This is a spoiler-free review!
I bought this book over the summer last year, but with an ever-growing TBR pile, it soon got lost in the long, long list of books that I needed to tackle and recommendations from my deceiving For You page on TikTok. But alas, I finally grabbed it off the shelf and parked myself on the skydeck of my apartment building to catch some sun and check list off the list. The summary on the back of the book drew me in, but unfortunately, it was the only interesting about this book. I was expecting some devious, toxic friendships in Rosoff's novel, but was met with lackluster characterization and a plot that could not get a grasp of what it wanted to be. The writing felt mediocre and often times unfinished - the only upside was the styling allowed reading to be quick paced and after two hours of reading, I only had about 30 pages left.
Beth, eighteen, is riding the high of being selected for a summer internship in New York, is met with a number of challenges raging from the heat of the city to wavering relationships with her co-interns. When luck seems to find her way and she befriends Edie, they have an instant connection and soon become attached to the hip. But with attachment comes consequences, and Beth finds herself riding in the passenger seat of Edie's never-ending drama, theatrics, and mood swings. The more time Beth spends with Edie, the more she succumbs to manipulative tactics and the constant stress of always following her lead. Keeping that in mind, I wish Edie was as diabolical as Beth made her out to be, and while I agree that Edie's actions were frustrating and thoughtless, she just seemed like an annoying, self-centered girl at the end of the day who Beth never stood up to until the very end.
Dan and Oliver's characterization were surface-level and unappealing in the sense that they held no true value to me throughout the entire book. They provided some minor support in showcasing Edie's true character, but ultimately I could not form an attachment or interest in their little side quests - they were simply uninteresting. I wish this read more as a core four toxic friend group rather than two girl best friends accompanied by their male coworkers - it would have made much more sense for all of them to be conniving towards one another than only having one "true" villain of the group.
If you're looking for a quick read that you can fly through, this definitely checks that box. To be frank, I read it so quickly in hopes that there would be some form of climax to the plot that would be explosive or really make Beth and Edie "enemies" but was let down by the end. While this classifies as historical fiction by being set in 1983, the author was only able to set the scene by mentioning the AIDS epidemic and World War II scattered throughout the book - I never felt like I was transported back in time other than when they would mention that bagels would cost twelve cents instead of the typical two to three dollars in today's world. I may give another one of Rosoff's works a chance in the future as I have heard good things, but for now I will move on to my next read.
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