I loved this book until the end. I wish I had been warned about the animal cruelty scene at the very end, I would have skipped the last chapter. Despite the trigger, It also was a very abrupt ending that made no sense to me. Before that, I really enjoyed the book. I loved the two sisters dysfunctional dynamic together. I so felt the impulse of saying or doing something you don’t mean with a sibling. It can be a very confusing relationship, especially as Jules and Poppy were trying to learn their relationship as cohabitants. ⁣
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“𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵.”⁣
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Worry comes out 3/26

My problem was that I seriously bonded with the beautiful cover. I just wanted to put a bowl of fruit over my head and drown out the voices of Poppy and Jules. If I were sitting at a diner and overhearing their conversation, I would demand another table. If they were chattering away in my car, I would turn up the music. Obviously, these millennial sisters were not for me. I guess I am in the minority here because lots of reviewers were liking their exploits, dialog, family dynamics and humor. Just didn’t get it. But I wish I had. DNF but I really, really tried.

I’m not sure what the point of this novel was, and I don’t mean because nothing happened (and nothing did), I mean because the novel was nothing but a negative rant that offended as many groups and people as possible that ended with animal cruelty.

I hate writing negative reviews but I cannot find anything positive to say about this book.

Thank you to Scriber and NetGalley for the copy! Worry has been on my list since first hearing about it, and it's every bit as neurotic, hysterical, and dread-inducing as anticipated. Carved out with deadpan humor and comedic timing, the narrative explores the complexity of sisterly relationships and mother-daughter dynamics amidst the Internet age.

There's a genuine tenderness to how Jules and Poppy engage with one another as their lives begin to converge — they run errands together, endure petty (and often overly exaggerated) arguments, spout their disdain for each other only to buy a mattress for the other as an invitation to stay permanently. The anger is candid, but the love is clear. However, there's still this lingering angst that feels purely inexorable while going through the book. Poppy for example is constantly striving towards the positive (e.g., interviewing for jobs, browsing through animal shelters for a pet, attempting to restore her relationship with her sister), and Jules shoots her down at every turn, all the while engulfed in her obsession with Mormon mommy bloggers. Both of them have an unbreakable compulsion with the Internet as a whole. If a book could encapsulate the concept of doom so aptly — doom-scrolling, doom-prepping, doom-swallowing — then Worry is the pinnacle.

Most media depictions of millennials / older Gen-Zs often come off as caricatures of virtue or political correctness, but I think Tanner actually captures the malaise and intolerability of mid to older twenty-somethings perfectly. Jules and Poppy are cut from the same cloth while sitting at two separate ends of the spectrum: one cares too much and the other not enough.

Although the plot is scarce, the narrative's pace is quick to match its wit. Much of this book is dialogue with insertions of Instagram captions from said Mormon mommy bloggers.

One thing I couldn't overlook entirely was the ending, which felt abrupt and strangely violent and consequently corrosive to the plot. After finishing the book, all I could think about was how we pour so much love into something just to watch its ruin.

worry is an exploration of anxiety, sisterhood, twenties malaise. i've seen it described as seinfeld-ian, which is apt in the sense that seinfeld is a show about nothing and this is a book about nothing. but also, there is so much to dig into within the nothing. the human relationships on display, the family dynamics working against the characters, and the deep-seated unease that is simply a consequence of existing in your twenties are all handled expertly.

i saw so much of myself in jules and poppy. the way alexandra tanner writes sisterhood is almost too real. the relationship i had with my sister ten years ago when we shared a bedroom is vastly different from the one we have today (thank god), but i can imagine that if we lived together again we would devolve to the same bad behavior we had as children. the bickering, the hair pulling, the clothes stealing, the meanest comments you've ever said to another human being...all a part of the sister game lmao

i found this book compulsively readable. it was quick and sharp, making me laugh and cutting me to my core when i least expected it. this book made me examine my relationship with my siblings, my parents, and my phone, which is kind of a lot lol but worth it!!

