Thirsty is a near-perfect teen novel (older teens/high interest). This book deals with not one, not two, but at the very least, three hard-hitting topics.
Blake has harbored resentment for years due to a thoughtless remark from her mother. This does lead to one of my favorite quotes from Blake's brother--"She's a white woman. Of course, she says s*** like that sometimes."
There's homophobia and transphobia; once again from people who should be better. These issues aren't just given a cursory glance, but the main event is Blake's problem with alcohol. As with so many teens and young adults, Blake needs a socially acceptable bolster, and alcohol is it. I like how instead of just being presented with examples of her behavior and its consequences, we hear how it happened and why--from Blake as well as other characters. Everyone has their own take.
The wrap and ending for this story are just so good and, I have to say, surprising. I was expecting the usual tropes-rehab or losing everything and everyone. Instead, Hammonds took a less jaded, more realistic approach and it worked.
I could blather on since I've barely touched on half the things in this book. I'll just say that you should read it and enjoy the story!
#NetGalley

This book is going to take you through some things. Bea is the lead conductor of the Hot Mess Express. She is in a whole bunch of toxic and co-dependent relationships - with her girlfriend, her "friend" group/sorority, the "bottle", etc.. This book has a LOT going on because Bea is working through so many things during a confusing transition in her life and the author does not hold back in showing the good, the bad and the ugly. Bea is an unmitigated disaster but as learn you more about her, you start to understand why and the reader cannot help to root for her. Jas Hammonds sophomore effort is unflinching and supberb!

I was only a few chapters into Thirsty when I realized that this book would likely become one of my favorite reads of 2024, and that feeling stuck with me for the remainder of the book. Jas Hammonds is such a talented writer, and one whose work I've been meaning to read for a long time. This book was truly unputdownable, and I devoured it, which was particularly surprising given the heavy nature of the content and themes (including alcoholism, peer pressure, transphobia, classism, and racism).

What I loved:
- The writing style: Jas Hammonds writes in a way that is both beautifully lyrical and also so, so readable. There was a slow-building tension throughout the first three-quarters of the book that made me feel like I couldn't put the book down for even a minute. I absolutely needed to find out where Blake, Ella, and Annetta's stories would take them.
- The relationships: It's so challenging to have such a large cast of characters who all have different, complicated relationships with each other, but this was one of my favorite parts of Thirsty. I especially enjoyed the depiction of Blake's evolving relationships outside of her romantic partnership with Ella.
- The resolution: There were so many directions Jas Hammonds could have taken the story, and (without giving away any spoilers) I appreciated the ending that we were given. It may not have been neat and tidy, but it provided the believable closure I needed.
- The setting: There's just something about a "summer story", and as a former lifeguard who spent whole summers poolside, I was immediately sucked into the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reader copy!

Trigger Warnings: (as per beginning of novel) alcohol addiction, self-hatred, suicidal ideation, racial microaggressions, transphobic thetoric, and non-consensual outing

During the summer before college, Blake, her girlfriend, Ella, and their best friend, Annetta have one goal: join the exclusive Serena Society at their college. The sorority promises status and lifelong connections to a network of powerful, trailblazing women of color. Ella’s acceptance is a certainty - so is Annetta really - both of their mothers are Serena’s alum. However, Blake has a lot more to prove.

Blake comes from a working-class background and lacks confidence, nothing like Ella. Luckily, she finds courage with drops of liquor because when she drinks, she becomes Big Bad Bee - funny, bold, and unstoppable. But, as Serena pledging intensifies, so does Blake’s drinking, but it doesn’t stop at just partying. Ella assures Blake that she’s fine; nothing she’s doing isn’t what needs to be done to make the cut.

But the closer she gets to success, the more Blake’s drowning. With her future so bright ahead, Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go and to lose to step into the bright light of her dreams.

I absolutely adored Jas Hammond’s debut novel, We Deserve Monuments, so I’ve been highly anticipating their second novel since they announced it on their Instagram. Goodness, this doesn’t disappoint.

Blake was such a complex character - one that made it so hard to keep rooting for her as she continuously turned to alcohol, but I wanted her happy ending and was proud of her when she really tried. On top of trying to get into the Serena Society, Blake is not only navigating the transition between high school life and college but also her identity, her past, and what that means for her future and her place in the world.

I also love the relationship we see between both Blake and Ella and Blake and Annetta and how both characters interact with her. We see the type of support (or lack of support) that they give Blake and how she responds to it and it gives the characters more depth and realistic interactions.

Overall, this is a wonderful coming of age novel about an 18-year-old and her relationship with both drinking and those around her. I would somewhat argue that this novel could fall under the New Adult genre and not YA, but could see it being either.

