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May 15, 2017s390325 rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
This book was mildly entertaining at best, enough to make me want to finish the book. That is about the nicest thing I can say about it. If this were a much shorter sub-plot in a different book with other characters that had more interesting things going on in their lives, then maybe it would work, but I don't think it has enough substance for an entire book. It would have been nice to find out more about Aunt Viv and her friends and their lives and motivations. Instead, we get a whole novel of Julia agonizing over her virginity like it's a curse and doing all sorts of stupid things to try and get rid of it, and at the same time frequently publicly embarrassing or hurting her aunt . Why doesn't she try to get to know her aunt whom she admired as a child instead of constantly focusing on having sex? Maybe if she'd talked to her aunt she would realize that perhaps her aunt is perfectly happy as she is. Julia's immaturity really irritated me. Her behavior (getting drunk and making out with someone at her aunt's friend's funeral/ knowing she has to deliver her aunt's artwork to an art show that is very important to her aunt, but deciding to ditch that in an attempt to go have sex, among other things) might possibly be a little bit understandable as a teenager but at 26, it's completely unacceptable! Hurting other people in that way, intentional or not, is not something that is easy to forgive or forget. I guess this is supposed to be the "really funny" part of the book, but all I could see was a self-centered character wrecking havoc in other people's lives. I can relate to the mid- twenties "what am I doing with my life" feeling, also the loneliness of feeling like everyone else besides you is in a relationship and having great sex (it would have helped if the author had explored the first theme more), but I didn't run around trying desperately to screw any male that I encountered. Also, one thing that is hugely missing from this whole scenario is having a relationship- or at least liking someone- before having sex with them. Julia seems to sort of realize this towards the end when she does finally "lose it", but there is nothing to indicate if she has incorporated that idea into her life. It seems like what Julia really needs, more than losing her virginity, is learning how to make friends and build her social circle. I was glad to see that she seemed to have found more focus for her life, and to be on friendly terms with her aunt again at the end of the book. Final verdict: a not very funny or interesting novel about a self-centered 26 year old.