I have to say I was entertained by this book and finished it in two days! I have conflicting feelings about reviewing it; there is one part of me that loved it and was entertained, then there is the other part of me that didn't find anything relatable in this story and I found it unbelievable.

The story follows the lives of two sisters, Poppy and Jules, living together in NYC. They're in the late 20's and are dealing with the conundrum of finding purpose in their lives while navigating social pressures, family pressures, and each other.

Thank you NetGalley and thank you to the publisher for providing us readers with this title!

WORRY by Alexandra Tanner was a laugh a minute. It so closely parallels my own current circumstances that I just HAD to race through to the end to see what my future holds.

Twenty-eight year old, Jules, the artistic one of the family, has been living alone in Brooklyn, New York since she and her boyfriend John split up. She is unfulfilled in her work environment and has no social life to speak of. She is also a bit of a hypochondriac and secretly follows a mommy group on Instagram. When her younger sister, Poppy shows up for a few weeks until she gets on her feet (3 weeks?) with a job and her own place, things are definitely thrown out of whack. THIS IS JUST A TEMPORARY SITUATION. Right? Yeah, right! After all, Jules doesn’t want to have to clean out her second bedroom which she now uses as office. Poppy, long term plagued by hives, begins breaking out all over again and the stress of the move from Florida, finding a job and her own place unfolds in simple hilarity. The banter between these two sisters echoes off the walls of my own home and had me rolling.

As Jules trolls the net, poppy fawns over a three legged dog at the shelter named Amy Klobuchar. Then Poppy actually brings her home and the fun just ramps and ramps up. The girls start bickering about who bears primary responsibility for Amy. Yes, Poppy brought her home, but Jules’ name is on the lease. When a holiday trip to their parent’s home in Florida goes wrong, the girls return home to New York to decide what their future holds.

I loved everything about this book. The back-and-forth banter was the funniest part for me, I did not have to imagine being a fly on the wall in Jules and Poppy lives, I only needed to turn to my older sister, and strike up a conversation with the same, sarcastic, snide, funny comments.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner and sons Books for this arc opportunity. All opinions are my own, and given voluntarily.

I was drawn into this story of two sisters living together in Brooklyn from the very beginning. The dialogue is snappy and the sisters are on a relationship rollercoaster. Add a Jews for Jesus right wing mother who is always there with a sharp retort. A clever incorporation of some of today' s prevalent issues including antisemitism and anti vaxers through an addiction to extremist mommy blogs adding wit and a reality check of the national climate.. Some heavy topics are covered through family exchanges hitting on mental health and class representation. This can be what you want it to be, a deep commentary on the state of the union or a comical reprieve about typical sisters and a three legged dog named Amy Klobuchar. You decide.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I connected so much with this book about quirky/neurotic sisters Jules and Poppy. The book opens with Poppy arriving in New York to live "temporarily" with Jules while Poppy finds a job and an apartment of her own. The gist is that Jules appears to have it together and Poppy is a mess with a history of depression. By the end of the book, the roles seem to have reversed.

The two antagonize each other in ways only sisters can, and it's a simultaneously hilarious and gut-wrenching journey.

I especially love the minutiae of everyday life laid bare on the page, all the scrolling and social media interactions included. Alexandra Tanner truly understands the times we live in, what motivates and triggers us.

My only criticism is the abrupt ending. I wanted more.

WORRY is peak millennial malaise and a masterclass in the no plot, just vibes approach to novels--and I don't say that as criticism. Every line that I could relate to, either currently or in my past, made me feel worse about myself. WORRY is funny, well-observed, and quick. I imagine readers could find it redundant: nothing really happens but for the same things that already happened, over and over again. I think that's the point.

The ending is gorgeous (well, the part after the horrifying part, obviously), and difficult, and bittersweet. I was rooting for Jules to get better: to stand up to her mom, to embrace her similarities with her sister, to at the very least delete a social media account. It left me feeling complicated about the story, not in a way I disliked but in a way that felt honest to life.

Interesting read! I felt *worried* about how the story would unfold, and did find myself waiting for something to happen... The commentary kept me coming back for more, Tanner is now on my watch list!

