A very heavy read but ultimately lovely and full of hope. There’s a point where this begins to veer into tragedy for tragedy’s sake, but the surreality of Luigi’s presence and the moments of humor help to keep it afloat. This does feel to me like a draft that could use another round of edits to really pull everything together — parts of it were a bit scattered and it didn’t flow in a way that was completely cohesive. I also wish we spent more time seeing Vita’s relationship with Grace and Jesse develop. My favorite thing about this book is that the ending feels like a beginning.

This novel explores trauma and somatic trauma response, as well as the stigmas surrounding chronic illness of any kind. Vita, we lear, has been ill for a long time, and, at the start of the novel, is beginning to receive visitations from/of a long-dead Italian writer, who serves in a way as a therapist and as a "sassy girlfriend," trying to get Vita to understand the (possible) root of her illness. Pushed into relationships with her neighbors, Vita begins to question her life and the choices she's made, and becomes physically "better." It's hard for me to review this book because on the one hand, trauma is written on the body and a lot of people brush away any kind of chronic illness--caused by psychological trauma or not--as something people can control and fix. On the other hand, this also reads just like that belief that if you are experiencing physical symptoms, well, maybe it's just all in your head. The book's ambiguity on this issue seems to want to have it both ways: that yes, trauma can make you ill, and we shouldn't disregard physical symptoms, but at the same time, cheer up! and you'll get better right away.

While the writing was excellent, I found the premise and the structure of this novel very confusing and I wasn't that invested in it to try to figure it out.

Another reviewer has remarked that this is a story you either get or you don't get. Agreed. I find a lot of depth here, starting with Luigi as avatar/mentor and ending with only a partial recovery after two losses, one chosen and one not. An analogue for chronic illness, of course (long Covid leaps into view on the first page), but this story is also an investigation of creativity, to include not only art itself but also pain, loneliness, disbelief, dread and self-doubt; a life's work, "not what job you choose in life, but where it takes you"; and the frustrating downside of medicine that "hasn't really helped you so far." Lots of metaphors here: climbing, control, force, moving forward, not knowing, and the juxtapositions of memory, ambition, and need.

Well worth a second or third read.

Kate Weinberg's latest is an intimate, uncompromising, and ultimately compassionate examination of chronic illness and how our minds and bodies influence one another.

Normally, I like a unique way of storytelling/presentation but I felt like this book was written in such a disjointed manner. It wasn’t until the last quarter of the book that one discovers that Vita appears to be in a deep depression throughout the book but also possibly might be suffering from POTS or other type of chronic illness. I kind of enjoyed the presence of the ghosts. But I felt like the story was, “girl can’t face her grief and move forward in life WITH that grief and then a couple quirky characters help her face her sister’s demise which is not her fault.” Maybe that’s simplifying it, but I could not get really connected to the story even though I’ve struggled with depression as well. I like the writing style of this author, but didn’t like the story. I’m grateful to Putnam for granting me this ARC.

I suspect this is one of those books that you either relate to completely and therefore think is brilliant or cannot relate to and are therefore somewhat perplexed by... I myself fell in the latter camp. While I could objectively comprehend what she was going through, having never experienced it I found it to be a bit of a confusing read that I couldn't connect with, and that left me puzzled rather than intrigued. I was the wrong reader for this one.

Lots of TW: Sexual Assault, childhood trauma, death of sibling, medical, mental illness.

Interesting read, but also hard to read, in the sense of the contents, not language.

Characters to me didn't seem to have much depth, the book ends in a way I wasn't expecting, so I am not really sure what to think in a way? This book does make you think though.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found this novel hard to get into until halfway through when Vita started leaving her bed and apartment to visit her upstairs neighbors. The scenes with the ghost of Luigi were very strange and I had to ski.m through them. All in all, I found it interesting and unique. . . A story of one woman’s journey of coming to acceptance of her past and her grief.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Vita is a chronically ill and depressed young woman who has been struggling with this mysterious illness for the past 6 months. Her live-in fiance provides support from a distance, but for the most part Vita spends her days with her goldfish, Whitney Houston, and a poet from the Renaissance era called Luigi. Throughout the course of this novel, Vita falls in and out of the deepest part of her chronic illness and depression called "The Pit", until one day she unexpectedly befriends her downstairs neighbor. Throughout their friendship, Vita begins to unearth memories that have possibly contributed to declining health. Though this novel isn't action packed, it provides thought provoking characters and relationships.

