Item: Everything Must Go
Rating: 4.00
Author: kozbisa

by Jenny Fran Davis

'A witty portrayal of a certain type of uber-conscious New York millennial . . . a comic, self deprecatory illustration of the conflict between our projected self-image, versus the reality' Financial Times

Flora Goldwasser is private school perfection - all wrapped up in a vintage Grace Kelly dress. But when she leaves elite Manhattan for an academy of unwashed hippies and ironic hipsters in the Hudson Valley, Flora discovers that when it comes to popularity and approval there is no commutative property. Her love of Maison Kayser macaroons, perfect French conjugation, Jackie Kennedy sunglasses, and Audrey Hepburn movies make her the ultimate outsider in a land of kale, quinoa, and tattered tunics.

Told through a collage of letters, emails and clippings, Everything Must Go is a thoughtful, nuanced story about identity, sex, friendship, and the bridges we cross (and burn) as we grow into ourselves. A budding Marxist, a Jenna Lyons doppelganger, and a jacked dude named Agnes come together with a vending machine full of vintage accessories as Flora throws off the mantle of expectations, assumptions, and perfection -- the trappings of her old life.

Everything Must Go is an offbeat, modern novel with emotionally rich and compelling characters.

I really enjoyed this book! It was quite an interesting journey with Flora, as she searched for her true self during a difficult period in her life. It was quirky, fun, and touched upon a bunch of interesting issues.

•Pro: I love mixed format books, and this one included emails, blog posts, photos, letters, and more. The different formats were used well, and were cleverly used to bring in different perspectives.

•Pro: Flora was a star. I loved her voice from page one, and I was so happy to go on this journey with her.

•Pro: The colorful cast of characters gave me the gift of laughter over and over again.

•Pro: Flora and her sister had a sisterly bond that made me jealous. Lael was an incredible big sister and was still there for Flora even when she went against her advice.

•Con: The ending was sweet, but I am not too sure what the intention was. Not disappointing, because I smiled, but still not sure about it.

•Pro: As radical as the school was for me, there were a lot of interesting ideas discussed and I like when I am made to look at something in a different way or left with food for thought.

•Pro: There are many, many feminists in this book, and therefore. lots of feminists discussions. But what I loved most about this girl-powered group, was how they wanted to support one of their own in her time of need.

Overall: A fun and quirky coming of age tale filled with wonderful and interesting characters, which left me with a smile on my head and a lot of interesting thoughts in my head.

**I would like to thank the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

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Everything Must Go

by Jenny Fran Davis

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on Oct 15, 2017

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