I cannot put a word to how much this book made me feel. Like this book got me squealing, kicking my feet, on the brink of tears, laughing out loud, staring into space, screaming "well yessss" and feeling so much JOY.

Zoe is 25 and trying to figure out her place in life. With her job not giving her fulfillment as it used to, and her mum's relationships with men irritating her, she feels like she is in a bad place, and not achieving any of the goals she set for herself. It doesn't help that her bum boyfriend throws this all in her face and proceeds to break up with her, literally hinting that their relationship was just arguments and sex??!?!? (I haaaated this guy if it wasnt obvious)

I found the moments where Zoe and her mum sat down with eachother to speak about her moms journal entries the strongest in this book. Sometimes, we need to sit with our guardians/parents to ask them about their youth, to pick from their well of wisdom to understand why they ae the way they are today and how we can learn from their past stories. I found the journal entry about how her marriage drained the life out of her the most intriguing, especially with how glamorized the idea of being married is on social media. They spoke friendship, relationship with God and with parents too. A quote that stayed with me was this one:

"Stay far away from them fair-weather friends too, who only wanna soak in the sun but cannot get drenched in the rain with you"

The romance subplots were everything to me😭💗 Like Zoe and Zay beeeeen in a relationship if you ask me likee. know they said they were besties but I wasn't buying it plssss its giving verse 2 of Supermodel by SZA lmaooo And Zoe's parents like ik its friendship but IM NOT BUYING IT they have to had gotten back togetherrrr (for my own sanity lolll)

An amazing book with an amazing story to tell, do take care as there are mentions of cancer diagnosis, treatments, and loss of a loved one🤍

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my heart… NO MY HEART

This book pulled at every heart string I have. It is such a beautiful portrayal of real life experiences between family, friendships, and love. This book hit so much harder for me as someone who had a mother dealing with cancer (& is also now in remission!)

It is so easy to forget that it’s our mother’s first time living too and being able to give grace when living your own life especially when living together is something that made me appreciate this book, when Zo found her moms journal and was finally able to get a glimpse into her mind my first thought as a therapist was girl… boundaries! But it helped her better understand her mom and the reason she has the patterns she does.

Zay, oh zay, you are the definition of a good man. From stepping in when they need help, to always being a listening ear for Zoë, to finally getting the love you deserve. This is the definition of a perfect MMC and I don’t say that lightly (maybe a little bias because I cant get enough of my New York man too)

Seeing Zoës progression throughout the story was beautiful. Being around the same age and dealing with my own internal crisis’ I can heavily relate to thinking you should be doing more than you are, or feeling that imposter syndrome on days. Zoë flourishing by the end of the is just the cherry on top.

Overall I give this book a 4.5/5 stars.