Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. Whoever You Are, Honey is darkly strange in a very good way. Mitty, a 20-something lives on the coast with her mother's friend, Bethel. Bethel is somewhere in her mid-70's but she and Mitty live companionably in an older house at the ocean's edge. Sebastian and Lena move into the modern glass McMansion next door and the changes begin. Mitty has a troubled past and was sent to live with Bethel on her mother's directive. Sebastian and Lena are a shiny, spectacular couple - he's big, fit and weathly and she's every man's trophy - beautiful, petite, fit. This book is a somewhat dystopian look at awakenings for Mitty and Lena. This is the perfect story for the A.I. generation that is coming soon. If you are looking for a bizarre but wonderful read Whoever You Are, Honey is the book for you.

I have been pining for this book since the first hint Olivia Gatwood dropped of writing a novel years ago, so yeah you could say MY LIFE IS COMPLETE! What a beautiful transition from poetry to fiction! I love Mitty and Lena and Bethel, and I loved learning about their histories and thoughts and seeing them learn about each other. And wow the ending got me!

3.5 stars. There is no doubt that Gatwood is a talented writer. The writing in this book was both lyrical and contemplative. However, I was expecting more from the plot. I had already figured out exactly where it was going by the 30% mark so I thought that surely something else would happen to develop the story further. But nothing did. So Lena and Mitty’s inner monologues and conversations became a bit too repetitive for me.

Thank you to Random House / The Dial Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

I think my expectations were too high for this one. The set up was interesting enough but it just dragged and dragged and then I felt ended too abruptly without exploring any of the things I felt it needed to. I also felt like the names Mitty, Lena, and Bethel were too samey and it took a bit for me to stop confusing them. They weren't very distinct as characters early enough in the book. It wasn't bad, I just was expecting to love it and it was kind blah.

I did love the cover so much!

really interesting fic for teh age of ai. felt like one part thriller, one part litfic, one part scifi. it worked amazingly. tyssm for the arc.

I enjoyed this book! I especially loved the writing. I didn't know that Gatwood is a poet, but it doesn't surprise me at all; her command of language is exquisite. It's also interesting in terms of content - it's got mysterious elements, though it's not really a mystery, but it's also not 100% not? (I'm not clear on whether a discovery at the end was meant to come as a surprise to the reader or strike them as inevitable.) At times it reminded me of Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, which was also beautiful and not easy to pin down. Overall, I'd describe it as atmospheric, evocative, and eerie, and at times more of a meditation than a narrative (which I enjoy!). Thanks to Random House / The Dial Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this little strange book! There was just enough mystery to keep me interested that I couldn't put it down. I so badly wanted to learn Mitty's story and I loved Lena's character. Lena seemed so at ease on surface level, and I loved that we got to dive into why she was the way she was, or what her perceived herself to be. Overall, I really enjoyed this book a lot and will recommend to friends!

I think this book is really well written. but it just wasn't for me. Clunky intros always deter me but I trudged ahead. This one stood out because the premise was truly unique.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC. Whoever You Are, Honey was pretty interesting and very mysterious. I was 50% in and still had no clue what was going on, which kept me wanting to read to find out what was happening. I felt the pace of the book was good, not too slow. The entire book was building up to something shocking that I was waiting for, but when it was revealed, it wasn’t explored more. I did enjoy the book; however, the end didn’t satisfy me at all. It felt rushed, and I wanted to know more. I was left with so many unanswered questions.

I was not familiar with Gatwood but the title and cover made me want to read this book. I liked the descriptions of the characters and the way the story flowed. It was easy to stay interested because of the plot and mystery. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

3 stars

This is a pretty good book. It’s not quite what I was expecting from the description but I still found myself enjoying it for the most part. It is a bit slow though.

I loved this. I was sucked in from the beginning. I love the depictions of loneliness for our character. The setting was so vivid and crisp.

As a fan of Gatwood's poetry collection Life of the Party, I was equally excited and grateful to read her fiction debut early. I love when poets write long form fiction, not only because they naturally have a great command of language, but I personally feel they're able to articulate originally small or obscure feelings and occurrences with a clarity that makes you appreciate them in a new way. Gatwood is no exception to this! I flew through Whoever You Are, Honey with ease and it was filled with little moments that made me think "god, that's exactly how that felt." I do wish there had been more of the murder plot line, as well as a deeper exploration of Mitty's before timeline - I could feel the former looming in the back the whole time, but it didn't really get it's moment (for me). Ultimately though, I do love this book for what it is and the more I reflect on the title and its relation to the story and its female characters, the more the love grows! I hope Gatwood continues to write fiction and I continue to get to read it!

This one had a lot of potential, but it just didn't come together in the end. The writing is, for the most part, okay, but there are occasionally strange or awkward descriptions that jolted me out of the story. The narrative itself is slow-paced, with a lot of telling and not as much showing. Altogether I felt like this one lacked substance. There was a lot, thematically, to explore, but it just didn't go there.

Beautifully written, eerie, and contemplative. Whoever You Are, Honey explores desire, agency, escape, technology, and friendship in interesting ways. I think it could have gone a bit deeper in this exploration but I also appreciate the unfinished / open-endedness I was left with as a reader.

I loved Mitty, Lena, and Bethel and their interactions. This is a tense, intriguing, and enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the digital ARC. I devoured this strange, gorgeously written story. The sci-fi elements mesh well with the overall lit fic tone, and some of the flashbacks tell me that Oliva Gatwood has got to have at least one amazing young adult book in her. I loved how well she captures the insidious nature of loneliness and how it can impact the way you interact with the world. The characters and the Santa Cruz/Arizona settings were so vivid, and the relationships all felt very believably messy and complicated. It was a little grislier than I expected, which I loved. It wasn't perfect — certain elements felt a little twee (not necessarily a bad thing) and the word "grin" was used about a thousand times — but I loved this book. It doesn't remind me of anything super specific, but it has elements of "Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro, maybe some Emma Cline, maybe some Melissa Broder. I'll def be preordering, and will probably re-read when it's published this summer.