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Worry

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Frances Ha meets No One Is Talking About This in a debut that follows two twenty-something siblings-turned-roommates navigating an absurd world about to suffer great change—a Seinfeldian novel of existentialism and sisterhood.

It’s March of 2019, and twenty-eight-year-old Jules Gold—anxious, artistically frustrated, and internet-obsessed—has been living alone in the apartment she once shared with the man she thought she’d marry when her younger sister Poppy comes to crash. Indefinitely. Poppy is a year out from a suicide attempt only Jules knows about, and as she searches for work and meaning in Brooklyn, Jules spends her days hate-scrolling the feeds of Mormon mommy bloggers and waiting for life to happen.

Then the hives that’ve plagued Poppy since childhood flare up. Jules’s uterus turns against her. Poppy brings home a maladjusted rescue dog named Amy Klobuchar. The girls’ mother—a newly devout Messianic Jew—starts falling for the same deep-state conspiracy theories as Jules’s online mommies. A trip home to Florida ends in disaster. Amy Klobuchar may or may not have rabies. And Jules struggles halfheartedly to scrape her way to the source of her ennui, slowly and cruelly coming to blame Poppy for her own insufficiencies as a friend, a writer, and a sister. As the year shambles on and a new decade looms near, Jules and Poppy—comrades, competitors, permanent fixtures in each other’s lives—must ask themselves what they want their futures to look like, and whether they’ll spend them together or apart.

Deadpan, dark, and brutally funny, Worry is a sharp portrait of two sisters enduring a dread-filled American moment from a nervy new voice in contemporary fiction.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2024

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About the author

Alexandra Tanner

1 book337 followers
Alexandra Tanner lives and writes in Brooklyn.

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5 stars
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1,727 (32%)
3 stars
1,692 (31%)
2 stars
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1 star
299 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,364 reviews
Profile Image for Alexandra.
Author 1 book337 followers
September 7, 2023
this is my own book.... if i were a more honest woman i'd give it a 4 (rounded down from 4.2)
Profile Image for Casey Aonso.
150 reviews4,417 followers
April 7, 2024
3.5/4

kind of like if you wrote Girls today but instead of a friend group you gave hannah horvath a sister lol
Profile Image for Brittany.
180 reviews
November 14, 2023
This is a terrible book that will make you feel absolutely horrible for no reason. What exactly is this supposed to be?? Remove the Seinfeld comparison from the jacket before publication because that implies that the book is quick and funny, and this couldn’t be further from funny. Seinfeld, or shows like It’s Always Sunny, worked because although the characters were essentially bad people, they were goofy and animated and likeable. This book doesn’t even come close. It’s clear that that’s what the author is going for, but it falls very flat.
Poppy and Jules are sisters. Poppy does nothing but whine and scream complaints. Jules has no direction OR personality and bursts into tears for no reason. One attempted suicide, one had a bad breakup, but none of that matters to the plot AT ALL. Poppy can hardly take care of herself and has constant allergy flares. Jules browses insane mommy blogs for recreation. Has anyone coined the term “manic pixie pick me girl” yet? No? I’ll do it then. Major “not like other girls” and one upper energy. They also have a contentious relationship with their snake oil selling, doomsday prepping mother who openly hates them both. AND THERE IS NO PLOT. Nothing happens. Nothing. It’s infuriating and horrendous and I’m mad having read it.
I’ve never read a book where not a single character was remotely likeable, but here we have it folks. These are some of the worst characters I’ve ever read. The author clearly tries so hard to play it off like they’re quirky and funny, but it is pretty cringe. They are COMPLETELY one dimensional. It’s a major failure on the authors part to tell us everything that we could ever need to know about them. There is no shock when they fail, because it’s so like them. When she shows us what’s supposed to be a moment of clarity or growth, she’s teaching us something we already know. Is the ending supposed to prove that Poppy really CAN’T take care of anyone else, because we already knew that she was doomed to fail.
This is the a book of only the bad parts of sisterhood - no good, no friendship, no camaraderie. They hate each other and have petty fights that last for days. I’ve never met siblings who behave like they do in real life so I am absolutely confused by all the reviews that say otherwise. There was little effort to make Poppy a sympathetic character beyond simply stating that she is mentally ill, or to make Jules relatable other than she is a woman who hates her job and doesn’t have a boyfriend - so???
This is also one big doom scroll - so much of this book is a character hate-scrolling prepper mommies and flat earthers but if that stresses you out, skip the book. An ENORMOUS amount of this book is just text from conspiracy theorists that she’s scrolling through, and it is supposed to be a commentary on blogger culture, but it’s just soooo much. It’s not funny. She shoves all of the worst parts of American politics in our face like it’s funny to watch, and that is really irresponsible and gross. I found it so bad that if I knew, I’d have avoided the book altogether.
And the ending comes out of NOWHERE and is possibly the worst ending to any book I’ve ever read. It was horrifying violence and animal abuse for shock value and had nothing to do with the entire rest of the book.
SKIP SKIP SKIP.
Profile Image for nastya ♡.
920 reviews137 followers
August 4, 2023
"worry" is a novel following two sisters, poppy and jules, who start living together in new york city. jules has a job as an editor that she is not satisfied with, and poppy is somewhat of a freeloader. both of them are obsessed with social media and the internet.

