A beautifully written novel that takes on power dynamics, consent, and more, all in the pre-#MeToo era of the last 90's. I found the language around these tough topics lyrical and excellent, and Isabel is a very compelling protagonist. This book is perfectly situated in time (the backdrop is the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal) and that serves to heighten the stakes throughout. Loved it!

Sigh. What a disappointment.

The premise alludes to an important topic being explored and yet it felt like the author had nothing to say about the story she was telling. The quality of prose is there, but all in all, its as if nothing was said. It is difficult to feel connected to the characters and story, and that should be almost impossible considering that this story is about an experience that elicits an endless number of emotions, thoughts, conversations etc.

This novel added nothing to the conversation of consent, and it was unclear which age group was the intended audience. Perhaps it was meant to be new adult, but even then, this book is just lacking.

I imagine that with Florin's lyrical prose, her future writings may be better, but this was disguised as a story that had something to say when it was really just a pretty cover and no plot, characterization and real voice.

A frank coming of age story; direct and honest. A senior at Wilder College, Isabel, isn't yet sure of her place in the world. She wants to write, but doesn't have much self confidence, easily led by those around her. Enter the alluring Professor Connelly, who seems to be the first to see her potential as a writer. The affair they begin will help shape her into the woman she becomes.

A lot is discussed in this novel: the loss of a parent, rape, extramarital affairs, abuse, depression... the list goes on. But, this is a beautifully written novel, and I found it easy to connect with Isabel. The first person pov, with the protagonist looking back at the past with today's eyes, is perfect for this kind of coming of age story. I think a lot of women will easily relate to this one.

My Last Innocent Year is an interesting character study about a young woman in her final year at a remote prestigious university in New Hampshire. It's set in 1998, when the Clinton / Lewinsky scandal was all over the media. The story is told in Isabella's perspective and somewhat slow-paced. Isabella is in her early 20s, Jewish, from a small working-class family in New York. We learn about her parents and background as she navigates college, her senior thesis, and romantic entanglements. She is pursuing an English degree and is very involved in the department and is deeply enamored with her creative writing professor. Through her relationships, the story probes at questions like, how do we define consensual and can we understand the power dynamics at play in relationships, especially when we're young? Overall, an intriguing coming of age novel.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook / audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! Initially it was just the pretty/aesthetic cover that drew me in, but then I also saw reviews saying it was a great coming-of-age story about a messy young woman and, well - I do love myself a good mess 😅 I'll be honest: This is definitely more character-driven than plot, imo. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Personally, I love character-driven stories and so it didn't bother me as much that sometimes it felt like things were moving at a languid pace. I found the writing to be very fluid and accessible, with plenty of great moments for reflection/introspection throughout. There are some difficult topics discussed/mentioned within the pages of this book, but I thought the author handled then all pretty well all things considered. I'd definitely recommend this book out to all my friends/fellow readers who enjoy literary fiction, and am excited to see what else this author comes out with in the future!

'my last innocent year' is a coming of age story, following isabel on her journey of self-discovery as she navigates her college life and the challenges of growing older. if you enjoy ‘sad girl lit fic’, coming of age stories or campus novels, check this one out.

“We were girls in the bodies of women. We bought condoms with our father’s credit cards, drank sloe gin fizzes, and slept with stuffed animals on our beds.” On the heels of an unwanted sexual encounter with a friend, Isabel Rosen, an aspiring writer, becomes embroiled in an affair with her college professor. Meanwhile, the 90s turn into the 2000s with Monica Lewinsky and the heydey of third wave feminism in the background. He said “and just remember, later, when you write about all this and say you were a victim, you weren’t. You were never the victim.” While this book certainly explores some ruinous themes, I think any woman will be able to relate. What is rape? What is consent? Maybe it’s something different than you considered. If you liked My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russel, Paul by Daisy Lefarge, or any other “dark academia” tropes, this is a great one.

LIKES:
📝 literary, eloquent, fluid, thoughtful writing
🏃‍♀️ character driven
💿 90s setting
👩‍🏫 dark academia
✍️ writer vibes
✡️ Jewish representation
🚺 explores a female experience of SA
❤️‍🩹 + forbidden affair with a professor
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 + family dynamics
🧠 + mental health
🌱 coming of age themes
💰 + wealth & status
🎭 quietly dramatic
🪞 reflective
🌪️ twisty (but just at the end)
•
DISCLAIMERS:
⚠️ dm me for TW!
🧶 a bit too much going on
🦥 on the slower side
•
VERDICT: an eloquent, thoughtful, reflective, quietly dramatic portrait of a woman coming of age in the aftermath of a SA + in the throws of an affair with her professor in a dark academic setting - a great debut!

I'm unsure how to review this one. It was well-constructed and written decently with an engaging storyline. I felt very detached from the character the entire time so I wasn't able to connect with the book as much as I would've liked.

Beautifully written campus novel and great portrait of an affair between a younger woman and a professor... I think the end was weaker than the beginning and middle, but really enjoyed it nonetheless.

The hip will call this dark academia, I will call this an introspective coming-of-age. Told from dual timelines, My Last Innocent Year follows naïve Isabel Rosen and the events at her New England college that mark her. At Wilder, Isabel is one of the few Jewish students on campus and, further, one of the few students that does not come from wealth. One evening she has a nonconsensual encounter with a fellow Jewish student, one that leaves her reeling, questioning everything, and soon the topic of discussion. Desperate to succeed as a writer, Isabel tries to puts it behind her, but she soon ties sex to approval and finds herself in a murky affair with her writing professor. Timely, evocative, and beautifully written, My Last Innocent Year is a stunning tale of femininity, power, and that moment adulthood shifts into being.