*Thank you Roaring Brook Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Wow. This was phenomenal. I honestly had no doubts that I was going to love this because I adored We Deserve Monuments and this book is so different yet just as amazing.

It follows a biracial lesbian main character, her girlfriend, and her best friend as they try and get into this elite sorority group for black women.

Blake is an alcoholic but that's not acknowledged until almost the end of this book and a big hunk of this book is her partying and drinking and abusing alcohol to the point where it starts to ruin her relationships and her friendships. She is peer pressured into drinking constantly during this pledging process and her girlfriend is super problematic. There is a wealth difference between Blake and her girlfriend and that is discussed pretty in-depth. I really loved Blake's relationship with her best friend and overall this book is incredibly important. It's engaging and you're going to get sucked in and it's gonna end up as a favorite for you too.

Thirsty: A Novel by Jas Hammonds is an important but difficult read. Main character Blake and her girlfriend, Ella, are going to college in the fall and have been invited to pledge The Serena Society. The Serena Society is a sorority for women of color that promises life long connections and support. Ella, Blake's girlfriend, and Blake's best friend, Annetta, are legacies, so they are a shoo, but Blake has to prove herself to make it into the sorority.

Throughout the summer, pledging becomes more demanding, so Blake drinks to give her confidence and to help her fit in. Over time it is clear that Blake has a drinking problem and it's affecting every aspect of her life. The reader is taken along on Blake's journey as she sinks lower and lower. This book deals with the heavy topics of alcoholism, gender identity, race, and the need to fit in. It should be required reading for teens.

Love who you are, even when you make mistakes.

18yo Blake is poor compared to her rich friends and she works at a country club full of entitled people. Blake wants to fit in more than anything and she realizes that she relaxes when she drinks. Alcohol becomes Blake’s crutch in all social situations because she believes that she’s worthless which stems from years of bullying. Blake’s girlfriend Ella ensures her that her drinking isn’t a problem but when their best friend Annetta and Blake’s brother keep trying to help her stop her drinking because of the consequences she’s dealing with, Blake gets angry. Blake spirals into alcoholism and she’s faced with some very tough choices.

Likes/dislikes: Strong character development. Realistic fiction that packs a punch. I appreciated how the author portrayed Blake, her problems, and her family in such a true manner.
Mature Content: R for on page sex.
Language: R for 165 swears and 79 f-words.
Violence: PG for vandalism.
Ethnicity: mostly white with a mix of Blacks, biracial, and Filipino characters.

I dont even know what to say at the moment but, Jas Hammonds does it again. HAving a debut like We Deserve Monuments and then following up with Thirsty is wild business!

A realistic depiction of addiction and how it develops and becomes exacerbated in the lives in teenagers. I liked that this story had depth and showed some extremes of addiction without presenting things for shock value. You cheered for Blake (our MC) but you also recognized she has a lot of flaws and that she was likely going to make the same mistakes multiple times. The story did show a cycle without becoming repetitive. I think the complicated relationships were addressed well.

Representation and Content Warnings: lesbian MC, sapphic MCs, non-binary supporting, anxiety, addiction, grief/loss, toxic relationships

I loved We Deserve Monuments so I knew I was going to need to read this one. While the tone of this book is very different the relationships between the characters are so real and live I was drawn into the story. I will say with this book I didn’t love the main character. She was hard to like, but that fit with the themes the book was trying to examine. This book tackled teenage alcoholism, toxic relationships, racism, and gender identity. Blake and her girlfriend Ella have one goal for the summer: get into the exclusive Serena Society. Ella doesn’t have much to worry about her mother is a part of the society of trailblazing women of color, but Blake has a lot more to prove. Luckily for Blake she finds courage in the bottom of the bottle and when she drinks she feels like the life of the party. But not everyone sees the life of the party in her when she drinks and her best friend expresses concern and as much as Blake brushes it off her drinking starts to leak into every part of her life. This book was beautifully written. I loved the diversity that was present in this book.

Thirsty is a YA Contemporary novel that I loved. It’s a fast paced story with compelling characters and an all around powerful story.

Blake drinks because everyone likes her more when she’s drunk. Only she’s really mean to herself when she’s drinking. Former loner from a working-class family, she’s the only member of her social circle who isn’t wealthy. Her girlfriend is charismatic and confident. Her best friend doesn’t care to prove herself to others. But Blake wants to prove herself. She wants to fit in. She wants to be seen. And she finds her courage to do just that at the bottom of a liquor bottle.

I loved this book. Like damn it was so well written that I could just feel it all. I could feel Blake’s desperation. I could feel the love she had for certain characters and how alone and trapped she felt at times. And I just wanted to wrap her up in a hug.

