Let's Call It a Doomsday

I was excited to pick this up, because I enjoyed [b:Heretics Anonymous 34659293 Heretics Anonymous Katie Henry https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507339506l/34659293.SY75.jpg 55823822]. I didn't realize the protagonist was Mormon, so initially I wasn't sure it was for me (I'm an ex-Mormon), but I ended up quite liking it.This is more ambitious than Heretics Anonymous, tackling crises of faith, sexuality, mental health, and family. It's refreshing to read YA where romance isn't so central to plot, but because of the sheer amount of stuff happening, sometimes it felt scattered. Henry's writing was nuanced, but I wish she would have picked fewer points of focus. Similarly, the changes of heart Ellis had (about her family, friends, anxiety, faith, anything really) felt oddly abrupt and matter-of-fact. Wrestling with big questions of identity is a drawn-out, faceted process. But it was like as soon as Ellis really thought about something for the first time (examples: her inner critic, her mom, LDS doctrine), she would shift course like checking a box. Those are my main qualms. This book means a lot to me, because it so reminds me of my teenage self. It's funny, and it contributes something unusual and meaningful to contemporary YA. I love the title and cover. If you liked [b:Autoboyography 28919058 Autoboyography Christina Lauren https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490425916l/28919058.SY75.jpg 49135502], [b:We Are Okay 28243032 We Are Okay Nina LaCour https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1471899036l/28243032.SY75.jpg 48277368], or [b:Turtles All the Way Down 35504431 Turtles All the Way Down John Green https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503002776l/35504431.SY75.jpg 21576687], give this a try.

I found the premise interesting. Ellis is a girl from Berkeley with an anxiety disorder who grapples with her faith, family and friends, and her sexuality over the course of this novel. Ellis also loves word etymology, so I especially enjoyed all those little nuggets. It just fell a little flat for me overall. I didn't really buy the way her friendship developed with Hannah, and it started to feel repetitive at times. Side note: there's a weird amount of typos in this printing and it bugged me.