This book was pretty charming. I think it was well written. The structure didn't bother me. There was a lot of great wit and honesty. But Khong seemed to fall back onto a couple of writing crutches. Like there are multiple times when we are just kind of randomly told a stray observation about someone in public talking to their dog. The first time was kind of a funny normal journal observation, but there were like four instances. It felt like a kind of shorthand for *the mood of this day was normal pleasant day in park.*

Really my only other criticisms kind of boil down to me probably not being the ideal audience for this book. I think a lot of people will really enjoy it, and if the description sounds like something you read, you should definitely check it out.

This was exactly the book I was looking for at exactly the time I needed it.

Let’s be honest: things are grim here in the United States right now. I’m having a difficult time tearing my eyes away from the news, and as a result, I’m constantly fluctuating between this sort of oppressive dread and all-consuming rage. (No one is inviting me to parties anymore, I wonder why?) I desperately needed a book that I could consume quickly, that I could easily read and get lost in, and that doesn’t require a significant amount of work on my end. Enter Rachel Khong’s Goodbye, Vitamin!

Somehow I have a feeling that this book will be an even more necessary distraction when it’s published in July. Hmm.

It’s a surprisingly light-hearted story for such a dark subject matter (our main character, Ruth, moves back home to help care for her father with dementia). I wish there had been more interaction with Ruth and her female friends—this weirdly felt like a really male-dominated book. My biggest complaint is that Ruth’s mother, Annie, isn’t a more fleshed out character. We were treated to some tidbits about Annie’s life that would have been fascinating to explore, and I also feel like Ruth’s father’s alcoholism and extramarital affairs with his students aren’t given the gravity they deserve. Though, to be fair, Ruth admits that she doesn’t want to think about her parents in these ways, and I can appreciate that honesty, even if as a reader I want more complex characters with depth.

This story relies more on heart and honesty than style and quality. Which is totally fine! I think a lot of readers will welcome that (though the book never felt quite balanced to me—an irritant but I’ll also admit that I’m very picky). The writing is a bit mediocre, but it’s heartfelt. And sometimes that’s what we need to read.

Fun, light read about dementia. What? In this unique novel, a thirty-ish woman does what family does and moves at the request of her mother when her father begins to exhibit signs of dementia. And like everyone else who experiences these horrible family tragedies - she also lives her life. I would recommend this to anyone attempting to kept perspective while finding themselves fulfilling the role of caregiver.

This is a sensitive and lovely portrait of a family afflicted with Alzheimer's. Yes, family, because when one member suffers from this disease, every member of the family is affected. Sadly, our family dealt with its' horrors when my husband was an Alzheimer's victim.

I truly loved the way Rachel Khong described, with great sensitivity, not only the decline of Ruth's father, but the way all those around him react to him and the disease. We see how all their lives change. The reader learns about the disease, the anger, the frustration, not only felt by the patient, but by all the caregivers.

It is disheartening to watch this former professor deal with the loss of his brain, his dignity and his memory. So many of the symptoms are captured as Ruth, his daughter pitches in as a a caregiver.

This book does a wonderful job of sharing the early months of the disease (sadly, it gets much worse). We are rooting for you and your family, Ruth. Since this is so incredibly topical, I would urge anyone who is dealing with an older loved one to read this. It is sad but realistic....there are no happy endings.

I loved the humor and unexpectedness of this book, The narrator is doing her best to be a good daughter to her overburdened mother and a father in the early stages of dementia. Her relationships are complicated and the plot retains just enough of the absurd.

Khong tackles Alzheimer's in the sweetest, lightest way here. That's not to say there's not depth; there is, and I really appreciated her subtle integration of the love story into the Alzheimer's story. But this book really is sweet and funny, if you can believe it.

And I just have to say a word about the structure, which was, I thought, masterful. The way the book speeds up at the end...it mirrors the real-life experience of life, I think. I wasn't sold on the journal aspect of the structure at first, but it really paid off at the end, so kudos to Rachel Khong, man.

Can't wait to put this one in people's hands in July.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital ARC.