My First Book by Honor Levy is a compelling exploration of growing up in the digital age. The debut author captures the essence of the internet generation, portraying characters navigating formative experiences—political, existential, and romantic—in a world shaped by constant digital interaction.

Levy’s stories weave through a hyper-real, hyper-performative, and increasingly fragile reality, reflecting a sense of imminent collapse. The narrative is both inventive and surreal, offering a mirrorball view of contemporary life. Levy’s prose delves into the complexities of self-formation amid chaos, capturing moments of vulnerability, panic, and sincerity.

From musings on medication to reflections on love and the divine in unexpected places, My First Book illuminates the struggles and insights of a generation wrestling with their place in a web-drenched world.

My First Book by Honor Levy is a fascinating read and while I don't agree with everything, it is a good collection to contextualise what it is to be GenZ in today's soceity in an entertaining yet thought provoking way

Interesting read

Thank you to Netgalley, Granta Publications and the author Honor Levy for this ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I’d have liked to. I couldn’t get into them, they were very ‘angsty’ and I couldn’t look at them from any other perspective. It was very relatable to Gen Z, I thought, from what I know as an ‘elder millennial’.

Unfortunately this books writing was not for me. I tried very hard to push through. It don’t believe I was the best audience for it. It was very erratic.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Granta for a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

My First Book is a hell of a whirlwind, and whether you get along with the voice or not, it’s difficult to deny that it pushes a visceral reaction in most of it’s readers. I’m seeing people love this book and I’m seeing people truly hate it. I’m not sure where I fall.

We begin with a looooong long barrage of text around two internet characters and snappy, modern vernacular descriptions being used to describe the both of them. Descriptors are branded. Language is squished and squashed into a garbled internet speak. You feel as though you’re in a tunnel surrounded by the heightened personalities of social media personas. The language is totally and utterly dedicated to it’s purest, crystalised, twitter (I’m not calling it X) form. It’s difficult to read. You wouldn’t pass this onto a baby boomer in case of causing a heart attack. That specific story did cause a reaction in me, and for that I’m grateful. It’s later on when the book feels a little tiring.

There is a story/chapter towards the end that makes up a good portion of the entire book, where Levy takes us through a number of words and phrases that have been born on the internet and accompanies them with a short description on what they mean, their origins, and the context in which they’re used. Yes, it feels different and exciting to start, but eventually you realise that it’s just a list of dictionary entries for the internet-age. We have that already. It’s called Urban dictionary. I don’t think anybody wanted it in a book?

The writing is lively throughout, that much is evident when you read only a few lines, and I feel like it would be disingenuous to suggest that Levy isn’t a good writer. There is passion to the work and I think there’s a particular care and attention to what is being put to the page. My issue with the voice and the writing comes in it’s poser-like attitude. It feels like a post-postmodern art piece. The author is constantly looking over their shoulder for the recognition that they feel they deserve. Most writers like to work in solitary conditions. This book makes me feel that Levy would enjoy writing on a stage, her back to the audience, and a projector screening each word as she types.

It’s a perfectly exciting piece of work when you remove this nagging voice from the experience. As it currently is, the writing is just extremely over-performative. It’s written for friends of Honor Levy to gush over during drinks and calzones in the Hamptons while everyone’s parents are out of town. Uwu.

This was quite the arresting read..

I am reading a lot of short story collections of late and this one is so original, current and very much for those who are always online. While I fall into that category , I am probably not the age group this book will speak to the soul of. I really liked what she done these stories and characters and while I preferred some of the stories ( The earlier were stronger than the latter) overall this was an entertaining read and an eye opener .

I am interested to see others thoughts on this one now that it is out in the world!

3- 3.5 stars.

levy's debut offers a boldly intellectual and refreshingly creative exploration of the zeitgeist of gen z, the only generation of adults who have grown up on the internet, and who continue to shape and rewrite the inside joke of the cyberverse.

told through the arresting and propulsive narratives of various characters who are navigating the cyberspace and its impact on their real-world identities, relationships, and politics, 'my first book' is a testament to the frenetic pace of creation and consumption in the digital age.

every day, we digest a never-ending stream of clicks, photos, icons, codes, memes, and defective information, and levy imitates this in her experimental hybrid blend of prose, footnotes, lists, graphs, web 2.0 drawings, and (allegedly) ai-generated pieces, holding a mirror to the chaotic nature of our online existence.

at first glance, and to those in older generations, this book may read like a foreign language or a commentary on the perils of internet-induced brain rot. however, a deeper dive reveals levy's incisive intellect and profound empathy for our generation, for whom internet lingo and culture has become the language of everyday life. her writing crackles with energy and truth, offering insights that resonate long after the last page is turned.

i absolutely loved this book, and think it's a must-read for anyone interested in the current digital landscape or the blurry and boundless zoomer experience of growing up online. levy has become a definite auto-buy author for me, and i can't wait to see what she does next!

thanks so much for the arc!

This book is for the chronically online girlies !
I love the stream-of-consciousness style of writing. The book is sharp and witty, and I can't recommend it enough!
I can't wait to read more of Honor's works!!

My First Book by Honor Levy is both fresh, clever, modern and quirky as well as being relatable and insightful.