Loved it lol

I really enjoyed Worry

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow. I wanted to give this 5 stars and I might come back and change it once I've thought about it a bit more. The shock ending may have affected the re-readability for me. I'm not saying it was a bad ending, I'm just saying it made me feel bad. Other than that, I loved every page of this. Very slice-of-life, stream of consciousness, no real plot, not much character development (like, none actually). But it's hilarious and brutally sad and I loved it.

This is a hyper-realistic depiction of two sisters in their mid-20s living together in Brooklyn in 2019. Jules is an extremely jaded editor who struggles with every single relationship in her life. She just doesn't have the energy for it. Instead, she's obsessed with stalking conspiracy-loving Mormon mommies on instagram. Here's what one of them has to say about the evolution of the Starbucks logo:

"Who knew this about Starbucks??? Bill Gates (SHILL GATES) is tied to Starbucks. The logo is actually Lilith. She is typically described as the Devil's own Wife and a CHILD EATER. Lilith is a SEXUALLY WANTON DEMON that comes in the nights and STEALS NEWBORN BABIES. I've only ever had a Starbucks once. I'm glad I don't support them!!!! #RAPTURE #BEASTSYSTEM #SALVATION #FALLENANGELS #NEWWORLDORDER #JESUSISCOMING #LASTDAYS #YAHWEH #FAITH #BIBLEPROPHECY #BIBLE #SATAN #ENDTIMES #ILLUMINATI #YAHSHUAH #MARTIALLAW #TRUTH #MARKOFTHEBEAST #FREEMASONS #GOD #JESUSCHRIST #HOLYSPIRIT #REPENT #DEMONS #DEVILS #ANTICHRIST #YASHUAH" p. 119 (although I have a digital ARC so idk if the pages are right)

The mommies' stuff IS very fun to read, but seeing so many would eventually destroy my brain. The boymoms, oh my god.

Jules is also just obsessed with the internet in general, spending 10 hours a day falling into google holes, as described here:

"I google a writer I hate. Next I google "endoscopic brow lift". Next I google some direct-to-consumer shelving. Next I google "staph from food". Next I google "pet cemetery". . . Next I google my grandfather's name, Sid Gold, and read his obituary from 2001. . . Next I google the names of my grandfather's parents, Rebecca and Tuvia Goldbaum, plus "Long Island" plus "Jewish cemetery". . . and I poke around databases of the tombstones in Jewish cemeteries on Long Island. Then it's 3:34 in the morning." p. 116

Jules' younger sister, Poppy, is newly living with her. She attempted suicide a year ago. She is slightly more earnest. She adopts a three-legged dog named Amy Klobuchar. Both sisters are very confused about what they're doing and where they're going. They're not even sure they like each other. Their mother is fresh into pyramid schemes and thoughts of the deep-state, like the instagram mommies, and she's also just a terrible person who hates both her daughters.

This book is gross, extremely funny, disturbing, probably a little TOO realistic in that unsettling, depressing way. A bleak portrayal of humanity and life in NYC. I loved it.

And truly, I can't accurately explain how funny it is.
In that "HAHAHAhhaha.... eehhh..." way.

Two of the most insufferable, annoying, helpless, boring people on earth move in with each other and continue to be insufferable, annoying, helpless, and boring. There were some genuinely laugh out loud funny moments in this and I appreciated some of the satire, but that couldn't save it from being a slog. The sisters bicker constantly about the same things, and neither of them have a single redeeming quality. Tanner doesn't seem to have much to say about any topic, and we jump from mommy bloggers to boredom with corporate America to chronic illness to anti-Semitism to tough familial relationships with no throughline or resolution. I think there is a story here and the characters have potential if they were more three-dimensional. This was a drag and a flop and the ending was so violent for no apparent reason.

My god was that unhinged

I adored this. I guess it was a case of right place, right time, but I thought this was so funny. There wasn't much of a plot but I felt like I could have read ~500 more pages of Poppy and Jules. Actually I would love for these characters to be revisited every 10 years or so.

captured the high school reunion facebook group atmosphere perfectly