Girlcrush

Given concocts a stylish but overloaded narrative in her second book-length outing, which deceptively purports to be a “hot, dark” modern retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Given’s 2021 Women Don’t Owe You Pretty was a manifesto; this first-person tale of a wannabe artist becoming an internet influencer in the #MeToo era is a manifesto dressed in chick-lit clothes. After millennial collagist Eartha catches her DJ boyfriend, Mat, sleeping with groupies, she proclaims freedom and comes out as bisexual via a drunken video posted to the social media site Wonderland. Within hours, it’s gone viral and she’s contacted by E.V., an agent who promises to make her the next “bright shiny thing.” Her rise to internet stardom is told in a great voice, but also a pedantry that seems ripped from Trump-era Twitter threads and oddly studded with 30-year-old cultural references. In the aftermath of an off-page rape, Eartha’s real life and her online persona become further estranged as E.V. takes greater control over her social media. Readers shouldn’t expect either a central romance or genre elements. Instead, those looking for a tale of personal growth that doubles as a furious exploration of the erosion of privacy in the internet age will be pleased. Agent: Kim Butler, Diving Bell Group. (Nov.)