“Old Enough” is an incredibly compelling read. It centers around Sav, a 19-year-old college student and recently out bisexual. When her childhood best friend, Izzy, announces her engagement Sav realizes she has to reconcile who she is now with who she was in the past. On top of that she navigates past trauma and a possible romance.

This book was so good. It tackled a lot of different themes; college, coming of age, trauma, drifting away from old friends, fitting into queer culture, in a very masterful way without feeling heavy handed or overwhelming. Sav was so real and relatable and a protagonist I wanted to root for from start to finish.

This is a good look of figuring things out in college and becoming the person you are meant to be.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A wonderful coming of age story. It was a pleasure getting to see Sav’s personal growth once she was away from her family and high school friends and find a community where could feel good about herself. The way the story went back and forth between the present and Sav’s high school years was deftly written. Sav’s coming to terms with the past was a large part of her growing up and being able to have other relationships that really had meaning for her. Sometimes, you must leave people behind to move forward and Haley Jakobson handled this so well. A touching story that had some humorous moments. Well done and I look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of this book.

In Old Enough we follow our protagonist Savannah in her sophomore year of college, a big one! She's finally come out as bisexual, and started making some fun queer friends that feel very authentic to her, not to mention she has her eye on a cutie from her gender studies class. Things are really turning up, until Savannah finds out her best friend from high school is engaged. This is where things become complicated, and Sav is taken on an emotional journey through her high school trauma, and forced to confront her past in order to keep movin' forward. It's heartfelt and tough at times, and definitely had me tearing up.

Jakobson has really written a beautiful ode to being young and gay and figuring out how to navigate the world. A lot of Savannah's experiences within this book felt so relatable to me in my own journey of coming out and navigating college life and complicated friendships. Sav deals with some heavy stuff, there's a lot of discussion of SA assault and working through trauma that could be triggering for some, but the representation is very important. This book also has great representation for bisexuality, and trans identities, which were fun to see. I would recommend this to any queer person looking for a good coming of age novel, it was a speedy and fun read, with great relationships and friendships, and diverse characters. I give it 3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4 for Goodreads.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The premise to this novel sounded great, but I really didn't like the writing style, and the story seemed to focus on too many topics.

Compelling and propulsive coming of age campus novel--always a genre I will gravitate towards--that delivers across all of its marketing copy themes: queer love, friendship, community, and survival. Especially appreciated is that it focuses on storytelling within a queer community that doesn't focus primarily on the coming out experience or having to defend itself (though those stories are crucial as well). It's simply that this is the community this narrator is living within, and the reader gets to be brought into it with her.

This was a wonderful comin-of-age debut as well as a story of survival. There are not enough books about how beautifully complicated it is to be Bisexual, especially in college. Jakobson did a great job paralleling the world of Savannah's hometown friends versus college community. The duality of two different parts of yourself that are at odds. This is a really great debut and I will be recommending it to every reader I know!

A lovely and tender coming-of-age story about identity and friendship. Sav is a sophomore in college. She has come out as bisexual and is getting to know herself better, as she makes wonderful friends and becomes a part a queer community. She is a survivor of sexual assault. Just when she thinks she is on the brink of thriving, an invitation to her childhood best friend’s wedding brings trauma back up to the surface and threatens to upend the new life and identity Sav is carving out for herself.

This was a compelling and moving read and Sav was a great character who is easy to root for, even as she makes some questionable decisions. The story moves from the present to Sav’s teenage years as we learn more about her relationship with her former best friend (Izzie) and her best friend’s brother. The flashbacks are written as if Sav is writing a letter to or having a one-sided conversation with Izzie - I found this a bit distracting at first but it did make sense for the overall story. 4.5 stars.

Thank you very much to Penguin Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

There is nothing Haley Jakobson could do that I wouldn't love. I've followed her on Instagram for years, and am lucky enough to get an ARC of her debut novel, Old Enough. It's about making friends and losing them, and navigating sexuality along the way. There need to be more books like this.

In 'Old Enough,' a recently out-of-the-closet, college girl is torn between her thriving queer community on campus and her traumatic high school life that features a childhood best friend. The story covers sexual assault, queer identity, and the life-saving power of friendship. (Thanks to Dutton for the advanced reader copy. Opinions are my own.)

