Hanna is back living with her father, not where she thought she would be at this stage of her life - back at square one.
What will happen for her as she embarks on this new stage of her life

Thanks to Transworld for letting me read Square One by Nell Frizzell in advance. I was excited to read Nell's debut novel after thoroughly enjoying her debut book The Panic Years, a memoir-slash-exploration of women's lives in their 20s and early 30s (and also gifted to me by Transworld). But I was very sadly disappointed!

Square One is about Hanna: newly single, unemployed, just moved back to Oxford to live with her dad in his messy ex-council flat. Oh, and and he's just joined Tinder. I have to admit the premise didn't exactly pique my interest and was a bit more commercial than I was expecting but, you know, it's good to try new things.

I suppose my main issue with this novel is that it felt very much like someone exploring fiction for the first time. There were loads of scenes I thought were unnecessary, there wasn't much subtlety or nuance, and the topics that Nell explored so movingly and thoroughly in The Panic Years felt like they were delivered here with the ease of a sledgehammer. I've never really understood what people mean when they say they can tell something is a first novel, or that they're impressed something is a debut; obviously writers improve but a lot of the debut writers I read (and, certainly, have read lately) feel just as talented and accomplished as writers mid-career. This didn't feel the case with Square One, though, and it's a shame because I've seen what Nell Frizzell can do. Still, I read it in a matter of hours - during a dreaded late autumn cold - and it was fun enough! I would recommend if you're a fan of commercial fiction in the vein of early-30s-women-finding-their-feet, which I sadly am not. 3 🌟

I don't know Nell Frizzell personally, but I used to live in Florence Park in East Oxford, and I do know her Dad. I am very fond of him as a local character and fixture around the East Oxford Community Centre. So I was delighted to read a whole book with someone who *slightly* resembles Nell's Dad as the heroine's father! (Actually - he resembles him a LOT).

Apart from my delight at reconnecting with a fictional version of someone I know, I enjoyed this sharp, witty book that is far more than a breakup story, and doesn't (SPOILER ALERT) end with a new romance or miracle baby. (Frizzell does have a child, so could have gone down this route - thankfully, she chooses a more feminist alternative). It's also a lovely book about Oxford, with scenes of drinking, sex and silliness set everywhere from Port Meadow to Wolvercote, Summertown and Jericho - but especially Cowley, one of my favourite places on earth and still probably one of the most objectionable and weird areas in England. As I say, I'm glad it's not a cookie-cutter romance but I think the author could also write something even more ambitious next time - perhaps something a little further from home?