I Meant It Once

Doyle’s brutally honest debut collection explores the joy and disappointment of familial, platonic, and romantic relationships. “Two Pisces Emote About the Passage of Time” follows 27-year-old Christine as she attempts to adjust to life in New York City after her roommate moves out of state, lamenting her sense of disconnect from her past while simultaneously sensing her ominous, growing obsession with the city (“New York has symbolic weight for me”). In “What Else Happened,” Hannah struggles with her academic choices in college but won’t admit it, fiercely believing that she needs “people to think that whatever was happening to me, I had planned it exactly that way.” Failing to achieve in the classroom, she quietly dismantles the relationships around her and only finds peace on her own, in a different country. After an explosive family dinner, the unnamed narrator of “We Can’t Explain” wonders how to share her family woes with her current love interest—“years of this, and how will I explain to you?” Doyle exposes family dynamics with humor and sincerity, skillfully exploring the interplay between devotion andbetrayal. Readers will savor Doyle’s bracing blend of witand candor. Agent: Gráinne Fox, United Talent Agency. (July)