this novel is really just popular social media driven buzz words over and over again. stale trends, stale memes. the relationship between the two sisters and their parents is very interesting and is the highlight of the novel. i enjoyed reading about jewish activism, but i feel more could have been done there.

there essentially is no plot. the ending is rather triggering for no reason, so if you are squeamish around animal abuse, avoid at all costs. it was incessant droning on and on about nothing. there were moments for real introspection, but nothing ever comes to fruition. this novel makes you feel numb and dead. also, big trigger warning for antisemitism.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Sunny.
802 reviews5,268 followers
May 4, 2024
Very very funny. Internet & sisters, New York City and dumb jobs, so so real
Profile Image for Joseph Barchi.
11 reviews21 followers
January 3, 2024
Many of you are so stupid it’s actually wild. Dogs fighting with other dogs is not animal abuse. This book is brilliant and hysterical. It is obsessive in the same ways being alive necessitates us to all be obsessive.

I can’t believe how humiliating it is to write a goodreads review, but this is the rare example of a contemporary novel that not only has a great cover, it is actually worth reading. Strongest debut novel I’ve read in ages. Worth reading and worth laughing at.
Profile Image for luce (cry baby).
1,524 reviews4,868 followers
Shelved as 'dnf'
April 1, 2024
at this point, i am so familiar with the Sad Girl canon that i find myself inclined to propose an addition of my own...

picture this: a 20-something that’s-literally-me woman revels in her own grime and has not washed in the last 6 months (she finds all bodies to be abject). she collects her own fingernails as a quirky yet gross hobby and spends her days posing as a child on social media to chat with pedophiles, because she's 'just so messed up’. she masturbates to pictures of serial killers or war footage, because yes, she's fucked up and finds human depravity arousing. she only eats foods that start with the letter P and has not seen her reflection in the last 3 years.
her favorite pastime? dissociating from reality, of course.
her bff? an anorexic named Marie-Françoise (EDs are funny aren't they? get it? ah-ah), who exclusively wears pink and speaks in a nauseatingly babyish voice (they absolutely hate each other). oh, and let's not forget her beloved pet, possibly a dog or even something as out-there as a one-legged albino pigeon, whom she believes is the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte. and yes, of course, she has Mommy or Daddy Issues, sometimes both, and when she has sex with her on-off again bf she pretends that she likes being slapped.
and to add some extra 'edge', toss in a few scenes designed solely for shock value—think animal cruelty and copious descriptions of bodily fluids.
and to finish off, a supposedly wry social commentary that is as 'fresh' as a slice of stale bread.


actual review:

i'm all for books about 20s women mired by ennui and bickering sisters (such as Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, Candelaria by Melissa Lozada-Oliva, Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi, and Sunset by Jessie Cave), but Alexandra Tanner's Worry is a soulless entry to the She's Not Feeling Good at All subgenre. if i asked AI to write a book in the vein of authors like Ottessa Moshfegh, Mona Awad, and Melissa Broder we would get something along Worry...which is unfunny and unoriginal. the mc’s inner monologue is incredibly derivative of the genre, her interactions with her sister try to go for a grittier grosser take of the sisters from fleabag but fail to. frankly, it's giving Boy Parts (so if you like that one i guess this one is for you too).

additionally, like too many other contemporary novels, Worry pokes fun at social media. if you are to mock online communities, go for it, however, don't include so many threads or comments in your book of said community because they will just age your book and interrupt the flow your narrative (do i care to read about a fictionalized character's brainrot? not really. or to read pages of comments that might as well be taken directly from facebook, X, and or tiktok? no.).

this is satire at its lowest form (a not so distant cousin to the atrocious 'satire' of family guy).
Profile Image for Bookishrealm.
2,793 reviews6,019 followers
August 30, 2024
I'm going to be quite honest. I'm not really sure what to make of this one, but this oddly felt like an accurate representation of the millennial experience. CW: harming of an animal, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt.

Worry is the debut novel of Alexandra Tanner and examines the experience of two sisters forced to live together as the world goes through severe social, economic, and political changes. Jules is internet obsessed and stalks the experiences of what seems like #tradlife moms via Instagram while her sister Poppy is attempting to pull her life together after a suicide attempt the previous year. What follows is a serious of mishaps that were both funny, but extremely realistic in nature.