This book had me hooked from the start and I could not stop reading. I cannot wait for it be published in August so that I can share it with my patrons at the library.

An interesting take from a character in a very compromised position in her life. The author tackles the topic of mental health issues with a very original premise and delves into human relationships with heartbreaking humor.

August 6th is the day this book is set for publication. Get it. It is hard to find the right words for this review. The story was unexpected, even though I knew about the storyline. It was sad but also inspirational. It was a shortish read, but I could have used about 20-40 pages more to understand some of the issues better. Having said all of that I really enjoyed it. There’s Nothing Wrong with Her was unexpected in the best way possible. The main character is flawed, and my heart broke for her, but I never lost hope for her. If you read the book you will understand what I mean.

This was the oddest book. I kept expecting answers with every page turn, but they never came.
The sad story features Vita who is very sick with some unknown illness. She lives with her boyfriend (doctor) Max. The illness has taken over Vita's body and has left her exhausted and in pain and she is seeing and talking to an imaginary(?) person.
I suppose the illness was sadness and guilt eating at her, but even at the end I wasn't too sure.

Okay so, as someone who is chronically ill in a way that often seems to make no sense and frustrate both myself and those around me, this was u n c o m f o r t a b l e to read at times, mostly because it was too relatable.

Minus the vivid hallucinations. For me personally anyway.

Watching Vita pull herself out of The Pit over and over, only to have setbacks that felt almost worse because of the brief hope that came before, was frustratingly accurate. And the way that those around her were sympathetic but also seemed doubtful at times, or the way she began to question herself. Living with any invisible illness is so unbelievably exhausting, and the way we address mental health’s part in it is disappointing and infuriating.

But also: WHAT happened at the end. What was that!! What is happening!

This book left me perplexed and not really sure what to think. Vita is struggling and has been for some time. She’s currently chronically ill and suffering from depression leading to hours and days in the Pit. Through her highs and lows, she explores her patterns and whether or not she feels strong enough to break them. I felt like I wanted more by the time it ended, but I’m not sure what I wanted more of.

I'll be honest and say that while reading I had moments of wanting to finish the book and get to something else. It does take a while to get into. Our main character, Vita, spends her days in "The Pit" which I think most will realize pretty quickly seems to be severe depression and while very real, doesn't move a story along. The story picks up once Vita is forced to leave her apartment and go upstairs and meet her neighbors. I would have liked to have more to the relationships that she builds with the two neighbors.

Publishing August 6, 2024

3.5, rounded up.

If you enjoyed “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” you will enjoy this. According to all the tests, they cannot figure out what is medically wrong with Vita that keeps her house-bound and grappling in The Pit. Told from Vita’s perspective, we get a little story that weaves throughout space and time, ghost encounters, and things that make you think - did that happen? Pretty early on, you can tell she’s not confronting something from her past, and it’s finally caught up to her.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy through Netgalley.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There’s nothing wrong with her by Kate Weinberg
Pub date: August 6, 2024

As someone who has depression and occasionally has “the big sad” this was a somewhat difficult read. HOWEVER Kate Weinberg did a great job at interjecting levity into her work. I will definitely be recommending this to friends and family who I wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable recommending romance novels to!

Thank you SO much for my ARC @kateweinberg, @netfalley and @putnambooks!




Potential spoiler:
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I’m not a huge fan of ambiguous endings! is it because my bread and butter genre is romance? Is it because I lack imagination? The world may never know.

Having been chronically ill, this book was a no brainer for me. It really captures what it's like to fall into "the Pit" of illness and how isolating it can be, as well as how complex its causes can be. Especially in quotes like this one, "One of the flipsides of an illness that destabilizes reality is that you get to time-travel. While you are stuck, nothing is in the past."

There is a lot to unravel here, and I will admit I found the book a bit hard to get into. At the beginning most of Vita's interactions are with her fish, Whitney Houston and the ghost of Luigi Da Porto (cited as the original author of Romeo and Juliette). However, once Vita begins her relationship with the neighbors upstairs, the book finds its footing and picks up steam.

I would have liked a bit more insight into her past (especially her relationship with her stepmother and sister.) While the pacing of this book might be slow for some, (and the plot a tad underbaked...Max doesn't have a whole lot to do) I found it eloquent -- particularly how the past influences her current circumstances. (Also I loved the cover!)

Overall, a lovely read. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.