Making It
A Novel
by Laura Kay
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Jul 02 2024 | Archive Date Aug 01 2024
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Description
"Brilliantly and truthfully rendered friendships, flirtations, and workplace dramas . . . but also a truly nuanced, sensitive, and warm-hearted portrait of living with mental illness." —Emma Hughes, author of No Such Thing as Perfect
Isobel's life is small: just her, her mum, and her pet chinchilla, Abigail, in their council flat on the Kentish coast. After mental health troubles in her teens, Issy, now twenty-eight, has kept things that way on purpose, only deviating from routine when her part-time job at a paint-your-own pottery studio demands it, or when she's inspired to create art of Abigail: knitted Abigails, sculptural Abigails, delicately rendered paintings of Abigail.
When the Abigails earn the attention of famous artist and reality TV star Elizabeth Staggs, Issy is awestruck and a little alarmed. These emotions compound when Elizabeth makes Issy an unexpected offer: move to London and work for a year shadowing Elizabeth as she produces her hit arts documentary series. Terrified but determined, Issy agrees, and soon finds herself sharing a flat with a crew of boisterous roommates who welcome her into their queer enclave and attempt to mentor her in the city's wide world of romantic possibilities. Issy can't help but wish that one roommate—gorgeous and cool aspiring actress, Robin—might make her mentorship a bit more hands on...even while, at work, she struggles under the guidance of Elizabeth's harsh and exacting young producer, Aubrey.
But when Elizabeth seizes on Issy's idea to structure the upcoming season around a group of outsider artists, Issy finds both her work and love lives growing more complicated by the day, whether she's ready or not. Making It is a nuanced and life affirming look at living with depression and of finding, as we all deserve to, self-acceptance, community, and love.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780593470077 |
| PRICE | $18.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 384 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Bookseller 881337
MAKING IT is a heartfelt and relatable story about isobel "issy" bailey, a girl whose life consists of her part-time job at a pottery studio, her mom, and her pet chinchilla, abigail, and the art she makes of abigail. when elizabeth staggs, a famous artist whose work issy loves, shows up at her house and offers her a job in london, issy packs up her life and abigail's cage and moves into a flat in london with three quirky roommates. moving to a new city is no small feat, and issy attempts to balance her depression along with her new job working with elizabeth, her burgeoning crush on her roommate robin, and life in a new city.
while i didn't immediately connect with issy and her story, the more i read, the more i related to her struggles and anxieties. beyond a romance novel, this is a story about mental health, identity and community, and i found it so heartwarming and emotional. issy was a very realistic heroine—she was kind of a mess in a lot of ways, she fucked up, she struggled, but that made her all the more relatable to me because she was deeply human. i loved seeing how her relationships with her roommates and her friends developed, how she found herself and became more comfortable with who she was, and how she grew throughout the course of the book.
read if you like:
- found family
- mental health rep
- pet chinchillas
thanks to netgalley and vintage for the advanced copy! MAKING IT comes out july 2nd.
Fia C, Reviewer
4.75/5
A phenomenal, heart-wrenching, comfort read.
I would say this is not entirely a romance (unless you count it as a romance enemies-to-lovers edition with Issy vs her own life) but more of a coming of age novel with a subplot of romance. This book felt like a warm hug. I found myself out and about just wishing I could be curled up in my bed reading this at all hours of the day (not unusual, but it is rare I have the urge to do so with a ~specific~ book in mind.)
This gave major Beautiful World, Where Are You vibes but with queer, likable characters and a better romance. I want to live in Apt 47a. I will even take the uncomfortable couch or sleep on the roof. All the side characters seemed very real to me, as well as the depiction of mental health. The only reason it is not a 5 star for me is because I wanted there to be a little bit more in the romance department. I can’t wait to reread this one (and hopefully read more of a possibly-interconnected-standalone-series-to-come-????) ((Please Laura Kay if you are reading this!!!))
Henry L, Librarian
Where do I even start? Making It by Laura Kay is a fantastic depiction of finding yourself after being lost in a sea of mental illness and struggle. Issy is so wonderful to follow as she creates a life beyond the town she's from and engages with other people in new meaningful ways. There's a romance in this book, but I wouldn't call Making It a romance by any means. The focus is on Issy and her navigating this new world of roommates and work and queerness in general, things she's never cared about in this way before. There's also a very touching understanding of how some people do need to create to keep themselves alive and what it means to be a person driven by creativity and little else. This isn't a sad book, but it is a reflective one, and I cried at least four times while reading this. There were just these little moments that rose into something so emotionally impactful that a single line could tear me apart.
I'm very picky in my taste in books and until I read Wild Things earlier this year, I hadn't had a 5 star book since 2020 and with this one she's done it again. Seriously she puts something magic in these that makes me want to read them again and again until I've figured how exactly they work so well. Absolutely going to read every book she ever publishes and will be acquiring them for our collection!
Rubie C, Reviewer
I loved Wild Things! So to say I was ready for a new Kay novel…. Is an understatement!
Making It by Laura Kay is a heartwarming and relatable queer rom-com.
The characters were well-developed, drawing me into their world and making their journeys feel relatable. The pacing was spot-on, keeping me hooked from beginning to end.
I really enjoyed the character development and humor throughout the book.
Another wonderful story!
Thank You NetGalley and Vintage for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
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