I started reading this book three times and somehow couldn’t get through the pages. There’s something stopping me from reading further and really getting invested in this story. It’s definitely a me thing, not the book. I might pick it up in the future again but for now I decided to DNF. I won’t publish my review on Goodreads or anywhere else.

Idlewild perfectly depicts friendship of high school outcasts in the early aughts. Fay and Nell become friends on 9/11 in their artsy Quaker high school in New York. They quickly bond over their own goofiness and eccentricity. The writing is so vivid and hilarious. The humor is similar to PEN15 show on Hulu. I found the backdrop of the time period was depicted so well. Being a few years older than the characters, I had many of the same cultural touch stones. Though they are only friends for a year in high school, their friendship was quite formative. The present-day and how they see that time in their lives. I especially appreciated how well it depicts our lack of understanding of how our actions affect others. A fantastic read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and @Abramsbooks for this advanced copy!

This book is set in the early 2000s. It revolves heavily around 9/11, the war with Iraq, and other current events of the time. These events inform the actions of many of the characters in this book. The commentary on these (now) historical events was interesting and well written. It gave an insights into the minds of the teenagers in New York at this time who were trying to navigate their own lives alongside the intense tragedies that were happening.

Despite these heavy themes, Idlewild maintains its deeply teenaged perspective. Focusing on school plays, identity, relationships, and college applications alongside the larger conversations of war. Idlewild is narrated by its two main characters (Fay and Nell) looking back on their short lived but intense friendship that ended in disaster. This perspective helps solidify the differences between teenaged Nell and Fay and their adult selves, the people the grow up to become.

While there is a strong overarching plot, something that I enjoyed about Idlewild was the sense that the section of life we hear about in its pages is just that, a section. The world continues to spin on afterward and will continue to do so for the characters even after the final page. Their relationships are both transient and lingering. Something that happened for a very short period of time but haunts them many years into the future.

This was an incredibly interesting and well written exploration of sexuality, identity, friendship, and navigating the world when you are too young to understand it. The characters all felt so real and complete with fallacies that made them both relatable and tragic. This book is a great reminder how difficult it can be to grow up in a continually changing world and an ode to a struggling generation finding their footing.

Ambitious and engaging and a painfully accurate remembering of the awkwardness of being a young queer person in a specific era. I did not realize my inner teenager would benefit so much from a fictional character having a specific experience around the inconvenience of being born a little bit too early to have a queer identity experience encompass a gender identity experience, but they certainly did. I also appreciate the inclusion of "bad gays" and abusive dynamics within queer relationships and friendships; I sure hope we are at a point where queer people can acknowledge that not every gay is a blessing, like the signs from 1970s parades that make it onto social media cyclically say. Aside from the personal experience I had with the text around queerness, Idlewild is a well-written novel that manages to incorporate a number of thorny bigger topics with the universal experience of growing up to much success. I really enjoyed this and am grateful for the chance to read a copy before the official release in fall, so thank you for that.

Absolute perfection! This resonated on so many levels, and not just because I was young and queer in NYC during 9/11, Fay and Nell are two of the strongest/funniest/messiest characters I've come across this year, and
anyone who experienced an intense high school friendship that didn't survive and thrive in the years after will be able to relate to this book. These two are seen by their peers and see themselves as a single unit, but Thomas digs deep into both characters and gives them rich interior worlds and desires that they aren't always able to communicate with one other. Equally hilarious and heartbreaking, Idlewild nails the young queer experience in the Y2K era with fresh and lively and witty dialogue on every page, memorable side characters, and an effective ending so painfully honest and realistic, I just sat and wept for a few minutes once it was over. Loved!!

I can't fully put into words just how brilliant this book is--Fay and Nell are messy, cringy, annoying at times, but most importantly, so REAL. I knew these characters, as well as the secondary ones, and I've lived in their world even though they're a bit older than I was on 9/11. I'll be thinking about these two for a long, long while.

Fun, heartwarming, smart, and surprising!! This book is a wild ride that's really disarming and utterly charming while still covering heavy ground (namely, 9/11). It'll be very readable for anyone who is a millennial, IMO, making me perhaps an ideal reader. I really appreciated how earnest this book is when discussing things like fanfiction and queerness and all the details of adolescence that feel so formative and also so cringe looking back, and I think it stands alone in its exploration of 9/11 from the perspective of locals who weren't, say, first responders--the idea of being so close but not actually seeing the attack, for example, is so ripe with nuance and dimension, and something I haven't found a lot in lit. At times the younger POVs felt a little too young for me (the drama club!!) but overall worked very well for the storyline itself, and will be perfect for the ideal reader. I can't wait to see how readers react to this one, it's so original!!

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy of this intriguing book!

An interesting take on all things early 00s. The twin towers, AIM, and more. Really nice to see that era in a realistic light and not just a joke among TikTokers.

