Title: The Roxy Letters
Author: Mary Pauline Lowry
Publication Date: 320
Genre: Contemporary
Number of Pages: 320
Summary: From Goodreads: “Meet Roxy. She’s a sometimes vegan, always broke artist with a heart the size of Texas and an ex living in her spare bedroom. Her life is messy, but with the help of a few good friends and by the grace of the goddess Venus she’ll discover that good sex, true love, and her life’s purpose are all closer than she realizes.
Bridget Jones penned a diary; Roxy writes letters. Specifically: she writes letters to her hapless, rent-avoidant ex-boyfriend—and current roommate—Everett. This charming and funny twenty-something is under-employed (and under-romanced), and she’s decidedly fed up with the indignities she endures as a deli maid at Whole Foods (the original), and the dismaying speed at which her beloved Austin is becoming corporatized. When a new Lululemon pops up at the intersection of Sixth and Lamar where the old Waterloo Video used to be, Roxy can stay silent no longer.
As her letters to Everett become less about overdue rent and more about the state of her life, Roxy realizes she’s ready to be the heroine of her own story. She decides to team up with her two best friends to save Austin—and rescue Roxy’s love life—in whatever way they can. But can this spunky, unforgettable millennial keep Austin weird, avoid arrest, and find romance—and even creative inspiration—in the process?”
Review: I received an advanced copy of this book through Net Galley and the Publisher (Simon and Schuster) in exchange for an honest review.
The Roxy Letters is told through a series of letters that the main character Roxy writes to her ex-boyfriend Everett. The letters start when Everett moves into her spare bedroom, and they’re a way to lay down the ground rules and communicate with him when he’s not around. The letters quickly turn into more of a diary as Roxy’s life begins to spin out of control.
I want to start off by saying that I found this book to be a bit weird. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t know what I was getting into when I picked it up. There were a lot of strange things going on and a few times I had to stop to ask myself what on earth I was reading.
My favourite thing about this book is that it focused on female friendship. Roxy has her best friend Annie, who supports her, encourages her, and pushes her to make a goal, even if the goal is a bit misguided. Roxy also has the mysterious and crazy Artemis, who she turns to for advice in the relationship department. I liked that Artemis and Annie were able to form a friendship and that they were able to come together to help their friend get back on her feet.
I also liked that this book dealt with mental health and addiction. Throughout the book, Roxy meets different people who are dealing with various mental health problems and addictions. I liked that there was a scene in this book that took place during an AA meeting, and I liked that Roxy was so supportive of her friends with addiction and mental health issues.
Another thing that I enjoyed about his book was all the run-ins that Roxy had with Texas. Every time she ran into him, something weird or embarrassing was happening, and I was amused by these scenes. It did become cringy after a while, but this book had a lot of cringy moments in it. I really liked Texas’s character, and I’m glad that he kept popping up throughout the story. I also liked that there were so many layers to him and that every time Roxy met him, she discovered another one of these layers.
Finally, I liked that part of this book was about Roxy trying to preserve and help local businesses. It’s weird to think of Whole Foods as a local business, but this book takes place in Austen and Roxy works at the original location. Roxy gets upset when a lululemon opens across the street where the video rental place used to be. I liked that this desire to preserve local businesses helped Roxy find her creativity again and that she was able to start making art again.
Overall, I feel kind of indifferent about this book. I liked that it was super feminist and that it emphasized female friendships. I liked that it dealt with mental health and addiction. I also liked Roxy, and I thought she had a big heart, and that she was trying to turn her life around. But I also found this book to be a bit weird, and it really wasn’t for me.
Rating: 3/5 Stars!