May 29

May 29 So Happy For You

Author: Celia Laskey
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

A wedding weekend spirals out of control in this bold, electrifying, hilarious novel about the complexities of female friendship

Robin and Ellie have been best friends since childhood. When Robin came out, Ellie was there for her. When Ellie's father died, Robin had her back. But when Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honor, she is reluctant. A queer academic, Robin is dubious of the elaborate wedding rituals now sweeping the nation, which go far beyond champagne toasts and a bouquet toss. But loyalty wins out, and Robin accepts.

Yet, as the wedding weekend approaches, a series of ominous occurrences lead Robin to second-guess her decision. It seems that everyone in the bridal party is out to get her. Perhaps even Ellie herself.

Manically entertaining, viciously funny and eerily campy, So Happy for You is the ultimate send-up to our collective obsession with the wedding industry complex and a riveting, unexpectedly poignant depiction of friendship in all its messy glory.

TL;DR Review

So Happy For You is an absolutely wild ride of a book. It’s an off-the-rails, near-future, almost-dystopic story that uses absurdity to intelligently comment on the state and culture of the world today.

For you if: You can stick around for ~drama~ that has an underlying point.

Full Review

“If you want to know the story of how my best friend and I ended up trying to kill each other, I should probably start with the night she asked me to be her maid of honor.”

Thank you, Celia Laskey and Hanover Square Press, for making sure that I had an advanced copy of this book! I loved Laskey’s debut, Under the Rainbow, so I couldn’t wait to read So Happy For You.

Intensely inhalable, I read this book in a matter of hours. It’s about a queer woman named Robin living in a borderline-dystopic near future where (thanks to politically motivated cultural propaganda) American culture has swung wildly back to caring about marriage; dating apps score “marriageability” and those approaching 35 begin to panic. Women practice desperate, absurd “wedding charms” to ensure their marriage will succeed. Robin’s childhood best friend, Ellie, is one of these women, and she asks Robin to be her maid of honor. That sets off the plot, and let me tell you, we go OFF THE RAILS.

Basically, what you need to know about this story is that it’s over the top — on purpose. The absurdity is dramatic, but Laskey is so smart and uses it to say a lot about the state and culture of the world today. So you’re like, “WHAT,” but also like, “ah, yup.” There’s also a really thoughtful, well-done character arc for Robin; she holds so much so tightly, and has a lot of (often justified) anger. It was deeply relatable and extremely relevant. I loved seeing her start to better understand herself and what does and doesn’t serve her, in a way that didn’t feel like a concession.

Anyway, if you need something fast-paced and wild and fun but also smart, pick this one up!