"Clickbait" by Holly Baxter was a totally engaging read and had me laughing out loud to myself in the first chapter and totally emotionally drained at the end. The protagonist Natasha is introduced as a self-aware, flawed, imperfect everywoman.

The plot itself is good, even if it starts out rather basic (newly divorced, did something embarrassing at work, kicked to new shitty apartment). She is demoted from "Real Journalism" to writing clickbait articles – and is struggling to cope. She is the kind of cynical and sarcastic modern millennial whose inner monologue can be hilarious, albeit judgy and occasionally it slips out of her mouth. At first, I liked her- she had similar stream of thought and sense of humor as myself, a woman the same age (35), who has made some pretty significant errors in life. She’s not pretending to be a good person at first, and the author isn’t downplaying her choices as bad luck that happened to a great person. Natasha is a basic woman who has fucked up and is trying to recover whatever dignity she can. She spirals into theoreticals. She fantasizes both winning scenarios (“Maybe he’d ask me if we wanted to get back together over a hard seltzer in the sand...”) and tongue-in-cheek losing ones (“Maybe the guy in the cap would stab me.”) She is self-confident in some ways yet honestly lamenting the fact that she’s drifting away from the flirtatiousness and attention of being a young woman and seeking that validation again.

As the book progresses, we learn more about how she ticks- and it becomes less funny/relatable and more concerning. Her personality seems to regress. I won’t spoil it with too many details, but her character certainly has an arc.

The character of her mother moved me. She is a very specific woman- the modern-day boomer mom who is there when you need her but also maybe can’t help over criticizing? Who needs to knock you down a peg in front of guests and then call you sensitive when you’re offended? Reminds you how hard she worked only for you to be so ungrateful. Also a functioning wine-aholic? Copy my mom, Paste in book. Natasha met her mom where she was at, often responding in a moody and rude teenage way. It all felt so real and relatable.

The maneuvers of the plot itself and side characters are anything but predictable. At 96% I still had no idea how it would end. I’m not sure it ended in what I would call a satisfying way, but I suppose it ended the way it needed to, considering. I started this book in the evening and if it wasn’t for the necessity of sleep, I would have read it in one sitting. I don’t regret a minute of this book and will recommend it to anyone who enjoys a messy narrator.

Thank you to Holly Baxter for sharing this with the world and with me. Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC. I am so on board.