The writing in this one is lovely, but it didn’t quite work for me as a novel. The plot started feeling directionless around the 40% mark and unfortunately, it never seemed to find its way back. Characters come in and fade out with less significance than they should have (considering that it feels like they’re important to Eva, the protagonist), so I started feeling removed from the story as it went on.

I had a bit of a stop / start experience with this book, it took me several attempts to fully get into it but once I finally did, I liked it. Its quite an introspective and intelligent coming of age story/ love story between two friends. Eva and Jamie meet when they are 16 and the book follows their lives into early adulthood as they grapple with the big questions about your place in the world. Some of the writing in this is really gorgeous but then there were other parts were it felt a tiny bit , forced is the wrong word but hard working maybe? This interrupted the flow of the book at times for me.

Nonetheless a thought provoking and enjoyable read, I am going to buy a copy for my 18 year old, I think it might resonate more strongly with her than it did with me.

3 stars.

2.5* rounded up to 3. This is a somewhat relatable, sometimes poignant coming-of-age novel, but one where not a lot really happens. I feel like the platonic nature of Jamie and Eva’s relationship - which is arguably its most interesting feature - is never explored in any meaningful way. This is also highly unrealistic - yes men and women can of course be friends, but how often does this happen without the idea or concept of romance being brought up literally once? I felt like Sestanovich poised some meaningful and interesting questions, but they all led to threads that were never tied up. Sometimes this works, but here it feels like the author simply ran out of steam, and/or conviction. At times I identified with the protagonist, but she frequently left me bemused and irritated. It wasn’t a satisfying read, and I wasn’t eager to pick it up. It reads and feels like a debut - one in which the author hasn’t found their voice yet, and one that blends into the glut of contemporary literary fiction debuts being produced at the moment.

Ask Me Again is one of those novels that goes everywhere and nowhere all at once. It asks many questions, covertly, and answers some of them. But, ultimately, I was left thinking that not all questions can be answered and not all relationships can be mended.

Eva and Jamie meet in a hospital waiting room and 'bond' over a book of poetry. Across the following years, they drift in and out of each other's lives, never really laying down the foundations of what their friendship is, and who they are in the other's world.

Jamie shuns his family, explores avenues both desirous and dangerous whilst Eva takes the road more travelled in her seemingly traditional life trajectory. But at the end of the day, who knows what each of us needs; indeed, who each of us needs. And what it is we are ultimately looking for.

I felt a bit of 'Normal People' creep into this book, but the characters were far more interesting and likeable. It was a nice, lilting read.

A beautifully written coming-of-age novel about two very different friends, Eva and Jamie, and how their relationship develops despite their disparate life paths. It offers thoughtful reflections on friendship, growing up and self-discovery, as Eva and Jamie search for meaning and purpose.

Despite the rich exploration of these themes, I felt a bit disconnected from this one, with the detached tone making me feel distanced from the characters. There were a lot of insightful moments and important questions raised, but I wanted more emotion from the narrative. The writing was absolutely stunning though, and I’m keen to try the author’s short story collection.

Read if you like: beautiful prose, books that make you think, coming-of-age stories, theme-driven narratives.

*ad-pr: this book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I'll admit that when I first started reading this book I really wasn't sure about it. I felt like I was being kept at an arm's length from characters who were coming across as aloof and unlikeable.

But the more I read, the more I felt drawn in, and I found myself walking around with my eReader or picking it whenever I had to make a cup of tea. Eva was worming her way into my mind and I was starting to really like her.

This has echoes of books like Normal People and Talking at Night, but from the point of view of an unexpected friendship rather than a love story. Eva and Jamie's relationship doesn't necessarily make sense on paper (she's a bright and introverted teenager from middle-class South Brooklyn and he's a complicated enigma from super-rich upper Manhattan), but as they age they find that they are constantly pulled in and out of each other's orbit. We are only seeing it from Eva's point of view, so Jamie remains as mysterious and complicated to us as a reader as he does to Eva. But this isn't a negative thing - it's just a different way of telling the story compared to others in the genre.

And I cannot speak highly enough of Sestanovich's prose. Some of her turns of phrase and observations are strikingly beautiful, and I just know I'm going to read this book again just so I can jot them down in my notebook of inspirational writing.

I can easily see that this book won't be for everyone, but I really enjoyed what Sestanovich has done with this interesting coming-of-age story with a complex but fascinating cast of characters.

Please see the link for the full review.

I’ve reviewed Ask Me Again for book recommendation and selling site LoveReading.co.uk

The subtle uplift of the ending was my favourite part of the book. I didn't dislike it but I didn't love it either

This is an incredibly thoughtful novel; it dives deep into its protagonist's mind and reflects all of that, not only onto the reader but also back on herself. Possibly a little too navel-gazey for this reader, but I loved the writing and look forward to see what she does next. A solid 4 stars

For a book that is all about searching for meaning and belonging, the narrative tone of this book is very shallow and unemotional. It hooked me in pretty well at first, but it didn’t really keep me in its grasp for the entire novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

‘Ask Me Again’ follows Eva from when she meets her best friend Jamie at age sixteen in a New York hospital waiting room. From high school in New York to university and her first forays into the world of journalism, Eva navigates her relationships with others and grapples with who she wants to be.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. When Eva and Jamie meet as teenagers they have chemistry and their differences in class, personality and world view are intriguing. Unfortunately the novel really loses its momentum early on as Jamie is relegated to a side character, and it is never regained.

