Honestly, Becky...

I had so much fun reading this book! I never wanted to put it down. It's like watching the trainwreck right in front of you, and I ate it all up.
All I kept thinking about while reading was,
"I'm 27 years old, I've no money, and no prospects. I'm already a burden to my parents, and I'm frightened." - P&P 2005
We've ALL been in a situation where it feels like everyone around you has something better going on than you do, and you're just sick of it. This is the situation we meet Becky in - job she hates, no romantic interests (besides being hung up on her ex), friends who are getting married/starting a business, and she is still living with her mom to 'save money'. On her 29th birthday she is gifted a card for a spell shop where she's given a tarot reading that convinces her she's going to die. As one does, faced with their own mortality, she writes a letter to the 6 most important people in her life and plans a one way ticket to paradise to live out the end of her days.

well ...

she doesn't die, and she can't go on her trip.

Annnnnd now, she has to deal with the consequences of her brutally honest - cowardly letters, and the crumpling of her life as she knows it. Throughout this story we ride the waves of Becky growing as a person, and we face the question of: isss Becky a good person?? Was this all happening to her, or was she complacent and helped lead herself to her misery?? And honestly, it's kind of fun to spend time in her asshole-ness.
The resolution to this story felt very organic and I'm happy to have walked through the mess with Becky, her friends, and her family. Very good analysis of maybe the conclusions we imagine for others, aren't the full picture of their lives.
I would definitely recommend this book!!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Books for this ARC E-reader copy in exchange for my honest review!! I had a wonderful time reading this story.

The story follows the protagonist, Becky, who grapples with the challenges of growing older and not having her life together as she imagined. Becky is relatable, and the complexities of her life are written with humor and sensitivity. The relationships in Becky's life play a crucial role in her journey through this book. At parts, the book is deeply emotional and at others lighthearted which is necessary for the drama of Becky's life and choices.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who has lost their way in life and needs the hope of moving forward to get them through.

4.5⭐️s

Not a typical go-to read for me but this book was fun.

After Becky receives the Death card, while having a tarot reading, she goes into meltdown mode and delivers some harsh truths in the form of letters thinking she’s about to die.

Becky cracked me up😂 Between her complaints about life and the dramatic spiraling after the tarot reading, she had me rolling. It did rub me a little the wrong way that (almost) everyone turned their backs on her after receiving their personalized hate mail, but I couldn’t necessarily blame them either.

I enjoyed reading through Becky’s transformation while navigating hitting rock bottom, then working to mend her life and fix relationships. There were a lot of relatable moments and felt a kinship with her.

Knocked it slightly just because some of the story seemed repetitive but overall enjoyed the read.

Max… I wanted to like him so much but dude needed to learn how to communicate better. He ended up being trash regardless but he had potential to be better😂

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for the opportunity to arc read!

As someone who just turned 30 recently and has felt similarly to the narrator at times, I found this novel to be very poignant but also hopeful.

Becky is a 29-year-old who is stuck in a rut and seemingly unable to move forward in any aspect of her life. She is working a job she hates, still fixated on her ex-boyfriend five years post-breakup, lives with her mom, and finds herself unable to relate to her friends, who are in a different stage of life from her. Following a disastrous tarot card reading, Becky is convinced that she is going to die soon and decided to air her grievances and feelings to her loved ones and boss in the form of letters. However, once morning comes and she realizes that her drastic actions will have consequences, Becky scrambles to pick up the pieces.

The narrative was engaging and enjoyable, and while the process of growth wasn’t as steady as I might’ve liked, I was satisfied with the ways in which Becky decided to improve her life by the end of the book. As a non confrontational person myself, I recognized in my own life several of Becky’s struggles. I think making a great leap can be daunting and challenging, but the reward almost always outweighs the difficulty, as Becky discovered.

The misread tarot allegations immediately drew me into the premise of this novel. There is a slow buildup until the protagonist pulls the death card and spirals. As a tarot reader I found it humorous because people really do get stressed when they get that card. The protagonist was difficult for me to really bond with or like throughout the novel’s progression. Her cringey quips were great, but her lack of self-awareness felt too much. The whole time I felt like I was anxious with the protagonist and the author did fantastic on writing on that degree of millennial anxiety. I needed more redeemable qualities and events to really make me empathize with the character.
There is one point I wish I could be the protagonist friend for the moment to make her snap back to reality. I liked the delivery of the tarot reading and how it was emulated as popular culture exchange. I do always love unreliable narrators and how that really makes the narrative. For that I am giving this 3.5 rounded up to a 4 – because that kept me reading. I almost would have loved to see this story from the other’s perspective’s as well just to get relief from the protagonist’s anxiety.

I gave this book a 3.5. I found the synopsis very intriguing which was what made me pick up this book to begin with and I ended up really liking the way it was written. The letters were entertaining to read and I thought it added a very fun element to the book. I found myself relating to the main character a lot (not in a good way) but she was lovable in her own flawed way. This was a funny, at some points sad, read and I did really enjoy it. I would recommend it to people who want a more unserious coming-of-age read!