I have been looking forward to My Last Innocent Year for some time, knowing it would leave a mark on me. Daisy Alpert Florin tackles many subjects at once, capturing the entanglement of qualities and events that mark a moment. Isabel is not just a student who experiences a nonconsensual encounter, she is a minority in multiple ways, she is a student, and she is let down by the adults that are meant to protect her. Oftentimes we fixate on one thing, but it is the amalgamation of all of these that mark Isabel, that change her, that change those around her.

Told in a slow, insightful way, My Last Innocent Year is a story of self discovery and womanhood. It is Isabel's story of youth and the impact her college years continue to have on her into adulthood. It is a rushing leap into adulthood and a slow catch up of her naïve, youthful thoughts. It is poignant, introspective tale that is relatable and a truly standout debut.

My Last Innocent Year seamlessly blends the most compelling and interesting parts of campus novels, MeToo stories, and coming of age tales into one sharp piece of lit fic.

Isabel’s story pulls you in from the first chapter, detailing a nonconsensual encounter with a fellow student and the fallout from that night as she becomes romantically involved with one of her professors. In many ways, it feels like a more grounded companion piece to last year’s buzzy Vladimir.

Florin does an amazing job of capturing that time period when you are an adult (but aren’t really) and Isabel’s inner monologue and the way she saw the world was often relatable. Consent and power dynamics in relationships are discussed in a really nuanced way, and framing Isabel’s story against the backdrop of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal made the themes even stronger.

If I had to name one thing I didn’t like about this one it would be its lack of urgency. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t often feel a need to keep reading and found myself frequently putting it down and coming back to it (which doesn’t often happen with books I like). Also, are we now considering books set in the 1990s as historical fiction??? Because that makes me feel old.

My Last Innocent Year is out now. Thanks to Holt, Henry, and Co. and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really compelling read from start to finish. While I would have loved to hear a little bit more about our main character in present-time, overall I really liked this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for the eARC of this in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this coming-of-age novel. There isn't anything extraordinary or necessarily new about the story but it was familiar, felt authentic and was so relatable. I really enjoyed the way the author explored Judaism while telling the story. The writing was well done and felt more like a memoir. I would definitely recommend giving this one a read.

This book was immaculate! I loved the lyrical writing, vulnerable story line and realistic characters. I could feel the characters pain and joy throughout the story and I couldn't put it down. I loved the 90s New Hampshire setting and it totally engulfed me into the environment they were in.

There are definitely some TWs to consider, but I think this story is a very important one to read. I related so much to Isabel and appreciated her inner thoughts. She was written so beautifully and raw and is a character I won't be forgetting any time soon.

This book was really good. It is a deep novel about a girl with many issues that falls hard in love with one of her professors. She has an affair for several months and is deeply in love with him. She lost her Mom at an early age and her Dad is doing his best. She finds out that her Dad took out a student loan without discussing the situation with her. She is looking all over for true love. She eventually graduates moves on but has a baby and then becomes divorced. This book deals with lots of issues in today’s society. A great book for discussion at a book club.

This was perfectly well-constructed commercial fiction, a coming-of-age novel about an impressionable young Jewish woman from the Lower East Side in her final year in a woodsy and WASPy New Hampshire college that closely resembles Dartmouth. Set in 1998, the year Bill Clinton was impeached in the aftermath of L'affaire Lewinsky, Isabel Rosen has a nonconsensual encounter with a classmate, and an illicit affair with her married writing professor, and learns Valuable Life Lessons before graduation. But I found this emotionally uninvolving, especially given the intensity and delicacy of the subject matter, and the prose to be belabored and pedestrian.

<i>Thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and Netgalley for giving me an ARC, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.</i>

Make sure to check all the trigger warnings before reading this novel as it hits a lot of heavy topics. That being said, I loved this novel. Packed a punch in all the right ways and the MC was completely believable. I didn’t scream at her choices or think she was being illogical at all. She behaved how i imagine someone would behave after experiencing that kind of trauma. Beautiful and chilling story.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

REVIEW TO FOLLOW.

It’s Isabel’s senior year at Wilder College in New Hampshire, and her life is about to be upended after a murky sexual encounter in the dorms with a friend. Left reeling and uncertain, Isabel pulls away from friends but finds comfort in her married professor who sees her the way no one else does and believes in her dream of being a writer. Isabel begins an affair with her professor that will stay with her for the rest of her life. That said, the plot left me wanting more! The writing— while beautiful— was anecdotal at times, rather than propelling the story about an in appropriate affair and power dynamic. It shifted from present day to reflecting back on the past at times, and sad as the story was it didn’t leave me gutted as I had expected. This story touched upon many emotional and serious situations including eating disorders, consent, mental health, cheating, and even just the basic need for belonging and the struggle to find your own way while growing up. That said, there was a lot of filler in between that left me wanting more, and I wished there was more about the emotions at play between Isabel and Connelly (while it was happening) (we can clearly see by the end of the novel that the affair stuck with her). This was somewhat plodding and not as dark or sad as I expected based on the blurb, but I would still be interested to read more from this author.