I liked this debut novel from Australian author Georgina Young. It’s categorised as YA but if we are looking closely at the ages of the characters and the kind of themes explored, I would call it New Adult.

The protagonist, Lona Wallace, is an art school drop-out in Melbourne who divides her time between Netflix, her job at a skate rink, her job at a supermarket and her best friend Tab. Her life is a series of awkward encounters as she reluctantly navigates parties, dates and family get-togethers. She’s suffering from that crisis that many young people (and older ones) go through, wondering what her education was for and lacking the motivation to do anything. Consisting of very short chapters, the book does not have much of a plot, but the writing style and the characters are interesting enough to sustain the momentum.

The book includes many references to popular culture from the 90s up to now, most of which I got. Some of the references are also Australian specific so they would be lost on me. The main characters are part of the first generation to be born in the internet age and although I felt a little distanced from them, I could relate to them too. This is a book I’ll remember for the characters of Lona and Tab but if you asked me to summarise the plot, I’d be stuck.

First published in 2020 by Text Publishing.