something about the stories of depressed teenagers resonates with me in a special way. this book isn’t perfect, but I was so emotionally invested and affected by it that it earned a place in my heart.

it’s a character-driven story that focuses on an incredibly difficult year in Henry’s life. he deals with depression, grief from losing his boyfriend to suicide, bullying at school, a dysfunctional family dynamic, and losing his grandmother to Alzheimer's. it’s a very sad story, but there’s also a timid sense of hopefulness. it was a pretty emotionally overwhelming experience.

I wish I could have read We Are the Ants when I was in high school, it would’ve been an extremely timely book for me. I, of course, loved it as an adult, but it felt more nostalgic than revelatory

a fun contemporary sapphic Pride and Prejudice retelling. it’s a good rom-com by itself (gave me vibes of a queer version of tv-shows The Bold Type and Younger), but I enjoyed engaging with it as a retelling in particular.

I think the author did a great job translating themes and dynamics into queer modern setting, there are pride- and prejudice-based conflicts in the relationship between Liz (Elizabeth) and Daria (Darcy), as well as class-related issues; although the boss/employer dynamic isn’t a perfect parallel. Liz deals with insecurities mainly related to her writing and gender-expression (both somewhat connected to the economic struggle of a working-class person); I quite enjoyed the fresh spin on Elizabeth Bennet’s gender and socio-economic insecurity. all the side-characters are recognisable as their P&P counterparts, which made me curious to check out how the author handled them in the new environment. I still wished for a bit more in-depth exploration of themes and/or more nuanced and subtle social commentary, but, to be fair, as a lighthearted rom-com it engaged with it in a fitting lighthearted manner.

some elements that were disappointing for me: Lydia’s unruly and naive character didn’t work as well in a working-adult version here, or the way Liz made dramatic turns from hostile to cordial behaviour and back, and so on in a relationship with Daria, which made an impression of flightiness of her feelings.

occasionally, I was getting a bit bored and couldn’t wait until the story moved to the next P&P plot-point, but it usually managed to pick my interest back a chapter or two later. in the second half of the book, it deviated farther from the familiar script and became a story of its own, while still retaining a hint of emotionally similar P&P conflicts.

aside from my enjoyment from engaging with Just as You Are as a retelling, I think the narration voice (quite cheesy), the romance (not really convincing), and the plot (kind of juvenile) weren’t all that compelling to me, unfortunately.

(and one must wonder why Mary is the only Bennet sibling who didn’t get a role in this book 🧐)