While completing her final year of college, and unsure about her plans for the future, Isabel begins an affair with her married professor.
Since I hardly ever read synopses, I started this with no clue what to expect. Once I saw where it was going, my initial reaction was, Ugh. Another story about a manipulative, predatory teacher taking advantage of his position. While there definitely was some of that, I appreciated that there was more to the story and to the protagonist than her fling with a creeper, like Isabel’s complicated relationship with her father, and the anxiety and uncertainty that goes along with leaving behind the safety of youth.
Thanks to #netgalley and #henryholtandco for this #arc of #mylastinnocentyear in exchange for an honest review.

one of my most anticipated books of 2023! and i found it a bit underwhelming.

the plot was slow-going and the writing felt a bit weak. the characters, the narrative, and the themes were certainly well done and the author knew where to go about these, it just wasn't as engaging as i had initially hoped.

Isabel Rosen is a senior at the small, prestigious Wilder College—the type of school where wealth is assumed and everyone knows everyone. Isabel has always been a bit of an outsider at Wilder—she’s one of the only Jewish students on campus, she isn’t wealthy, and her mother recently died. In spite of feeling like she’s different, Isabel has found a place for herself in the inclusive bubble of Wilder, and though graduation approaches, she has no plan for her future outside of it. But senior year is full of the unexpected. A sexual encounter that falls in the grey area between what Isabel understands to be consensual and nonconsensual leaves her questioning herself and her decisions. The married professors in charge of the English department are divorcing in a public spectacle that affects everyone caught in the destruction. And a new writing professor suddenly appears on the scene and makes Isabel feel seen, capable, and intelligent in all the ways she aspires to be. The affair she begins with him is the tipping point between her youth and adulthood, and it will shape the adult she becomes for better and worse.

The book is set in the late 1990s, and as the Clinton and Lewinsky scandal plays out publicly, Isabel grapples with her own understanding of power, consent and its complexities, reputation, and shame. The narration we’re given is from the older Isabel looking back, and she sprinkles details of what will come in her adult life alongside the main narrative. We see how her opinions changed over time, her perspective in hindsight, and her perspective as the events play out.

What I assumed would be a straightforward story like many I’ve read before about assault, an affair, and the aftermath of both is actually a far more nuanced and introspective story of gray areas, questions, difficult answers, and sometimes no answers at all. Because of this, it felt far more real. Isabel is a flawed character who makes a lot of mistakes that she doesn’t always learn from. We have no hero or villain to side with here. Instead we have a character who often doesn’t know what her opinion is and who gradually finds her own voice. This is evident through all components of Isabel’s life, and I especially liked seeing how her relationship with her father changed throughout the novel.

I loved this book, and I think it’s an important one. I would recommend this to anyone who loves campus stories, coming-of-age novels, introspection, reflections on privilege and youth, and taking a closer look at the complexities of power and consent and the ways that societies definitions of both have changed over time.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Company and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While not quite riveting, My Last Innocent Year is nonetheless the portrait of a young woman on the brink of change grappling with heavy issues of power and identity. The story follows Isabel Rosen, a Jewish college student at a small New England liberal arts program in 1998, who begins an ill-advised affair with an older professor. This A plot follows an inevitably familiar arc of secrets and distrust, but to me felt secondary to many of the other details of Isabel's life. I was much more drawn in by her Lower East side upbringing in an appetizing shop, her fraught and tender relationships with her two roommates, and the reverberating emotional impact of a traumatizing nonconseunal sexual encounter that happens early on in the story and sparks powerful questions about consent and justice. Wrapped up in all of this is a neat little love letter to the college experience, in all of its joy and ugliness, and the unexpected endurance of brief moments in our lives. The narrator of the story is a much older Isabel looking back and reflecting on this snapshot of her youth, and she occasionally veers off to reference the present state of certain people or to make connections to her adult life. I enjoyed this narrative framing, which added a note of wistfulness and chagrin to the narrative, an inexorable yearning for long lost people and places and above all her former self.

I always enjoy academia books and the summary of My Last Innocent Year sounded right up my alley. This story was very dark and also a very slow burn. I enjoyed the writing and think this author has a very unique way of storytelling.

Good story, well written. I enjoyed the drama of academia. I felt that the story was told from a more detached place, though that was arguably a choice considering the main characters voice and experiences. Overall a good read.

I came into this expecting a coming of age type story and was immediately bombarded with the information and talk about Israel and I am still confused why I haven't seen anyone mention this anywhere. It turned me off of the book from the start when we learn about Zev's time in the Israeli army and I still just don't think I understand why this was necessary in the first place.

First, thank you to NetGalley & Henry Holt and Co. for this arc.

My Last Innocent Year is a wonderful debut. It’s a coming of age story that captures the early-20s so well. It’s about individuality, self-trust & exploration, and consent. It was beautifully written and held my attention throughout the entirety of the novel. One of my favorite parts was towards the end when we see the main character later in life still writing to her professor. It shows how deeply impacted she was by this short relationship and subsequently how formative experiences in our 20s can be. I would have loved to see a little more character development in the protagonist, and I think the side characters lacked depth; however, besides these two things, I thought the book was phenomenal. I feel like this will be one of those books I can’t seem to stop thinking about, and I am excited to see what else Daisy Alpert Florin has in store.

a beautifully written book with great remakes on girlhood, womanhood, and everything in between. there were some storylines i would have liked to see fleshed out more but a very enjoyable read overall.

My Last Innocent Year follows Isabel Rosen through her last year of school at Wilder University, during which she meets an enigmatic teacher, R.H. Connelly. Connelly sees Isabel in a way she feels she has never been seen before, and the two begin a quiet relationship during his office hours.