What Worked: This book was fucking hilarious. I'm not sure if that was Tanner's intention, but there were moments where I found myself laughing out loud. From the wild things said by their mother to the clearly oblivious behavior from their father, Poppy and Jules never seemed to be able to catch a break. Surprisingly, Tanner made these tough moments both funny and relatable. I don't know if there has been a book that has captured the experience of millennials so well. From social commentary to political commentary, Jules and Poppy cover a lot of topics that would be closely connected/impactful to readers in my generation. Don't get me wrong, there were some deeply troubling and sad moments; however, Tanner seemed to be able to find a balance between the two. I may not have always understood the intention of the novel, but for some reason I always felt connected to it.

What Didn't Work: There isn't a plot so as a result it doesn't feel as though there is much going on. Granted the character development is amazing; however, as a plot driven reader, it would foolish of me not to point this out. Secondly, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDING?!? While I don't necessarily classify that as animal abuse because dogs do engage in combative behavior, I do think that it was a little dark and unusually cruel to include that scene without context or further explanation. It felt as though it was thrown in for shock value and I didn't appreciate that.

Overall, this was a solid debut. It won't be a favorite for the year, but I do appreciate what Tanner was attempting to accomplish with Poppy and Jules as characters.
Profile Image for Anna.
972 reviews774 followers
April 1, 2024
I absolutely loved it! It reminded me of Fleabag’s portrayal of sisterhood... if you know, you know. I have two of those and love them to bits, even when we fight and push each other’s buttons.

This is a debut? Alexandra Tanner has my attention.

4.5 stars
Profile Image for Kenzie.
65 reviews49 followers
March 24, 2024
I hated everything about this especially all the animal abuse


*thank you netgalley for the arc*
Profile Image for Darryl Suite.
616 reviews625 followers
July 31, 2024
I don’t care, this novel made me laugh. Cackling all the way through because of all the ridiculousness. It’s nonstop jokes.

There is no plot whatsoever. It’s just two sisters being completely toxic to one another. Well, actually, everyone in this book is ugly to one another. The tone is crude, crass, mean-spirited, and it all works.

Plus, it’s very unpolitically correct. Every red hot button topic takes a beating. No one/thing is left unscathed. And I was howling at the audacity.

The “story” is set in 2019 and it’s very obviously so. Full of pop culture references and contemporary discussions that remind you constantly of what time period we’re in. It is not at all a timeless book nor does it want to be. (Have you noticed that a lot contemporary novels coming out these days take place in 2019? I’m guessing it’s a way of avoiding talks of the pandemic, which started the year after)

I don’t know if I think this is a great book, but honestly I didn’t care. It’s just vibes. Darkly funny, poisonous observations, a story chock-full of smack talk and uproarious antidotes: I laughed so hard at one of Poppy’s dreams about marrying a billionaire. And also the time when their mother says, “And that’s why we need the police.” And pretty much every other page. The ending of this book is hella abrupt, but also matches the absurdity of the rest of the book.

I think the reason why I also enjoyed this book is because I don’t have any siblings. I’ve always wished to have a sibling I could say vile things to while having their back or pretending to have their back while I silently and sometimes not so silently judge them, as I profess how much I hate them, even though I know that’ll I’ll always love them with such nauseating intensity. Just like our main character. So yeah, this worked well enough for me lol
Profile Image for Yara.
78 reviews8 followers
March 20, 2024
No plot.
At all.
Also animal abuse.
Nope. Just nope.
Profile Image for Sarah’s Shelves.
587 reviews63 followers
March 24, 2024
Absolutely insufferable. Way too much talk of anti-semitism, anti-vaxxers, and just THE MOST annoying conversations on anything and everything political. I was looking forward to reading this because I knew it was about sisters and since I have a sister, I was interested in seeing their dynamic but holy sh*t was I wrong in assuming I would enjoy any part of this book.

Really eye-catching cover with one of the worst books i’ve ever read on the inside.
Profile Image for Jaylen.
91 reviews1,302 followers
Read
March 25, 2024
“Worry” is a millennial comedy of manners that’s genuinely funny! I appreciate novels that avoid an attempt at timelessness for the sake of literary merit; this one firmly plants itself in 2019 Brooklyn, which works to its advantage. It’s hyper-aware, delving into the mundanity of endless internet scrolling, mining those horrific depths with aplomb and a winking eye.

