Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was a fun, fast read that had me fully invested in the plot and the main character.

Excellent book! Very jealous of the title! So glad to have another in the same quadrant as Jennifer Belle to be obsessed with!

This was a sharp, introspective, and unexpectedly funny contemporary story that captures a very specific moment in time while also digging into grief, ambition, and isolation 😷💔✨. Set around the early days of 2020, the novel follows Layla Moody, a struggling television writer trying to claw her way into success in Hollywood.

We first meet Layla in full chaotic mode at Sundance, chasing connections, opportunities, and anything that might finally launch her stalled career 🎬🍸. When she lands a promising opportunity, it seems like her life is finally moving forward—until the pandemic shuts everything down and forces her into isolation in her late father’s apartment in New York.

Alone with her thoughts, Layla is forced to confront unresolved grief, a complicated past relationship, and the uncomfortable possibility that she may have played a role in her own emotional stagnation 😬🏙️. Eventually, she escapes to a Fire Island share house filled with familiar faces and messy histories, where old dynamics resurface and new forms of connection begin to form.

What I liked 💕 was how grounded and emotionally honest the story felt. Layla is messy, self-aware in flashes, and deeply human, and her internal struggle with grief and self-sabotage is handled with a lot of nuance. I also liked the time-period setting—it adds a layer of collective uncertainty that mirrors her personal unraveling. The Fire Island house brings a great ensemble dynamic and some much-needed humor and warmth.

Overall, this is a reflective, character-driven novel about grief, reinvention, and learning how to rebuild a life when everything suddenly stops 📚🌊💭. If you enjoy emotionally layered fiction with strong voice, pandemic-era realism, and messy but relatable characters, What You Should Worry About is a thoughtful and engaging read 🌿✨.

This is such a great reflection of a very unusual time and how it impacted people in ways beyond just restrictions and fears. It explores how the pandemic made people reflect and often even completely reconsider their choices and plans. Yes, it’s a funny book, but it is also an important thought triggerer, I think it will stand in good stead over time as people look back on the Covid 19 crisis and what it did to people’s psyches.

Meryl Branch-McTiernan’s beautifully crafted and hilarious debut novel, What You Should Worry About, is a brilliant time capsule of 2020 that explores the messy intersection of stymied ambition and sudden isolation.

The book opens in January 2020 at the Sundance Film Festival. From its inception in 1978 to its full evolution into an indie empire, the book masterfully portrays what the Sundance Film Festival has become for modern creators: the ultimate gatekeeper and launchpad. Branch-McTiernan accurately captures the raw, modern hustle of indie film and TV writing. Layla’s desperate networking—crashing parties and hunting for industry gatekeepers—mirrors how Sundance has evolved from a niche film showcase into a high-stakes marketplace where Hollywood television and streaming deals are forged, changing the landscape of who gets their stories produced.

When COVID-19 shuts down the industry, Layla is forced to quarantine alone in her late parents’ Queens apartment. Here, the novel digs deep into how we are often the architects of our own solitude. Isolated with the ghost of an ex-boyfriend who vanished and the heavy grief of her father's death, Layla faces a harsh truth: her isolation isn't just a byproduct of lockdown. Her tendency to avoid emotional reckoning—like fleeing New York after her father died—and her self-sabotaging patterns are what truly anchored her in loneliness. The book brilliantly shows how solitude is built brick-by-brick by our own avoidance.

The narrative shifts beautifully when Layla escapes to a Fire Island share house. Surrounded by an eclectic cast of characters, the novel explores the friction of human connection. Branch-McTiernan perfectly balances the annoying tendencies of housemates with the profound comfort they provide. It’s within this forced proximity that Layla learns to find family on her own terms—not through perfect, conflict-free relationships, but by accepting the chaotic package deal of human flaws and vulnerability.

​A witty, deeply resonant read about surviving a crisis and coming out connected.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book felt absolutely chaotic 😂 character driven, and you never know what she’s going to do next. Her inner monologue was hilarious as were her general experiences with relationships, life, sex, or dating. There is a sadness to the story though. I think fans of Emily Austin or sad/weird girl lit will ultimately enjoy this. 3.75 stars overall