By bidding on, or purchasing this item, you are agreeing to us sharing your name and address details with that 3rd party supplier to allow us to fulfil our contractual obligations to you. All in all a good book and one I think that would be as entertaining as it is informative, which is a tricky balance to get right. Early on in lockdown, I was struck by an article I read about the Spanish Flu in early 20th century fiction — namely, that it was notably absent. Bipolar is an illness that's still shrouded in stigma and My Hot Friend does a fantastic job of blasting through that stigma to bring us to the heart of the illness: a young woman, struggling profoundly. Or because after the high drama of a world war, an epidemic did not lend itself to narrative so easily?

My Hot Friend centres on three women navigating friendship and all the complexities that come with it in this digital age. There is also razor sharp social commentary about podcasting/ influencing interlaced throughout the narrative and the book continues in this vein until the final quarter. Living online brings out unattractive parts of our personalities which are difficult to turn into compelling fiction. I have been that person struggling with repetitive note making and worrying about WhatsApp groups and friends. There are no words to describe how much I loved this book so I won't even try too much 😂 I've always loved Sophie's writing but this is by far my favourite.In fact, it was only when I discovered that it was by the same author as the brilliantly disturbing Where I End that I decided to give it a go. Three complete strangers, with very different lives, feeling at odds with where they and their friendships are going.

Claire is on a very slippery path but is convinced her every calculated move is necessary to prevent her from disappearing off the radar. Like her last contemporary novel, The Snag List, it's a deep dive into the inner lives of millenial women: this time, White takes a look at what it means to try and build and maintain friendships when 30 is rapidly approaching and people's lives are undergoing profound change. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.The second half largely focuses on illness and I did like the way it was dealt with - I felt it was very real and showed how illness is dealt with both from an individual’s perspective and from her friends and family. My Hot Friend, her latest fiction, comes hot on the heels of Where I End, her unforgettable horror novel published last year which recently won the Shirley Jackson Prize. This book had everything in it that I love; good and bad friendships, falling in and out of love and dealing with the everyday stresses of life and families. There is a lot going on between those green covers so be prepared to be amused and thoughtful as you go on a journey with three thirty-somethings as they traverse the rollercoaster that is life today.

Sophie White has experienced the devastating effects of bad mental health and it shows in the writing. It felt a little busy, with elements that aren't explored as much as they could be (Claire's parents are separated but still resentfully sharing a house, thanks to the desperate housing market; Joanne's mates sort of vanish, which is fitting for them but also there's not even an attempt from any of them at understanding the motherhood thing). Add a sprinkling of well observed observations of living your life through an insta lens and the notoriety of being a fax celeb, as well as the pressure it puts on your mental health. It was full of wonderful characters and an abundance of laugh-your-ass-off funny moments that gave me “Bridesmaids” the movie feels. Last we have Claire whose friends (and the WhatsApp name for the group - Bitch Herd - should tip you off to their true nature) seem to be pulling away after an incident the year before which we don't learn the true nature of until the last third of the book.

I thought this might have been quite a fun 'fluffy' novel and didn't expect to fall quite so hard for it! Claire has had the same group of friends for years but their whatsapp group is gone very quiet and she knows they talk without her and she's feeling lonely and excluded. Maher briefly paused the sympathetic love-in to point out that didn’t he, Kitzinger, actually believe the devil was real though? But, understanding your place in the world through your desirability deeply impacts one’s sense of self.