It took me a while to get through this book. As much as I sympathized with Savannah's situation, I struggled to get on her level as she proceeded to make self-destructive choices to distract her from reality. I understand that when you're a college student, you're young and impulsive and don't always know what's good for you. Plus, trauma is a mindf*ck to sort through. However, some of Savannah's decisions were so obviously bad (such as hooking up with That Guy and then That Ex) that I felt like an outsider looking in. Usually when protagonists are hot messes, they're still somewhat relatable (a la Fleabag); you're cringing at their choices but also thinking, "fair, I would do the same." I unfortunately didn't feel that with Savannah, but that might just be me. Lastly, I wish there had been a final conversation between Savannah and her high school friend. I mean, there WAS one but it felt inconclusive.

The bright spots of 'Old Enough' were its progressive qualities. The queer community is represented so well, and the way that consent is discussed in one college class is superb.

I would recommend this to others! And I would probably re-read the final, edited version too.

I didn't realize from the blurb that this book was going to have such a large trigger warning for SA, so I am deciding not to finish it. I have nothing bad to say about the writing so far, I just personally don't feel comfortable continuing because of the content.
I will say, on the positive side, this book uses multiple timelines very nicely and I was enjoying the snappy pace of the writing! And it's always nice to see a bisexual coming-of-age story. I will probably still recommend this book to my audience with a TW!

I enjoyed this but not nearly as much as I expected to. Queer YA is one of my favorite genre’s of books, but this feel a bit flat for me. I feel like it was trying to cover too much ground and the writing style couldn’t keep up. I am glad that I read this and am excited to read more from this author!

First thing’s first, I love a coming of age story. And in dual timeline to both pivotal coming of ages in a gal’s life?! So good 👏

Old Enough is the story of Sav discovering who she is and once was at 16. She’s a sophomore in college (one that reminds me so much of my own alma mater) and she’s fully out as bi, feeling grounded in her new friendships, when all of a sudden the engagement of her childhood best friend Izzie forces her to confront her SA trauma.

This book describes what it’s like to have your heartbroken: by a crush, by a friend, by a girl. It describes how trauma builds over time. It describes the story of friendship, old and new. And the ways all of those things help shape you as a teenager and then again in your twenties.

I found this book to be heartfelt, authentic, and overall lovely. Can’t wait to read more by Haley in the future!

I am in tears at the end of this book and specifically the acknowledgments. This book is the definition of the girls that get it get it, because while it is beautifully written, if you identify with the major themes it hits so much harder. I found myself shocked at multiple junctions at how accurately Jakobson described something I had went through exactly. The voice of Savannah is so real and so brave that you just have to love her. This book deals with SA, so please be advised if this is a trigger for you. It also centers bisexuality and the complexities that come with being confident in that identity as well as trying to find a community of people you can breathe easy with. This book is joyful, it’s heartbreaking, it’s uplifting, and it’s gut-wrenching. In a way, I really feel like this book helped me work through (or at least begin to) some of the things from my own childhood.
Savannah says “we are not beholden to the people we were yesterday” and that is one of the most standout lines of the novel. It’s advice I know will stick with me for a long time after reading.
I loved this book.

I really was expecting to enjoy this book, but unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with the overall story. I think the main problem I had was with the writing style. The prose is very choppy and awkward. Something felt off to me. Also, the characters were written in a cliche-ridden way. I felt like the characters didn't sound authentic to me. Everyone was written as a stereotype which really irked me. No one had any value or substance, so it made it difficult to root for anyone. The sexual assault storyline was interesting, but I just felt the ending left me unsatisfied. I felt no emotional connection to the main protagonist, Sav.

I feel like the coolest people I know, know Haley Jakobson — so this has been a highly anticipated read for me since it was first announced.

For roughly the first quarter, I was afraid this book wouldn’t meet my (admittedly high) expectations. The early scenes set in protagonist Savannah’s Gender and Sexuality Studies class, as well as the introductions of Sav’s friend group, felt less like descriptions of real humans and their interactions and more like carefully (though respectfully) constructed queer tropes and archetypes.

