I read "Old Enough" by Haley Jakobson on NetGalley. The book is about 19 year old Sav, who is in her sophomore year of college. She is bisexual and dealing with relationship issues, including being raped at 16 by her best friend's older brother. I enjoyed reading this book, which made me laugh and cry.

- My goodness, this book. OLD ENOUGH absolutely took my breath away. It's doing so much that it shouldn't work, but somehow it does and it steals your heart in the process.
- Sav and her friends are the queer found family I always hope for in literary fiction but never find. They're loud and messy and loving, projecting a confidence they don't always have but are working to gain.
- I do want to be really clear that this is a book about reckoning with assault and its lasting effects. It's a hard subject and Jakobsen handles it with nuance and care, even when her characters can't or don't.

Sav Henry is finally nearing the end of her transformation into a new self. She’s got a genuine group of queer friends, is actually getting over her ridiculously hot but emotionally unavailable first queer situationship and is finally comfortable being an out bisexual. She even might have a crush on the cute transmasc Wes in her gender studies class. The world is looking up for Sav.

However, when she finds out her best friend Izzie is engaged, everything she’s built up threatens to crumble. Not only is she going to have to introduce sorority girl and never-used-a-pronoun-Izzie to her new queer friend group. Pause for the inevitable disastrous results. But a wedding means family and family means Izzie’s older brother. Who the very sight of causes Sav to panic ever since that one night. Sav realizes she’s going to have to face both past traumas and current problems as the worlds she’s tried so hard to keep apart collide with a force she can’t control.

I absolutely devoured this book. It is a shorter read than I was expecting. But it didn’t take away from the book at all. I think I’m just sad there wasn't more to read. But the plot flowed just right, the characters were complex and the existential vibe of your early adulthood was spot on. It was also told in a dual timeline, going back and forth between the events of the past and the current plot. Which was absolutely necessary for this book. It gave it this diary-like quality that helped me empathize with and understand Sav.

I related to Sav in many, many ways. It felt like she perfectly represented all the thoughts and emotions I experienced when I came out as a lesbian my sophomore year of college. And not in an “I’m a 50 year old author who is trying to connect to the younger generation” type of pandering that I see far too often in coming-of-age novels. Sav’s journey felt raw and honest but also hilarious and light hearted.

The more intense plot points were balanced out with fun, messy queer experiences. From navigating the queer ex-labyrinth to getting your heart broken by your first sapphic situationship to acknowledging your privilege and growing as a human being. There was never a moment where I felt brought out of the book truly. I was captivated from the first sentence to the last and everything in between.

The layered plot really stands out though. Sav is navigating not only coming out as queer in her early 20s, which is a difficult feat in itself. But she is also dealing with a childhood friendship that may have run its course. And if anyone has ever been through a best friend breakup, oh my it almost hurts worse than a romantic breakup. On top of dealing with a potential New Romantic interest, while fending off her wishy-washy ex. Like this girl cannot catch a break and I ate up every second of it.

All in all if you are a queer person you need to read this book. End of story I will be accepting no criticisms. I highly recommend straight up buying this book (although I prefer to wait until paperbacks normally) as soon as humanly possible. I will never stop talking about this book. I am beyond thankful that I had the opportunity to experience this story and I hope you do too. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for sending this eARC for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for this arc.


I was bawling my eyes out through this book. Old Enough follows Sav as she navigates life during her sophomore year at college. The book explores friendships (both old and new), and trauma. I can't express how much this book touched me and I honestly can't stop crying during this review. I am just happy that I got to read Sav's story. I really hope that more people are able to pick up this book and go on this journey with Sav and her friends.

This queer coming of age story follows Sav as she navigates her bisexuality, college friend groups, and her best friend back home. She also has to accept and navigate a past trauma. Touches on some really hard topics and does it perfectly.

I really enjoyed this queer coming of age story, that I feel like so many readers (in their 20s especially) will be able to relate to—whether they identify as queer or not.

Old Enough is an exploration of queer love, friendship (both old and new), and what it means to be a sexual assault survivor.

I really appreciate the way the author handles Sav’s navigation of the messy, painful complexities of long standing trauma, and how perspective shifts can affect one’s relationship with both themselves and those close to them.

I loved Sav’s college friends and allll the queer representation and queer joy that flooded these pages.

I was honestly surprised at how adorable I found the super awkward crush related interactions to be. Wes and Sav get SO endearingly flustered around each other. In the words of Candace “it’s like watching a car crash so very slowly.”

I FELT it. I felt Sav’s awkward dilemma of having known how to flirt with straight guys her whole life and now feeling like all flirting abilities have flown out the window with queer crushes.

I’m so looking forward to this one getting in the hands of our young adult and new adult readers of today.

Y’all, I INHALED this book. I loved every ounce of it so, so much. It made me laugh, it made me cry. I was *devastated* when it was over and I couldn’t spend any more time with it. What a wonderful book!