The pacing is aggressively slow, and although significant plot points occur (to Jamie and her parents for example), it feels as though the focus is on the more frustratingly mundane and uninteresting choices and musings of Eva. After a while I found Eva’s detached and shallow point of view dreary to read from. She consistently claims to care about and love other people that she takes for granted and fails to communicate effectively with. Her insights which have the tone of being deeply profound were actually forced and immature. At all times, it felt as though Sestanovich was trying so hard to be smart and make a point, that I never got lost in the story.

Although ‘Ask Me Again’ reads as a modern take on the Bildungsroman, Eva avoids conflict almost pathologically and so the character growth expected from this genre doesn’t occur (and it could be argued that Eva actually regresses). This may of been Sestanovich’s aim, a sort of anti-Bildungsroman, however it is poorly executed and just feels sloppy.

On a sentence level, there is some beautiful writing here and I see great potential in Sestanovich’s skill. The overall storytelling and themes would have worked far better in a shorter, tighter medium. After the focus shifted away from the relationship between Eva and Jamie, there just wasn’t enough here to sustain a full novel.

As interesting as the premise of this book was, the execution fell very flat for me. Unfortunately, there was no deeper life or authenticism to be found inside the characters – moreover, several scenes and most backgrounds are also lacking in terms of dynamics. The story interested me in the beginning but gradually lost its grip until it just turned bland. Neither Eva nor Jamie are interesting past first glance and the lack of movement in their inner and outer workings does nothing for a gripping novel. This book, for me, thus read like a row of mundane scenes – each one less special than the previous.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend "Ask Me Again".

Really intricate writing and I enjoyed the daily, mundane observations Eva had as she transitioned out of school and into adulthood. I wished we got more of her and Jamie's friendship rather than Eva's separate life but an interesting discussion of politics, religion and what it means to live according to your ideologies.

Oh that was a pain... I only persevered out of respect for Picador. I never gave up my hope that "Ask Me Again" would become a marvellous coming of age story that was promised. It never did. How many times I thought I was about to give up this book? Every 5%, every other page. There was no moment where I was engrossed or impressed or enjoying myself (and, after all, isn't it why we read?!). I feel cheated. Bitter. Disappointed.

It reads like Clare Sestanovich knows her way with words, but cannot come up with an engaging story/plot! Everything, from situations to characters, feels transitional, sad, pointless.

Ask my again, did I enjoy this? No.

What a beautiful cover though!

With many thanks to the publisher.

This is one of those books I wanted to LOVE , on paper it ticks all the boxes for me but it ended up being one I liked but nothing memorable . I tend to gravitate towards plotless novels and love a good character study but just didn’t feel any sort of connection with these characters , I just found them a bit dull ! I did become more invested towards the latter half of the book and I am glad I didn’t dnf . All things aside though , the writing is really good and I loved the setting , I just felt it needed something more . It’s quite philosophical in parts and I think a lot of lit fic fans will enjoy it . It’s sort of a love story , sort of a coming of age story and also it’s just about life !
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Thank you in advantage to Pan Macmillan | Picador for the access to this ARC. It wasn’t what I expected if I am honest. The prose in the book was certainly beautiful, and I genuinely enjoyed it. However, it didn’t quite align with my expectations. As I read, I found myself waiting for moments that would evoke a sense of wonder, but those moments never materialized. I pushed through to the end, hopeful that the narrative would improve, yet it remained rather plain throughout. While the characters held some interest, they ultimately did not resonate with me as I had hoped. Though it aimed to be a coming-of-age story, it felt more like an extensive character study, which left me wanting more depth and engagement.

I really wanted to love this and I'm giving it 3 stars because the prose was beautiful, but I just can't recommend this book. 30% into it I realised I couldn't say what the book was about or where it was going, and while I love slow characters stories and coming of age tales, I don't know what this book was saying or why it took so long to say it. I think its drifting portrait of young adulthood is reminiscent of THE IDIOT, but that's carried by an incredibly strong protagonist, which this book didn't have. Unfortunately not for me.

I loved this book! At times reminiscent of Batuman’s The Idiot, the novel follows Eva from age 16 into early adulthood, focusing on her friendship with Jamie, a boy she meets in the hospital waiting room. Full of sharp observations on relationships, I found Eva’s character really compelling, her existential struggles believable. While not a fast-paced book, there is plenty to chew through and it held my attention the whole time.

It took me an unusually long time to get through this novel (my fault, I was unwell) but I do think that’s reflective of the fact the plot isn’t what I’d describe as propulsive. It’s a good character study and I really enjoyed if but I can see that others might find it slow paced. Recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Smartly observed and deeply contrived. This is a well thought out and delivered novel. A must read for the year ahead!