The Book:
Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date
The Author:
Katie Heaney
What It’s About:
In her first memoir, Katie recounts the first 25 years of her life during which she hadn’t had any relationships. Or gone past the first date. Told in chronological order, she writes about all the boys she’d crushed on from elementary to grad school. Her situation is not uncommon, but it could be frustrating and give a girl a serious case of FOMO, especially in this day and age when dating apps and other social media make meeting people easier. However, sometimes it doesn’t work out even when the signs show it will. Katie knows all about that as she navigates us through her near misses and almost lovers.
Thoughts:
Reading this book was a therapeutic experience. And even if you have had relationships, you’ll still find yourself relating to her. We’ve all gone through an experience with a crush where we were over analyzing everything, doubting ourselves, and obsessing about it with our friends. The book is also filled with several humorous parts that genuinely had me laughing. However, the book isn’t all jokes and embarrassing moments. There are serious parts as well, such as when she expresses her opinion about female sexuality and virginity being a social construct. That was an interesting take on the matter and had me thinking about it for a while.
In my opinion, this is a must-read for every female twenty something who feels a bit lost regarding their love life. The only downside of the book I would say was that she often rambled (we’ve all done this), making me lose track of what she was initially trying to say. But other than that, it’s funny, relatable, and leaves you feeling like you made a friend after finishing it.
FTS Rating:
9.5/10
Katie is a Senior Editor at Buzzfeed and the author of Dear Emma. Follow her on at @KTHeaney.