Centering on two sisters living together for a year, it’s a claustrophobic depiction of adulthood shadowed by the specter of anxiety on every page, largely shaped by the gothic presence of the Internet. It’s a page-turner of jokes, ideas, and witty observations, yet also creeps under your skin. Finally, the ending is tailor made to piss people off and I thought it was brilliant. I need a 2020s Worry sequel immediately. Highly recommend!
Profile Image for Mizuki Giffin.
111 reviews105 followers
September 6, 2023
The way that this book held me in a trance... I was only 50 pages in when I woke up this morning and now I'm finished and I don't really know how to feel but all I know is I couldn't put it down.
Profile Image for Audrey.
649 reviews46 followers
March 27, 2024
I've had a couple five star reads this year, but I have been searching desperately for a FIVE star five star, you know?
This was it. Oh my goodness.
This book won't be for everyone, especially those who use reading as escape from the day-to-day life. This book is HYPER real, committing to the bit so hard that I'm not sure it will make any sense in 2-5 years (my favorite!!!). If you're sick of scrolling through your phone and would like to look over the shoulder of someone scrolling through THEIR phone, this is for you.
Also for you if...
-The Ned Fulmer scandal forced you to admit to your friends that you never really got over your YouTube phase,
-You're worried you might be self-centered and then worry that thinking so much about whether or not you're self-centered means you definitely are,
-You like real-life stories that painfully remind you that real-life stories don't often have much of a narrative arc,
-You have a list of dog names on your phone,
-You have a list of every girl from your high school that joined an MLM on your phone,
-You're the frenzied little sister or the frazzled older sister or the only child that needs whatever the opposite of FOMO is
Anyway. More of this. But not too much more, idk if I can handle it.
Profile Image for nineinchnovels.
114 reviews26 followers
January 27, 2024
I had a whole review written and then the app crashed so I’m not gonna waste time on this again…

First, it took me six months to finish this book and I skimmed the last 20% because it was so hard to get into. With me not enjoying any of it, it just did not hold my attention.

Horrible book. No plot. Stream of consciousness. Insufferable characters. No redeeming qualities. Unnecessary animal abuse for what. Like literally…

I need to know why.
Profile Image for Dakota Bossard.
110 reviews437 followers
December 4, 2023
4.5 - I loved this book. I read it in a frenzy and I regret it, but I couldn’t help it. It’s a fast paced story with a ton of (outrageous!) dialogue, and suddenly it was over. I cackled often and simultaneously felt an overwhelming amount of anxiety and secondhand embarrassment. The writing is funny and extremely current. And somehow, despite all of the horrible fights and bad behavior, this book made me wish for a sister.
Profile Image for shauna.
264 reviews152 followers
April 23, 2024
2.5 rounded down. The ending. Wtf
Profile Image for Megan.
24 reviews
June 9, 2024
This one just pissed me right off. Nothing happened, no one changed, and everyone sucked. There was no story, no plot, no growth. If that’s the point of the story—that people aren’t willing to change, only use language of therapy without going to therapy, and go about their lives willingly distracting themselves with social media and the lives of people they don’t know—just look around for those people in your life and save yourself the misery of 290 pages.
Profile Image for kimberly.
565 reviews387 followers
August 13, 2024
it feels like reading about some weird, insufferable, media-obsessed dystopian world except it’s here. we are in the weird, insufferable, media-obsessed dystopian world.
Profile Image for Letitia | Bookshelfbyla.
178 reviews107 followers
March 25, 2024
the definition of no plot just vibes!!

enjoyed the sister dynamic and the dysfunctional family, the mother made me laugh so much!!!!

the chronically online aspects were good and the living in New York as a young person was spot on.

the ending however, was not what I was expecting and it kinda traumatic Imao I am not even an animal person but I was like Jesus Christ what is happening here…

I honestly don't have much to say but I'm glad I read and this book is one of my favorite covers ever

I am hit or miss with the cool girl lit genre - this was almost a hit for me !!almost...
Profile Image for Cammi.
64 reviews300 followers
May 17, 2024
i don’t think i liked this book but i did read the entire thing in 2 days so what does that say about me
Profile Image for Theresa.
242 reviews167 followers
March 29, 2024
Wow. I absolutely loved this book! The sisters, Jules and Poppy were so neurotic and hysterical. I connected with Poppy right away. I definitely felt deep affection for Poppy's backstory, especially when it came to her anxiety/depression and hives-ridden body. This is one of those novels that readers will either love or hate. I like quirky characters and deadpan humor so "Worry" worked for me in so many ways. I felt like this book was written just for me. I laughed so many times and I love that Poppy adopts a three-legged dog named Amy Klobuchar. Even though the ending felt abrupt, I still enjoyed every second of this kooky little story. I must admit, it was the gorgeous cover art that drew me in, but I'm so happy this book ended up being so well written and wickedly funny. Alexandra Tanner has a bright future ahead of her. Fantastic debut! I didn't want it to end.

Thank you, Netgalley and Scribner for the digital ARC.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,364 reviews

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