Rosewater: the debut novel from Liv Little

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It’s an enjoyable read although I found it started to drag more in the second half and it’s over-written in places (there’s a lot of simultaneous showing and telling which didn’t add anything for me and the dialogue wasn’t always naturalistic). Things are slightly tense between them as Juliet had previously told Elsie she has feelings for her. Yes, Elise reads way more mature than Queenie but both are going through the growing pain of finding themselves in the world. Bergstrom said: “An exceptional debut novel from an exceptional new talent, Elsie’s humour and vulnerability will capture your heart from the very first page. She tries to not be a failure but cannot help but feel like she will never make it in life, especially when she compares herself to Juilet.

Elsie tries to find purpose in her life and reconnect with both her poetry and her loved ones, but it is hard to keep these fragile things together, especially when she realises some of the things she's been hiding from herself. What really stood out to me after finishing the book was how much Liv Little had managed to cram into her debut — sexuality, mental health, money troubles, career, family relationships - all while depicting a compelling and complex character in Elsie. Although I found some of the character's poor decisions to be more thoughtless than understandable, I really liked Elsie growing into her own and maturing as the novel went on.Juliet's career choices was also the most prominent conversation I had, especially with my other teaching friends. Although Elsie begins the novel thinking her life is a mess than is beyond repair, she slowly picks herself up again and starts to heal. She later studied Politics and Sociology at the University of Bristol, graduating in 2016 with First-Class Honours. An extra touch I loved about this book was seeing some of the poetry Elsie was writing be brought onto the page and us the readers being able to read some of them in this book and they really are a big bridge into bringing parts of this story together too.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a YA sensibility with more mature themes (work, debt, drugs, super hot sapphic sex scenes) and less moral didacticism, you’re probably gonna love this book. gal-dem founder Liv Little’s “remarkable” debut novel, Rosewater, has been snapped up in a six-figure pre-empt by Dialogue Books.Many of us can relate to Elsie and are rooting for her throughout, Liv Little asks us to be patient whilst our Elsie figures it out.