There are part of this book that are really funny. Two sisters are together in Brooklyn. Poppy ends up at Jules' apartment from Florida, and after a hectic and eventful journey she's breaking out in hives and recounting her travel adventures. Neither sister can get a word in, they pick up where they left off, bickering, loving, being snarky. The book is filled with their chatter. It's interesting, maybe, to them? There's a lot of navel gazing! And observational bodily discussion!

Unsurprisingly, their mother is a hoot, not in a good way: "We text our mother that we love her. She gives the text a thumbs-down." That relationship is fraught. The sisters' relationship is fraught. Poppy and Jules are both going through their own dramas. Jules hates her job and Poppy shoplifts. They shop, eat, bicker some more. Visit the parents in Florida for Thanksgiving. Fight there too.

I was kind of behind the sisters, until they resort to asking the parents for money. "But you have TWO Range Rovers!" Grow up, girls!

So the sarcasm with the mother (they "communicate" via passive aggressive social media posts) was laugh out loud funny. The doom scrolling Jules performs every day (mommy bloggers, survivalists, flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers) not that funny. The three-legged rescue dog named Amy Klobuchar (funny). The horrific animal scene at the end, not funny at all. And triggering for anybody with a pet or has ever had a pet or has ever seen a pet.

My thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.

Messy Millennials, comparisons to Seinfeld, hate-following crunchy IG mommies and parents who have fallen down right-wing conspiracy rabbit holes, vibes over plot -- I was here for WORRY and it had been one of my most anticipated releases of 2024.

What I didn't anticipate was all the animal abuse. Sexual abuse *against a dog* that resulted in its death and dismemberment (!) was recounted multiple times and seemed to have been intended to be humorous?? The book closes abruptly with a dog fight that describes an awful lot of blood and the reader does not learn the fate of Poppy's dog (while she leaves the beach, seemingly to go to a local vet, Jules plays around on her phone and becomes enchanted by a bone found in the sand).

If this had just been a cynical take on two sisters living together in New York I would have enjoyed this one far more. The multiple instances of animal abuse did absolutely nothing here.

I really loved the first 95% of this book and absolutely hated the ending, which is tough to reconcile into a cohesive overall opinion.

In the end my feelings about this book tipped well toward the positive end of the scale, probably because I care more about writing than plot, though the needless animal violence at the end really irked me and the abrupt and vague ending felt frustrating and out of step with the rest of the text.

But everything that came before that was wonderful, hilarious and sharp in all the best ways. The tone reminded me a lot of Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados and Portrait of a Mirror by A. Natasha Joukovsky.

I loved the dynamic between the sisters as individuals and between the sisters collectively and the world. I found myself aching for their heartbreak and laughing out loud at their scathing observations of both themselves and everything around them in equal measure.

I’m bummed about the ending because this would have been a 5+ star book for me had the end been even just okay, but fortunately it’s also too good a book to be ruined by it either. I need more of Alexandra Tanner’s writing as soon as possible.

This book was kind of an abysmal reading experience for me, personally. I understand its exploration of modern zillenials in this generation - but these characters were so frustrating. However, there was nothing to really learn from it. Plus, the ending’s events were way too unnecessary.

I wish I could rate with half stars. If I could it would be a 3.5 star read.

This book made me feel so horrible the entire time while reading this, in a good way. I really found myself drawn to these two sisters & their constant arguing. I found Worry to be a “no plot just vibes” kind of book, which is one of my favorite subgenres. The ending wrecked me for sure.

This was funny. Like <i>funny</i> funny. This may solely be due to the fact that the author is only two years younger than me, so we have several cultural touchstones that might not ring true for every single reader. But wow! I just had a blast reading thing one. I found myself laughing quite a bit and loved the love-to-hate relationship Jules had with her online mommy bloggers. This novel did a great job capturing the wild state of the internet today; the absurdity was on point - a little sad, a little frightening, but also, pretty hilarious.

