Everything I Know About Love

November 25, 2019
British journalist and former Sunday Times dating columnist Alderton (Man Repeller) chronicles her love life in this wryly humorous essay collection. She writes about flirting as an awkward teenager via instant messages (“It was a complex Edwardian dance of courtship and I was a giddy and willing participant”), college parties (“I scan the room for boys with working limbs and a detectable pulse”), being single in a world that seems comprised solely of couples, and escaping a Tinder-facilitated threesome. In other essays she creates lists—things she’s scared of (plane food, STDs), the most annoying things people say (“how do you find the time to do all those tweets?”), safe topics for dinner conversations (“celebrity deaths”)—and deals with her own weight issues. Alderton writes with self-deprecating humor throughout, though her most moving essay focuses on the funeral of her best friend’s sister, who died of leukemia. A hit in the U.K., this clever collection will likely speak to American audiences as well.

November 15, 2019
A Sunday Times columnist draws her coming-of-age story with tender flair. "We were the worst type of students imaginable. We were reckless and self-absorbed and childish and violently carefree. We were Broken Britain," writes Alderton, a TV writer and co-host of the podcast The High Low, in this incisive tribute to women's friendships. The collection gathers essays from a variety of eras of her life: her teen years, when she attended an all-girls school, cemented her fascination with boys, and dreamed about being a grown-up ("I was desperate to be an adult"); her chaotic 20s, which proved some of her fantasies wrong; and the dawning of her 30s, when she found some semblance of wisdom. The narrative is also a splendid mashup of recipes ("hangover mac and cheese"), hyperbolic group e-mails mocking the smugness of the coupled and the resentment of singles; and lively recollections on everything from awkward online encounters to body image and blackout drunkenness. Alderton paints British suburbia in hypercolor while drawing herself as a woman who's prone to excess. How her view of love matured is steeped in anxious charm, striking a clever balance between painful humor and self-forgiveness. "Dating had become a source of instant gratification, an extension of narcissism, and nothing to do with connection with another person," she writes. "Time and time again, I had created intensity with a man and confused it with intimacy." But it's the author's relationship with best friend Farly--"there isn't a pebble on the beach of my history that she has left unturned. She knows where to find everything in me and I know where all her stuff is too"--that inspires the most poetic passages. Whether excavating the turmoil of seeing Farly fall in love and get her heart broken, writing about the significance of her support when Farly's sister died, or revisiting the many everyday moments that have made up their 20 years together, Alderton's portrait exemplifies love. A poignant breath of fresh air for those who struggled--or are struggling--with the dramedy of early adulthood.

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February 1, 2020

Journalist Alderton (cohost, podcast The High Low) shares her coming-of-age story with wit and grace. As a teenager, Alderton was fascinated with boys and longed for adulthood. When she reached her 20s, the fantasies of her youth didn't quite pan out, as she shares in stories of dates gone badly, nights of drinking and partying, and failed relationships. Rather than get into the sordid details, Alderton's portrayal of this time is assuredly self-aware and reflective. She deftly balances more humorous anecdotes with an exploration of difficult experiences, including her struggle with disordered eating and the death of her best friend's sister. Everything that Alderton has learned about love is because of strong friendships with the women in her life, especially best friend Farly--and it is these friendships that provided the strength and support needed for Alderton to make it to her 30th birthday. VERDICT This relatable reflection on love and the importance of friendship is an international best seller, so expect demand from readers interested in modern life as well as intimate, confessional memoirs. [See Prepub Alert, 7/29/19.]--Anitra Gates, Erie Cty. P.L., PA

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