There's a certain subset of millennial women who went to high school in the early 00s who wrote and read fanfic on livejournal and struggled with their queerness – some of us knew at fourteen we were queer and some of us didn't realize it until we were in our 30s – who will see pieces of themselves in Fay and Nell. I see pieces of myself in Fay and Nell, pieces of the (real and internet-based) friends I had when I was a senior in high school in 2002. I'm not sure if this book is meant more for those us with memories of this time and these events or more for young queer Gen Z kids (or both, both is good), but for me this evoked a specific set of memories and feelings that I hadn't revisited in years. There's something visceral and captivating about their story, their desperate emotions, that so perfectly captures what it felt like to be seventeen when the world was upended by 9/11 and the Iraq War. This is the kind of book, the kind of writing that makes the experience of being seventeen more universal than that and I think people who were seventeen in 2016 and 2020 and 2023 can see their reflections in Fay and Nell too.

In "Idlewild" by James Frankie Thomas, readers are transported to the vibrant setting of Idlewild, a unique and artsy Quaker high school nestled in lower Manhattan. At Idlewild, conventions are challenged, teachers are called by their first names, grades are non-existent, and each day commences with a profound 20 minutes of contemplative silence. However, it is within the confines of this unconventional environment that the tragic events of 9/11 unfold, forever altering the lives of the characters.

For Fay and Nell, two social outcasts at Idlewild, 9/11 becomes the catalyst for a profound and intense friendship that spans 18 months. Fay, characterized by her prickly and aloof demeanor, is fixated on gay men, while the shy and sensitive Nell is captivated by Fay herself. Their bond intensifies as they spend their waking hours meticulously analyzing their surroundings for homoerotic subtext. However, their lives take a transformative turn when they encounter two sexually ambiguous boys during rehearsals for the fall play. The foursome become intertwined, reflecting each other's desires and pushing one another towards choices that will haunt them for years to come.

Through the lens of adulthood, the estranged Fay and Nell recount the events of that pivotal school year, delving into backstage theater department intrigue, antiwar demonstrations, risqué fanfic created over AIM, and their shared dial-up internet connection. As their narratives intertwine, the story exposes a spectacular array of mistakes, miscommunications, and betrayals that ultimately lead to the disintegration of their friendship.

"Idlewild" skillfully weaves a tale that explores themes of friendship, identity, and the lasting consequences of choices made in the throes of youth. Thomas masterfully captures the essence of the characters, their vulnerabilities, and the intensity of their connection. The portrayal of Fay and Nell's friendship is nuanced and deeply felt, drawing readers into the complex emotions that underpin their bond.

Thomas's storytelling is compelling, skillfully navigating the intricacies of teenage friendships and the tumultuous journey towards self-discovery. The backdrop of 9/11 adds an additional layer of emotional depth, as the characters grapple with the impact of a tragedy that forever reshaped their world.

While the narrative offers a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of the characters' lives, the pacing occasionally feels rushed. The multitude of events and subplots introduced throughout the story sometimes detract from the central themes and character development. Nevertheless, the overall impact of "Idlewild" remains strong, leaving readers with a poignant reflection on the fragility of human connections and the lasting consequences of our choices.

In conclusion, "Idlewild" by James Frankie Thomas is a compelling and evocative tale that delves into the complexities of friendship, self-discovery, and the reverberating effects of tragedy. Through rich storytelling and well-drawn characters, the author explores the profound impact of our choices, ultimately delivering a poignant and thought-provoking reading experience.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Look i read this book the day after reading 2 really great books and was NOT PREPARED for how much i was going to like it even though i had heard good things. But like 20 pages in i was already clear that i would be unable to eat or check my messages or even go to the bathroom until i had read every word of this book.

It's a good example, to me, of how a novel can be mostly about teenagers without being YA. It's about 2 high school friends, written from their perspective then and also 15 years later. Their fanfic is in the book, footnoted with the current thoughts of the person sharing it. Starting like 75-100 pages in, i was holding my breath knowing that things are going to turn in an awful direction and trying to figure out what will happen but also just wanting to be pulled along through the story as it spun on and spun out.

I gave 4.5 stars instead of 5, honestly, because i wanted a neater ending! That's a me issue (a.k.a. why i read more romance novels than lit fic), but it's a me review so fair enough. This book, though, is one i will be thinking about for a really long time.

Where to begin?? This book is going to stay with me for a very long time. Thomas effortlessly evokes both a tumultuous and complex moment in American and global history and the ways in which vulnerable teens process tragedy. A story about trauma bonding, toxic friendships, and queer coming of age that recreates the high drama and meticulous performativity that goes into being a teenager-- and a theater kid, at that. "Dark" and "funny" in a battle to the death here! Loved this.

One of my favorite reads this year. I haven’t been this captivated by a story and characters in a while. The premise seems so simple, but I was hanging onto every word. An amazing way to look into the relationships we have with each other (and parasocial relationships we have with others) during our teenager years. It was reminiscent of Rainey Royal by Dylan Landis, but with a more modern take. I am excited to be able to purchase a physical copy upon release.

It was an okay read, very fitting for the title and description, but wasn’t my favorite NG find. Wouldn’t recommend.

I personally detested this book. I found the protagonists wildly unlikable, which is a general deal breaker for me to truly enjoy a book. HOWEVER...I think it will appeal to new adults, and the time period is done so very well. The details of early-2000s internet culture (AIM away messages, dial-up internet, Livejournal, etc.) are spot on, and give a real slice of life of a fleeting time period.