Come As You Are by Jennifer Haupt (Literary Fiction)

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 4.5/5
An engaging family drama that bounces between the present (2002) and the teenage years of two best friend misfits from the Seattle grunge scene who managed to inadvertently make a baby. Zane and Skye are such well-drawn characters that I can’t sum them up with one-line quirk descriptors — suffice it to say that while they are appealing as characters, their depth exposes the intentions, confusions, mistakes, and self-doubts that all real humans experience. Definitely character driven, the plot nevertheless keeps up and holds together through episodes of grief, indecision, love, and growing self awareness.

Thank you to Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on March 1st, 2022.