What felt freakishly real (to the point that it left me questioning my own originality) was the relationship between the mother and her two daughters. It perfectly captured my experience as an older sister in adulthood serving as a mediator between my own mother and younger sister. It felt like the banter and strife the two sisters dealt with paralleled my own relationship to a frightening degree. The main character's sense of existential dread and ennui felt like looking in a very sad mirror.

This is another plotless novel, but one that I was 100% invested in. It just had *it* and I really liked reading every page.

Now that I have given this some space, I've settled on a solid 4 stars. 100% would recommend to any young millennial. Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for the advance reading copy!

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holy moly - i really <i>really</i> enjoyed this debut

rtc (i want to give this five stars, but i need some space before committing)

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Yay!! Got this ARC too!! I’ve been so lucky lately 🤩

I don't even know where to begin with this one - this is messy girl lit-fic at its finest. Poppy & Jules are flawed, constantly-bickering sisters and we are immediately immersed in their world. Everything feels so real and relevant. It is 300 pages of emotional chaos that I could not put down - completely binged it! The writing is so solid, the author's voice and style clear and steady throughout. The characters, while not necessarily likable, are fully fleshed and you learn so much about them in each snippet of their life we're shown. This is definitely for the no-plot-just-vibes girlies, for the finding-my-way-in-NYC peeps, for anyone who has ever had a sister, and for anyone who just recognizes how hard it's been to be a human person in this world the last 5 or 6 years.

Alexandra Tanner is now an auto-buy author for me. I wish this review was more articulate but all I can say is I loved it. I don't think I've devoured a contemporary fiction book like this maybe ever. It definitely makes you feel - not always good things, this is an anxious, sometimes manic book, but boy do you feel something. A stunning debut.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!

I've had a couple five star reads this year, but I have been searching desperately for a FIVE star five star, you know?
This was it. Oh my goodness.
This book won't be for everyone, especially those who use reading as escape from the day-to-day life. This book is HYPER real, committing to the bit so hard that I'm not sure it will make any sense in 2-5 years (my favorite!!!). If you're sick of scrolling through your phone and would like to look over the shoulder of someone scrolling through THEIR phone, this is for you.
Also for you if...
-The Ned Fulmer scandal forced you to admit to your friends that you never really got over your YouTube phase,
-You're worried you might be self-centered and then worry that thinking so much about whether or not you're self-centered means you definitely are,
-You like real-life stories that painfully remind you that real-life stories don't often have much of a narrative arc,
-You have a list of dog names on your phone,
-You have a list of every girl from your high school that joined an MLM on your phone,
-You're the frenzied little sister or the frazzled older sister or the only child that needs whatever the opposite of FOMO is
Anyway. More of this. But not too much more, idk if I can handle it.

It’s been said in other reviews but this is “no plot just vibes” and I loved every minute of it!

Two sisters are living in NY. One’s suicidal and the other has her own set of problems that don’t have a diagnosis from what I remember, but she’s obsessed with racist/antisemitic/homophobic moms on Instagram. Their mother is a RAGING narcissist and everyone in the book is a pussy. I think the book’s purpose is to show you just how much of a pussy they each are. I’m not even kidding. Everyone in this book is manipulative and awful in their own way. It’s fantastic.

The dialogue was at times not realistic. It was like hearing someone say their personal thoughts or diary entries butto their sister who they mildly hate? In detail. But at the same time, I think this was on purpose and most of the quotable moments were pieces of dialogue.

The strength of the book TRULY was in its characterization and its obscurity. The most memorable parts are the from the mother. Just the nastiness that comes from her. I would probably also have mental issues if that was my mother. I think the dynamic between the MC and her sister was at the forefront of the book and still, they always ended up where they started. My only gripe is that I hated when they spoke in unison.

But this was super cool. What can I say! You have to be in the mood for something weird and character driven. And it can be sad at times. Like, it describes being in pain so well that it makes you remember you're suffering too and the world is awful. This is such a double-edged sword because it can make you feel icky and depressed. But it's written well and feels so real, which is impressive and makes you want to keep reading. If that sounds like you, you should like this one! It goes by super quick, IMO.