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Filled with passion and angst, this is a book tailor-made for anyone who has ever aspired to write – or rather, to be a “writer” — a seemingly innocuous label that, for those in the literary “know”, carries an inordinate amount of weight. A label that can invoke literary snobbery, a scholarly bent, brimming with judgement, pomposity, and erudition. All of which can turn a dream so ugly — leaving those who aspire to simply write something great, something deeply intrinsic and pure, struggling instead in the shallows.

Helen Hicks is a “weird and off-putting” aspiring writer. When she meets Cherry Stewart, a somewhat gauche young woman with writerly stars in her eyes, the two form an unlikely friendship. Both of them are hell-bent on writing— a masterpiece (for Helen) and a jolly good read (for less academically-inclined Cherry). As attendees who have earned a place at an elite writing workshop, the women are there to learn, to critique others and to grow their own writing skills. Immersed with their peers in an intensive program, only one attendee will win the coveted price – an industry award which will deliver authoring mentorship and a cash stipend (along with a boatload of enviable glory) — all of which will significantly advance the road to true, identity-defining writer-hood.

Written in the alternating voices of Helen and Cherry, this is an introspective character-driven book, a yearning and achingly vulnerable peek into unbridled youth and urgency, envy and torment. Clever and thoughtful, both voices are utterly engrossing, sometimes repelling, and always interesting. With more than one trick up her sleeve, the author delivers an absorbing read, one which includes a wry critique of the publishing world, and a nostalgic look at longing — along with an underlying warning to each of us that lifelong dreams, once attained, are never truly as imagined.

A wonderful book, I enjoyed this one cover to cover, and look forward to reading more from this newly-discovered (for this reader) author.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.