This story is personal to the author and you can feel it in every word. The storytelling is so authentic and nuanced. It had me relating to things I’ve never even experienced, because it was so well written.

I think this book will be powerful for teens to read, but also adults. Because drinking is normal, right? Everyone parties, right? Except maybe not.

Please read this book. You won’t regret it.

(Check CW first)

Thank you MacMillian for an early copy.

"Thirsty" depicts Blake as she struggles with alcoholism, leading up to her freshman year of college. This was incredibly moving story, that covered so many important topics, like: underage drinking, toxic relationships, and race. I really admired how raw, and authentic Jas Hammonds voice is in depicting Blake's story and experience.

This book tore me apart.
Hammonds puts uncomfortable topics front and center -
Family connections. Lack of communication. Sexuality. Addiction. Alcohol consumption as normal behavior. Self hate. Toxic relationships.
Desperate to be a part of her affluent girlfriend's life, Blake forces her into acceptable shapes. Their relationship, started at 14, may have started as healthy, after 4 years became toxic, feeding into Ella's need to dominate. Blake does anything for Ella.
A crucial read for our youth - queer, POC, lack of wealth.

Another banger by Jas!!!!

So many great things about this book - the characters, the timeline, the emotion and logic behind drinking (or not), various parental relationships, I can go on forever! The last chapter “How to be the life of the Party” is probably my fave and will be something I go back and read often.

Hammond showed us how you can be 18 with your own issues but also be an ally to friends going through complex things like gender identity. They also showed us easy it is to fall into partners of drinking and why idolizing our lovers can be bad. I loved Blake’s journey to self assurance and how she was able to overcome her issues while acknowledging this isn’t an overnight process. On the surface this book is about sobriety and what that looks like but I think how Blake was able to overcome can be used as an example for any problem.

I’m only not giving this one 5 stars because I wasn’t bawling my eyes out like the last one but it still moved my spirit and I can’t wait to get a finished copy!

They did it again!!! If you are not reading this sapphire gem, you are truly missing out!!

Blake is the life of the party and trying to get into a secret society with her girlfriend, Ella, and best friend, Annetta. While trying to do this, she is also dealing with the fact that she might just have a drinking problem.

In so many ways, I could relate with Blake and I didn’t realize it until reading the words on the pages.

This story is enlightening, complex, and loving. It’s about family, friends, love, realization, change, healing, and self love.

I can not recommend this book enough!!! I promise you fall in love! Jas wrote the hell out of this book!

Also. Ella can go fall in the deepest pit and I would be so happy!

Thank you to Netgally, the publisher and the author for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

WOW. Where do I start??? Jas Hammonds does it again, this book covers so many themes. This is a story of self discovery, queer identity, addiction and its complications. I wanted to hug Blake, when wanting to be seen so bad causes you to do anything to fit in and try to stay afloat. Much like We Deserve Monuments, its beautifully written. Can't wait to see more from this author.

thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for a review!

ahhh this was good! i was a little nervous before starting because the subject matter was a little out of my depth, and while i remember ENJOYING jas hammonds' previous novel i couldn't quite remember what exactly i liked about it. HOWEVER i really liked this one too so clearly theyre doing something right. annetta is the winner of my (coveted. trust me its coveted) favorite character of the book award because she is me fr. and i am now a part of the 'we hate ella' club.

as i've said, not too experienced on the subject matter but i'm taking others' words for it that it was depicted well! and considering hammonds has gone sober herself i expect they have done all the research they needed to. i also thought the racial aspects were handled well and i'm using this for the ATY week 14 prompt, a book with a black main character!

highly recommend checking this one out and hammonds's other book, we deserve monuments :) (and both have gorgeous covers which is just a bonus!)

I love Jas Hammonds writing so much. So very different from We Deserve Monuments, but if you are a fan of their writing and YA contemporary, you’ll love this too.

This book was really good and touched on a lot of heart-heavy topics. There were many jaw dropping “what the fuck” moments and the hazing from the society was insane to read about. I thought it touched on alcoholism in college kids REALLY well. As well as the peer pressure to “keep up” and be cool around people you’re trying to impress, and especially the internal monologue of “do I have a problem or don’t I have a problem” when it came to drinking.

I really liked the ending, and I thought the way Ella was portrayed was so well done. Like a very emotionally abusive S/O but in such a subtle way that by the end you’re like “holy fuck this bitch is terrible”

I wished we had a little more personal growth for Bree, especially when her drinking centered around her self hatred. When did those thoughts about herself start? Why did we never see them in everyday thoughts? I think some parts of the MC feel flat because of this, but overall I really liked Bree and I thought her ending was really great

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked this book. The character development and plot was amazing. The showcasing of the american black struggle was very good.