was it consensual? If she didn't make it clear she didn't want it- should she even feel this way?

And while she is still dealing with this, Isabel meets Professor Connelly. He makes her feel seen- talented. Praised. After a lifetime with a mother more dedicated to her art than her daughter and a father who has spent all of his time keeping the family afloat, well, it isn't too hard for Isabel to fall for this mysterious ex-poet.

I don’t have any major complaints about this book, but I do feel that we could’ve gone a bit further with the story? By the end it just rang a tiny bit hollow in a way that I find hard to put my finger on.

However, I did enjoy the use of the first person POV and found it to be done in a compelling way that enhanced the story. There was also a light use of past and present timelines that I think were useful in helping the reader understand why it is this affair was so easy for Isabel to fall into.

Overall, this is a well written book and I'd recommend it! Solid four stars.

The novel follows a Jewish, female student as she treks through her final semester of college, and all the ups and downs that can come with that. The feeling of completion, the uncertainty for the future, the friendship strain, the job searches. However, she experiences situations of greater magnitude as well, from a nonconsensual sexual experience with a perceived friend to an affair with a trusted professor.

I found the pacing and writing of this novel to be beautiful. It flows through the year without rushing her story and drawing the readers attention in when needed. We were able to see our main character grow and change (not always in the best way) as well as process her childhood through current experiences.

All of that being said, I struggled to see any wrap-up of this story. It feels as though there should be more, and I left myself wondering how all the moments that were detailed in the novel were connected, aside from being events in her life. This gave me deep My Dark Vanessa, vibes and what that novel did so well, this novel was lacking.

Content warnings for sexual assault/dubious content, domestic violence, death, and suicide.

This is a powerful and perceptive debut novel. Isabel has long felt like an outsider on the campus of her prestigious northeastern college. Beginning her last semester on campus, she feels like she has finally made a place for herself, until a nonconsensual encounter with a fellow student fundamentally unsettles her world. Still reeling, Isabel meets and then begins an affair with R. H. Connelly, her new writing teacher who is hiding several secrets of his own who seems to be the one person who truly believes in her talent and her future as a writer. This relationship, and Isabel's partial entry in Connelly's world, ends up having far-reaching consequences for the two of them and several others.

Highly recommend this well-written coming-of-age story, which explores important themes with strongly developed characters.

This novel was a stunning reflection of what it means to be on the cusp of adulthood and coming to understand choice -- being robbed of it, claiming it, and not knowing when it's actually yours. Isabel is both naive and jaded and while she could easily come off as a passive protagonist in her own story we see as she becomes more comfortable with her desires the ways that she takes control over her life. The backdrop of the late 90s and the Clinton affair add a rich social context that isn't heavy handed. My Last Innocent Year is the best campus novel to come out in the past decade and deserves a spot among the greats.

Isabel's story, at first, seemed to have no true direction. During the first third of the novel, i wondered what the purpose of the story was. I think that it took too long for the story to really take off, and some of the beginning moments could've been left out. However, once Connelly entered the story, it began to take off. I was able to see more of Isabel's characterization and how her past reflected on her present, then her future. Overall, I would pick up another book by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. it was beautifully written and flowed nicely.
The author paints a beautiful picture of the setting of Wilder College.
I love coming of age books where young women feminists are exploring sex and consent and asking themselves these kind of questions. I also appreciate a young Jewish woman POV.

I look forward to more from Daisy Alpert Florin.

Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Truly, the most true-to-life depiction of small liberal arts college in a small town life I’ve ever read. This book was ENTHRALLING. I couldn’t put it down. Daisy Alpert Florin’s debut My Last Innocent Year is compelling and fast-paced. My only complaint is the lack of character development on behalf of many of the characters; I was excited to read every moment, but I can’t say that many characters changed as people by the end. That said, a very fun read and an absolute 4.5 stars recommend to any lover of academia and thrill.

This type of book goes in the same category for me as My Dark Vanessa, which is an excellent and poignant tale of sexual assault and it’s impacts. This one lacked the emotional drive to push through the style of narrative we are given. The writing is beautiful, sure, and the topics are complex and painful — but it just didn’t take it home in the way I expected. However, I always love a honest discussion of coming of age, where the main character has to tackle traumatic circumstances, so I appreciate what My Last Innocent Year brought to the table.