I agree with many of the readers who said this was similar to My Dark Vanessa, which I was a big fan of. I felt there was more nuance between the relationship between Isabel and Connelly, and while this was heavy at times, I would definitely consider this book a lighter read than My Dark Vanessa- for contrast.

That said, I had a hard time getting into this one. The first section of the book felt like we were meandering around, collecting little anecdotes, but I wanted PLOT. About midway, through the book, things start to become more clear and the book does gain traction. It took me two weeks to read the first half of the book, and then two days to finish it from there.

Set in the 1990's at the height of the public scandal involving the president as well in the time after Princess Diana's death, the backdrop of this story is apropos for the content and brings light to not only the power imbalance faced by the main character Isabel, but the imbalances of power faced by women in media and in her life at the time. I found the background relationships interesting as well as the big picture that was built by the end, and I thought the writing was beautiful and created a really believable atmosphere.

I was given the opportunity to read this book via eGalley as well as an audiobook, and I would recommend the audiobook more highly! I felt the narrator was a great fit and really helped to propel the story further.

I want to thank Henry Holt and Co, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and listen to an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance reader copy.

This book was hard to read, in the way that it was supposed to be. Taking on the topic of teacher/student relationships, specifically the power imbalance that exists, in a post-Clinton/Lewinsky, pre-Me Too time, this book is harrowing in the way that Dark Vanessa was. It's a hard, necessary read.

A smart, beautifully written novel that examines consent, the cost of our mistakes, and how we reckon with our past.

Isabel Rosen is tucked in her New Hampshire college working on her thesis about Edith Wharton. Talented, her writing is hailed by the married and once successful poet R.H. Connelly, who is substituting for Joanna Maxwell who oversees the senior writing workshop. Connelly helps Isabel with her writing and an affair begins.
Set in the eve of the Clinton- Lewinsky scandal and pre-#MeToo, the author provides a coming of age story with all of the emotional, cerebral manifestations and scarring that Isabel experiences. The reading is well done making for a recommended reading experience.
Thank you NetGalley, Henry Holt Publishing and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

For fans of contemporary, coming-of-age, evocative and intellectual dark academia. It is an epoch story detailing the life of a young adult in her senior year of college in the late 90’s.

It feels like a story similar of my early twenties—the narrator’s story takes place in the late 90s instead of late aughts for myself. I found myself nostalgic over the careful details of the particular era, allowing me to understand the strains and every day tasks of a student in college during the late 90s. Even the topical news references was interesting, and made the story feel very authentic.

I found myself underlining/noting/saving many paragraphs that spoke for me or made me ponder. The book fascinated me from beginning to end and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Isabel is in her final year at Wilder college when a friend asks her to come up to his room to get out of the cold. Was it rape? She doesn’t really know. She didn’t want to do it, but she wasn’t exactly clear about it either? When the new semester begins, she quickly becomes intrigued by the new married writing professor Connelly. He likes her writing, makes her feel seen and heard, and wants her. What more could she ask for?

WHEW! Lots of My Dark Vanessa vibes in this one! This is a book that will leave you really thinking. I think we have all been a position where after we wondered, was that what I wanted, why did that happen, etc. Sadly, many have been in the position of explicitly saying I don’t want this to happen and it being ignored. This book really makes you think about consent, not just at a peer to peer level, but also at the professor to student level. On the surface, everything between Isabel and Connelly is technically consensual. However, he is still the true “adult” in the situation and holds a position of power as her professor and someone that believes in her writing. It also takes place around the same time as the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which I think added an interesting component as Isabel and her friends discussed the scandal. This one is heavy, but if you enjoyed My Dark Vanessa I think you will enjoy this one too.

The best book I've read in a long time! I absolutely LOVED this book! I can't get over how good this is! This will be the most talked about debut novel this year!

This story would be relatable to anyone that has ever looked back at their younger self and thought,"I was such an idiot." Very much hindsight is 20/20.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

This book was really beautiful yet heartbreaking. This is the kind of book where you see yourself in every character, in their good and their bad. Loved the connection to New York and the way the story felt like Isabel was telling you everything from her later life. Really gave the element of retrospection and made you feel like she thought about her retelling of the events of that last year of college.

This debut novel tackles some very heavy and difficult subjects. That being said, I struggled to write this review a little bit. The writing style of this one is top notch and so beautiful. This is a very character-driven story with not a lot of plot per say as it is more about the coming of age story of the main character, Isabel, in her senior year of college. She is very relatable in that she is 22 and has not a clue about anything and makes many frustrating decisions. I often found myself so annoyed with her and had to remind myself of how clueless I was at that age and was not struggling with the same things she was (trauma over the death of her mother, sexual assault, an inappropriate relationship with her professor). But like Isabel, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life at 22, and I think that is really the strength of this story.

I did find this novel a tad long and felt like it was missing something. I think because the topics explored have been so explored in recent fiction that I wanted something to make it stand out from the crowd, and it never really got there for me. Despite the difficult topics discussed, I never quite felt the strong emotional pull in this novel.

That being said, I would still recommend this if you like more character-driven stories and don’t mind a slower burn with fairly anti-climatic plots. The writing in this one is so well-done that it honestly made up for a lot of the faults I felt while reading. I am very excited to read more from this author in the future.

'My Last Innocent Year' was an exquisite study on the psyche of young women and the men who prey on their vulnerabilities. The story itself was a slow burn, but I appreciated that it allowed you to fully soak in the complexity of our main character's situation. An unwelcoming, but truthful story about consent, womanhood, and coming into your own in a world that rejects the idea of an intelligent woman.