However, as the novel went on, a tremendous amount of depth surfaced in both the characterizations and the plot. Witnessing Savannah be held by her friends (and swoon-worthy crush!) during such a difficult time will warm the hearts of anyone who has known the joy of chosen family, and anyone still looking for theirs. 4*.

CW:
Recurrent mentions of: sexual assault, alcohol use, victim-blaming
Brief instances of: transphobia, blood, vomit

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the e-ARC.

5/5⭐️

I loved this debut so much! I’ve followed Haley on Tik Tok for a few years and was just so excited to read this as an early copy.

I loved the queer relationships in this story especially the found family aspect. Besides from Haley’s great writing, I also enjoyed this so much because I felt like I could relate to the main character on a deep level. Specifically, I also came out while in college and navigating that identity after moving away from home is tough.

It is important to note that Old Enough has a trigger warning for sexual assault. Although the themes and plot line include heavy topics, it is such a touching coming of age novel. It truly is beautiful seeing the progression of Savannah’s character and the end definitely made me emotional.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was not what I expected in the best way possible. I found myself wanting to finish it in one sitting.

Haley Jakobson beautifully explores the relationships between friends and oneself. The emphasizes and importance of queer acceptance and community is astounding. I found parts of myself in this book, which felt scary. It was like Haley was looking at me and writing about me on paper.

Savannah Henry, our protagonist in this story, deals with coming out in college and healing from her trauma of past events. Not everyone knows who they are at first and don’t truly discover their parts of themselves until they reach a later point in their life.

This book was just so well done; it brought me to tears. It felt clear that Haley was trying to let her readers understand that our past doesn’t define who we are and queer is beautiful!!!!!

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a new read that not only explores bisexuality but explores the intricacies of trauma and healing from it.

I’m having a hard time pinpointing what I loved about this one, because I genuinely think I loved every aspect of it.
I felt really connected to every character and every moment of this story and felt myself afraid to finish because I didn’t want to be without them.
This is a beautiful love story to queer friendships, an incredible representation of outgrowing old friendships and the heartbreak and grief that comes with that, a really powerful story of trying to heal from sexual assault, and the nuances that come with a lack of education and resources and the messed up system that influences our ability to know that we’ve been assaulted, and honestly so much more.

My personal favorite character was our queer witch, Vera, favorite element was a lovely gender studies class, and loved pretty much every scene where Sav realizes she has incredible friends that I wish were mine.

I don’t know that I’ll ever forget this one, I can already see myself rereading it very soon.

Content warnings for sexual assault and rape, depictions of PTSD, alcohol use, friendship breakups, biphobia & homophobia, and probably a few others i’m forgetting.

Haley Jakobson’s debut novel follows Savannah “Sav” Henry as she navigates relationships, queer identity, and trauma during her sophomore year of college. Sav is in the midst of her own coming-of-age moment — navigating an old fling and a new crush, making queer friendships, embracing her bisexuality. Her journey is interrupted when her childhood best friend, Izzie, announces her engagement, and Sav is forced to reckon with what happened between her and Izzie’s older brother when she was 16.

I fell in love with Sav from the very start and wanted to pull her into a big, tight hug. Her journey is unflinchingly funny and honest and I recognized a lot of myself in her. I particularly appreciated the Taylor Swift and The L Word references, which took me back to my own college experience. Jakobson’s ability to create characters that are fully formed with their own unique voice is a truly beautiful thing to behold. I could visualize and hear every character as they were brought to life on the page. By the end, I felt as if Candace and Vera were my own best friends, too.

Old Enough handles trauma so tenderly and authentically that I found myself in tears multiple times at its sheer honesty. In fact, the scene in which the title of the novel is explained — in a moment of dialogue that you could almost blink and miss — momentarily knocked the wind out of me. Jakobson is able to explore Sav’s experience of healing with a level of care that feels like a reassuring “I believe you” to the people who need it most.

Old Enough is funny, heartfelt, and honest, and I am eagerly looking forward to reading more from @haleyjakobson in the future. Be sure to pick up a copy when it’s published on June 20th. Thank you to @netgalley @penguinrandomhouse @duttonbooks for the eARC!