"I would soon come to understand that adulthood was exactly this, the constant upending of everything you believed when you were young."

absolutely brilliant. a book about girlhood vs. womanhood, learning what kind of person you are, and recognizing your own worth. the writing was phenomenal, so many lines and passages were just perfectly crafted.

there were definitely shades of my dark vanessa, one of my favorite books, but less isolated (and also less gut-wrenching). in my last innocent year, there was also more going on outside of the teacher/student relationship. and i love both vanessa and isabel as protagonists, but it was a lot easier reading from isabel's point of view rather than vanessa's.

personally, this book ticked a lot of boxes for me: female protagonist, academic setting, dead mother, toxic relationship, on & on. BUT i would recommend this book to anybody, even if none of those aspects sound interesting, because the honesty & coming of age narrative are just so great.

i received an ARC from netgalley, but when this comes out i'm definitely buying a copy and highlighting the shit out of it.

My Last Innocent Year follows Isabel, a 21/22-year-old senior at a small liberal arts college in New Hampshire through her final semester as an English major with a talent and desire for writing. Isabel is from New York City, where she grew up in the Lower East Side. Her father owns a Jewish Appetizing store (they sell fish, bread, cream cheese, etc., but no meat!), and her mother was a painter who passed away from cancer when Isabel was a teenager. The book begins with Isabel having a nonconsensual, though not overly jarring or violent, sexual encounter with a college friend that gets mishandled, and the story continues from there. During her second and final semester, she gets involved in a sexual relationship with one of her professors. This leads her down a path of discovery not only about herself, but about the private lives of her teachers.

I thought this book was beautifully written and I enjoyed my experience with it. It was extremely slow-paced because the writing is heavy with detail and character-driven, but I thought it had a lot to say. It was set in 1997-1998, at the peak of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, and the story draws some great parallels between how men and women are viewed in those situations. I thought it captured the essence of my college experience, particularly during that last year--there is an uncertainty of what happens next, a seeking of approval and recognition, a fear of being thrown out into the world without knowing how to navigate it, and a general uneasiness at being expected to make adult decisions when you yourself still feel like a kid. All of that being said, the characters? They're not great people, but I still found myself drawn to them. I was disappointed with our main character once she enters into adulthood and the choices she makes, but real people are not constantly good and not constantly bad. These characters feel whole and real because of their choices.

I wouldn't say this book has a complete dark academia vibe, but it definitely has some sort of academia aesthetic if you're drawn to books like that. It's a quiet sort of book where things are understated and simple, but again, really well written. Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This title publishes February 14, 2023.

I thought that the author did a good job depicting mental health and sexual assault. I didn’t completely love this book; I disliked most of the characters. It was still an interesting book, and I’m glad I read it.

My Last Innocent Year is a striking portrait of womanhood that I connected with in more ways than I can count. I appreciate the way that the author wove a complex and provocative story without relying on sensationalism or shock value. In this way, the story felt more approachable than similar books I've read (for example, My Dark Vanessa).

This book was very thought provoking. It reminded me about how as a teenager I did a lot of the same things the MC did such as letting others guide her decisions and not really knowing her next steps (I think we can all relate to her at some point). It was a very well written account of the struggles of a young woman at that weird phase where we are technically women with a juvenile mind. I really liked it although I wish she would have stuck up for herself more.

This was thought-provoking and Florin has a way with prose, to be sure. I felt somewhat detached fromthe characters, particularly Isabel - even though I do feel they were written in a beautiful way. It handled heavy topics with honesty and grace. I do think the story itself is one that has been visited before in ways I enjoyed more (My Dark Vanessa, also kind of reminded me of The Yonahlasee Riding Camp for Girls). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

"My Last Innocent Year" was a solid read. It reminded me of "My Dark Vanessa" and "Writers & Lovers," but I didn't like it as much as either of those books. It did remind me a lot of the overall feeling of senior year of college, nostalgia for youth, fear of the next step, and all that. It definitely brought up those feels for me, and I loved the New England vibes. Worth a read!