Sad Girl Novel by Pip Finkemeyer | Blog Tour Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Sad Girl Novel by Pip Finkemeyer

My rating: 4/5

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publication date: 10th August 2023

Blurb:

An Australian expat in Berlin, Kim is jobless, rootless, and - as she's slowly discovering - somewhat useless.

That is until a chance encounter with Matthew, a hotshot New York literary agent, gives Kim the direction she's been craving. This year she will:

* Finally write her novel

* Decide what said novel is actually about

* Romantically pin down the increasingly flighty Matthew

* Be less jealous of best friend Bel's baby

* Convince her therapist that the amount of artichokes she eats doesn't classify as an eating disorder

* Stay sane in the process of achieving the above

Because Kim's story will not become a sad girl novel.

Definitely not.

Review:

I saw a creator on Tiktok (@bookrvws) recently talk about a genre that she calls Existential Millennial Malaise and this is exactly how I would describe this book.

Our main character, 27-year-old Kim, moves to Berlin in the hopes of writing a novel. She quickly becomes best friends with Bel, falls in love with a man named Matthew who seemingly doesn't love her back and all the while she is struggling to find herself and the confidence to write her novel. She essentially has an existential crisis, falls into drugs and partly loses her relationship with Bel who she has convinced to have a baby on her own.

Firstly, this was funny but not in the "belly laughing hilarious the whole way through" way. There are golden nuggets planted throughout that had me smiling or laughing out loud. She is super witty and I loved reading her thoughts. We aren't supposed to like Kim, I certainly didn't love her, but I couldn't help but feel everything she felt as I read. 

It is a gorgeous novel on exploration, finding yourself and comparing yourself to others. Very character-driven rather than plot but I really enjoyed this one! 

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Thank you so much Hodder & Stoughton for having me on the blog tour. You can find information on the other bloggers taking part in the tour in the graphic below.