My Hot Friend: A funny and heartfelt novel about friendship from the bestselling author

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It is an ultimately hopeful book about living with - not being cured of - a brain that is a bit tricksy. Similarly, the pacing of the plot, though ever-so-slightly slow at times, made the book one of those that feels impossible to put down. In a society where image is perceived as everything, and the number of reactions a social media post gets is tantamount to success, there are times when it all gets a little too much. The author’s own experiences have obviously informed the plot and the way the characters experience things including mental illness (I gather from the letter at the end of the book which I found very moving) and this brings a genuine-ness to the book that is difficult to get (from my experience of other books dealing with similar issues which I’ve sometimes found either overly glib, unrealistic or just lacking the other brighter moments there are even when suffering.

Lexi co-hosts a successful podcast with her longtime best pal Amanda, but Amanda's tendency to speak off-the-cuff often lands them in hot water in internet-land. 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. It’s impossible to say more without spoilers, so I won’t, except that you will laugh, you will cry, you will gasp, but above all, you’ll want to carry on reading and discover how life pans out for these women.It doesn’t matter whether or not you are the ‘hot’ friend, it’s whether or not you’ve been perceived as the ‘hot’ friend. I especially appreciated that mental illness was discussed in such a sensitive manner; informative without being overdone or garish, and very aware of the nuances of having to deal with a mental illness as well as having to deal with someone you love who is suffering. I am no mental health expert but I found the discussion of Claire's bipolar to be raw, real and urgent - especially when I learned that White has the same condition. BUT it became clear that this wasn't going to be like an episode of FRIENDS and Sophie was weaving together some powerful portrayals of mental health, motherhood and even ethics and morals in social media influencers. Three complete strangers, with very different lives, feeling at odds with where they and their friendships are going.

Read this for the Tired Mammy Book Club and wasn't sure about it at the start (thought maybe I was too old for it as it was a younger generation than me! This book has heart, soul, and insight, weaving themes of mental illness, friendship, and the strange liminality that is your late 20s/early thirties seamlessly. I loved the different relationships in this book (and by this I mean friendships too, not just romantic relationships) and at times I laughed out loud.Her collection of essays in Corpsing, her superbly unsettling and creepy horror of Where I End and now the funny, relatable and insightful My Hot Friend.

That being said, I think because of that many fiction books shy away from the issues which are very real and very common. 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. Each of them have distinct voices, personalities that grow and evolve over the pages, and their own growth is what drives the story forward as we spend time getting into their lives and the little moments that the outside world doesn’t see. There are so many aspects of this book that I resonate with from making friends when older to feeling out of the loop to struggling with your mental health.Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. Multiple societal and relevant themes are sensitively handled, with Sophie White adding a letter to all readers at the end explaining her own personal battles. Joanne’s friends and partner don’t understand how hard it is being a new mum; both expect her to snap back into her old way of life and be up for going ‘out out’ on a whim. Lexi hosts a successful podcast with her oldest friend but their fame is threatening their friendship.