This book was absolutely hilarious and had me laughing so much. There was one page, especially, that had me absolutely *cackling* but, really, there were so many absolutely hilarious things in this book. If there's one thing I love, it's a book that can make me laugh!

But this also discussed sexual assault and survivors and did so with such grace. It felt real and relatable and so, so important for other survivors. (Which is something that we need to see in more books. It's okay to process your feelings and learn to survive. But as a society, we often don't normalize that, which isn't okay.)

I loved these characters. I loved the setting. I loved the class. My favorite bit was at the end when they presented their projects and just showed how much everyone had grown.

I also read to learn and as a cis white woman, I still have a lot of learning to do. The lgbtq+ rep in this book is fantastic and I learned so much. And I’m so glad this book and others like it exist. I can’t stress how much I loved reading about Sav’s journey.

I don’t think I’m doing this wonderful book justice with this review so I’ll just say: it is FANTASTIC and I cannot recommend it more highly! Please read this book!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Dutton Books for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and Netgalley for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've followed Haley Jakobson's social media for a while, so I was thrilled to hear news of her debut novel. And let me say, it did not disappoint!

Old Enough follows our main character Savannah in two timelines: The present timeline follows college Savannah during her semester in a Women and Gender Studies course. In another, we flashback to high school Savannah's POV. Throughout the novel, we learn the circumstances surrounding a trauma Savannah experienced during high school and the subsequent social and emotional fallout. We follow Savannah's healing journey as she confronts the past, cultivates new friendships, and exercises her autonomy.

Jakobson deconstructs cultural norms surrounding "forever friendships" and introduces a distinct cast of characters that become Sav's safe place to land. There are knockout conversations on justice versus healing and consent, plus beautiful depictions of joyful queer community.

This is a young adult coming of age story that covers a lot of ground, and it does so with vulnerability and precision. Old Enough is Savannah's story, but it's a story that will resonate with so many.

(I highly recommend listening to Haley Jakobson's episode on the "Sad Girls Who Read" podcast after finishing the book!)

4.5 stars, rounded up.

I truly wish I had this book when I was younger, and am so glad that others will have it now. A wonderful coming of age story that follows Savannah through a semester at college, along with how she interacts with all the people in her life. Starting in a Gender & Sexuality Studies class, we watch Sav learn about herself and how she interacts with the world.

The only thing that really fell short for me were some of the chapters from when she was younger. The change in language threw me off for a bit, and I wasn't really sure what use it was. Besides that, I think it dealt with hard topics in a way that still encompasses the idea, while allowing Sav to come into herself and ultimately grow.

So many times I would highlight a sentence or a passage because it felt so relatable, from the small, minor details that most people glimpse past, to some of the larger lessons. Being able to watch Sav grow over this heartbreaking and heartwarming journey was such an honor. There is so much happening, but it's all important, it's all part of this coming of age. The friendships were beautiful, the people in this novel were great to meet and learn and love, but ultimately Savannah feels like a hero for herself, in her own way.

I would definitely recommend this book, but make sure to check trigger warnings.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Old Enough by Haley Jakobson!

3.75 ★ Old enough is a beautiful and tragic coming of age novel about Savannah, a sophomore in college, who is learning how to reckon with the end of a friendship she thought would never change and beginning the path to discovering who she will be. Old Enough has very heavy themes, including sexual assault, and I implore you to read all TWs before choosing to proceed with the novel.

There is a widely diverse cast of supporting characters, and they were almost the best part of the story for me. Found family is one of my favorite themes and it was at play here. I struggled to get into it in the beginning, but I'm happy I stuck it out. As the story unraveled, my attachment to the characters grew. A solid debut by Jakobson!

What a wonderful debut from Haley Jakobson! This book broke my heart and put it back together again. I could tell this was a labor of love for the author; there was real heart poured into it. Old Enough is a coming-of-age story about trauma, finding yourself, and true friendship. I read this in two days; I could not put it down. I loved reading about the community Sav builds and would love spin-off books about Candace and Vera! There were some heavy topics dealt with, especially relating to SA trauma, so make sure to take care of your own mental health while reading this. I’m not sure what else to say about this except I loved it. I can’t wait to read whatever Haley writes next!

CW: sexual assault, biphobia, transphobia, toxic relationships

Oof, this is a brutal one. It's about Sav, who in high school was the upper class white party girl that was definitely going to join a sorortiy — and all other related overdone stereotypes — inseperatable from her similar best friend, Izzie. In college, she's coming to terms with being openly bisexual, and being brought into a heartwarming family of queers.

The gulf between Sav and Izzie keeps growing, based on one experiencing a signfinicant trauma in high school and the other making it worse. While Sav is in college, Izzie is portrayed entirely as an over the top sorortiy girl, who is getting married too suddenly and doesn't even want Sav in her wedding. And Izzie cannot be any further than Sav's new friends, who protect her no matter what and care so so much.

