I have been anxiously waiting to get approved to read this ARC since I requested it last December. As soon as I read the synopsis I knew that I would love this book.

And I was right, I did love this book. For so many reasons. It is set in Toronto, which is something that I always appreciate. There's something special about seeing your home depicted in a work of fiction. Natalie, the protagonist, is a first-year student at the University of Toronto, which is also my alma mater. Although it is not explicitly confirmed, I like to believe that Natalie lived at Victoria College and that she slept in the same dorm building and ate at the same dining hall that I once did.

The novel follows Natalie as she moves from a small town in northern Ontario to Toronto for university. The reader accompanies Natalie as she tries to navigate school, friendship, and relationships. At the beginning of the school year, Natalie is approached in a park by an older woman. Allured by her charm and self-assuredness, Natalie quickly falls for her, and the two begin a relationship. We then follow Natalie for the rest of the novel as she tries to carve out her own identity and find her footing in a new city while becoming increasingly co-dependent with her older partner.

The book was at once devastating and beautiful and I found myself becoming invested in Natalie's life and rooting for her success. I highly recommend this book to those who love sad girl fiction and authors like Sally Rooney, Elena Ferrante, Elif Batuman, Lilly King, and Melissa Broder.

In all, this book has everything - self-discovery, queer love, female friendships, mommy issues, and the Northrop Frye statue outside of the E.J. Pratt Library.

Wow, this book!

This book was heavy— not literally, but figuratively. The whole time I was reading it, I was trying to watch for all of the various symbolism and themes within this novel; but, I feel like there was so much to examine that I undoubtedly missed some. That being said, if someone were to write an essay on this book, I don’t think they’d have any shortage of content to work with. It’s so simply complicated, and explores themes of love, growing up, anxiety even. It’s art. I think fans of Sally Rooney would like this!

I loved the way our narrator, Natalie, took us through this story. Her brain going on various little trains of thought or streams of consciousness throughout, I liked it, and found it to be a pretty thoughtful presentation of how an over-thinker’s brain works. Furthermore, how she tries to manage her emotions while maintaining a desired “image” throughout the novel is something I think many readers will relate to.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The closer I got to the end, the more inclined I was to keep reading.