Sav works through losing her old self and finding her new self, processing her trauma and how it's impacted her life, and how go forward into the future. There's a very sweet, innocent love story, a queer woman who could make me do <i>anything</i> , a teacher who helps people be their most open selves and a typical sorority girl who (shocking!) has more beneath that image.

There's a lot of good. Individual characters are well crafted, as are certain relationships, namely Sav, Vera and Candance. Trauma is proessed in a way that makes sense and feels real. As is coming out. The weird little relationships that you develop in college and the way they can lead to strange, awkward maybe hook ups was very real.

But there was also a disconnect throughout the entire book that comes down to writing. The stories were told in a messy order, and often I didn't know who was speaking or where the setting was. I felt very far from Sav, and Izzie was barely crafted as a human. Sav and Wes's flirtation is adorable, but the way it's developed felt like we missed a few chapters.

Overall, it was fine. I'm happy to have read it, but probably won't remember much or discuss it with friends.

Let me start my saying, I devoured this book in one day and I haven’t done that in a long time. This is something that you’re either really gonna connect with, or simply won’t, but boy did it work for me. Topics such as surviving and healing from assault, personal growth, identity and so much more are tackled in this book and done so well, while also having its funny and tender moments. Not to mention the great representation in this book, that I appreciated that so so much! I felt so deeply for the main character which is why I ultimately loved this book as much as I did! I would highly recommend picking this up when it’s released next week! One of my favorites of the year!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc copy!

On paper I thought I would really love and connect with Old Enough. Some parts, yes, I did. But overall, not so much. It read a little too young adult for me. Pros: Highlighting the complexities of women dealing with identity and traumatic events; close friendships; coming-of-age story; strong finish. Cons: Lots of characters to keep track of but not much character development; lengthy banter that does not add to the storyline, just fills pages; slump in the middle. (Thank you to NetGalley for this book.)

Warning: this book may have the following side effects:

Enrolling in college
Finding the queer friend group you missed out on.
Losing all respect for older brothers
Dealing with trauma instead of downing vodka cokes every night

No disrespect for John Green, but maybe if I had read more books like this at 18 I would have been better prepared for the world. The likelihood of me contracting leukemia and falling hopelessly in love with another (hot) cancer patient? Low. The likelihood of me surviving sexual assault and coming out as bi while also hiding who I was in high school from my cool new friends? 100% true and boy would it have been great to have this book along for that ride!

This is one of those 5 star books that everyone will be forced to read if they want to have a coherent conversation with me within the next 6 months. U r welcome.

I’m so glad this book exists.
It was the perfect book to get me out of my reading slump. I mean, it starts off in a Gender & Sexuality class with the main character eyeing up (affectionate/ only slightly judgy) every person in the room. Is there a more perfect beginning setting?

Every character in the book, queer or straight, are all three dimensional. The stereotypes of the queer best friend, the sorority girl, the friend in a poly relationship are all fought against, for everybody on the page has humor and heart and earns our attention and empathy.

I know wishing this book was around when I was 17 is pointless, so I’m glad I have it now. To validate that queer teenager, to show her the importance of giving yourself grace, to understand that friendships can be fundamental to who you are and still relinquished when they no longer serve you. I’m thankful everybody has this book now. Perfectly messy, honest, heartfelt, and did I mention queer as heck?

I went in not knowing much about the storyline of Old Enough and I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I think it is always important to focus on multiple, different points of view and perspectives and this book certainly did that! I learned a lot about some of the struggles the queer community can face. I can also really relate to the main character and her internal struggle about a traumatic incident from her past. The story was a little bit more YA than I am used to reading but still was a good read. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to check out an ARC of this book through NetGalley!

I was really excited to read this book! I mean a new adult book about a bisexual women in college? Sign me up! But, unfortunately the book fell flat for me. It really read more like a Young Adult book. I also felt like sometimes the book was trying too hard to check all the boxes with being "queer enough". I felt like sometimes things were said or characters were added just to prove a point. I absolutely love queer representation, but when it doesn't feel authentic and feels more forced it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I do think the storyline dealing with being a sexual assault survivor was the books strongest point. I think it was done well and to me that felt extremely authentic.

I was tempted to DNF this book, but I think at the end of the day I was glad I finished the book, but I don't think I would ever pick it up to read again.

This book bridged literary fiction and YA/NA lit. It's very clear that the author is writing from personal experience, as this character is very real. Love having a book with a bisexual character I can relate to.

I really enjoyed Old Enough by Haley Jakobson. It does a fantastic job of being very heartfelt, funny and insightful. I also thought it did a great job of expressing queer representation. I would say that the only thing I struggled with this book was that at some times the writing felt a little too YA for my liking. It had moments where it really slowed down and I struggled to get through those parts but once it did, it was a great read.