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My Last Innocent Year
An incisive, deeply resonant debut novel about a nonconsensual sexual encounter that propels one woman’s final semester at an elite New England college into controversy and chaos—and into an ill-advised affair with a married professor
It’s the winter of 1998 and Isabel Rosen has one semester left at Wilder College, a prestigious school in New Hampshire with a wealthy, elite student body and the sort of picturesque buildings college brochures were invented to capture. The only daughter of a Lower East Side appetizing store owner, Isabel has always felt out of place at Wilder, and the death of her mother shortly before she arrived on campus left her feeling unmoored in a way that’s proven hard to shake. Now, right as she’s coming to believe she’s finally found her place, the fallout from a nonconsensual sexual encounter with one of the only other Jewish students on campus leaves Isabel reeling.
Enter R.H. Connelly: a once-famous poet and Isabel’s married writing professor, a man with secrets of his own. Connelly makes Isabel feel seen, beautiful, talented; the woman she longs to become. His belief in her ignites a belief in herself. The two begin an affair that shakes the foundation of who Isabel thinks she is, for better and worse.
Set against the backdrop of the Clinton and Lewinsky scandal, My Last Innocent Year is a coming-of-age story about a young woman on the brink of sexual and artistic awakening, navigating her way toward independence while recognizing the power, beauty and grit of where she came from. Timely and wise, it reckons with the complexities of consent, what it means to be an adult, and whether or not we can ever outrun our bad decisions.
It’s the winter of 1998 and Isabel Rosen has one semester left at Wilder College, a prestigious school in New Hampshire with a wealthy, elite student body and the sort of picturesque buildings college brochures were invented to capture. The only daughter of a Lower East Side appetizing store owner, Isabel has always felt out of place at Wilder, and the death of her mother shortly before she arrived on campus left her feeling unmoored in a way that’s proven hard to shake. Now, right as she’s coming to believe she’s finally found her place, the fallout from a nonconsensual sexual encounter with one of the only other Jewish students on campus leaves Isabel reeling.
Enter R.H. Connelly: a once-famous poet and Isabel’s married writing professor, a man with secrets of his own. Connelly makes Isabel feel seen, beautiful, talented; the woman she longs to become. His belief in her ignites a belief in herself. The two begin an affair that shakes the foundation of who Isabel thinks she is, for better and worse.
Set against the backdrop of the Clinton and Lewinsky scandal, My Last Innocent Year is a coming-of-age story about a young woman on the brink of sexual and artistic awakening, navigating her way toward independence while recognizing the power, beauty and grit of where she came from. Timely and wise, it reckons with the complexities of consent, what it means to be an adult, and whether or not we can ever outrun our bad decisions.
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First published February 14, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,945 reviews
November 17, 2023
i had a good feeling about this one, and that good feeling was "this cover is so pretty and it's literary fiction and it seems like it's about a gloomy young woman and i would like to read it now please."
and ultimately, i would like to conclude the following:
trust your gut.
this was riveting and beautiful and complex. i'm very sick of #MeToo tales without nuance, when gender and sex and power is the most nuanced thing there is, and this was not that.
this was very, very good.
bottom line: i really, really, really like being right. and i liked this too.
thanks to netgalley for the e-arc / 4.5 stars
and ultimately, i would like to conclude the following:
trust your gut.
this was riveting and beautiful and complex. i'm very sick of #MeToo tales without nuance, when gender and sex and power is the most nuanced thing there is, and this was not that.
this was very, very good.
bottom line: i really, really, really like being right. and i liked this too.
thanks to netgalley for the e-arc / 4.5 stars
January 14, 2024
3.5 stars. The writing felt like an indie movie which was cool, but I think My Dark Vanessa had a more effective and complex exploration of similar themes.
June 7, 2022
Thank you Henry Holt for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.
PSA: 3 stars does not equal bad.
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 2.5/5 | Ending: 3/5
THE PLOT
Isabel is a senior English major at Wilder College. Navigating friendship, a sorta rape, and an affair with her professor, Isabel explores what adulthood really means.
MY OPINION
Let me address the 2.5/5 plot score first. I don't really think there was a plot. Imagine your mom writes you a long ass letter explaining all her life lessons through anecdotes, that's what this book was like. It was just one fluid, stream of consciousness about a period of personal growth. I enjoyed learning more about Jewish cultural dynamics and college life in the late 90s.
I felt like this book was driving the speed limit and I really wish Daisy Alpert Florin had just put the pedal to the metal at some point and careened around a corner. It lacked the emotional punch that a story tackling sexual assault, mental health, and inappropriate relationships should have.
For example, her affair with the professor "haunts" her for the rest of her life, yet this relationship didn't even start until the 40% mark in the book??? I didn't sense an emotional connection between the characters that would cause Isabel to be so tethered to this moment in her life. I'm not downplaying the fact a relationship at 21 with a 40+ yr old man is life-altering, but there was no deep professions of love that validated her lifelong obsession with the 8-ish weeks of sex with a professor—especially considering she had several sexual encounters before so it wasn't like a virginity snatcher thing.
The writing was flowing, sometimes a bit over-baked, but very comforting and rhythmic. The theme was clear: men are bums but women pay the price for their bummitude. This coming-of-age story is a niche read.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: fluid writing, tackled sensitive topics appropriately, introspective at times
Cons: lacked emotional punch... I wasn't left wrecked, which I expect from this type of story
PSA: 3 stars does not equal bad.
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 2.5/5 | Ending: 3/5
THE PLOT
Isabel is a senior English major at Wilder College. Navigating friendship, a sorta rape, and an affair with her professor, Isabel explores what adulthood really means.
MY OPINION
Let me address the 2.5/5 plot score first. I don't really think there was a plot. Imagine your mom writes you a long ass letter explaining all her life lessons through anecdotes, that's what this book was like. It was just one fluid, stream of consciousness about a period of personal growth. I enjoyed learning more about Jewish cultural dynamics and college life in the late 90s.
I felt like this book was driving the speed limit and I really wish Daisy Alpert Florin had just put the pedal to the metal at some point and careened around a corner. It lacked the emotional punch that a story tackling sexual assault, mental health, and inappropriate relationships should have.
For example, her affair with the professor "haunts" her for the rest of her life, yet this relationship didn't even start until the 40% mark in the book??? I didn't sense an emotional connection between the characters that would cause Isabel to be so tethered to this moment in her life. I'm not downplaying the fact a relationship at 21 with a 40+ yr old man is life-altering, but there was no deep professions of love that validated her lifelong obsession with the 8-ish weeks of sex with a professor—especially considering she had several sexual encounters before so it wasn't like a virginity snatcher thing.
The writing was flowing, sometimes a bit over-baked, but very comforting and rhythmic. The theme was clear: men are bums but women pay the price for their bummitude. This coming-of-age story is a niche read.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: fluid writing, tackled sensitive topics appropriately, introspective at times
Cons: lacked emotional punch... I wasn't left wrecked, which I expect from this type of story
January 4, 2025
For someone that attended an all-girls Catholic high school and screams sad girl aesthetic, dark academia almost never works for me. Don't get me wrong. I felt every part of this book. I just didn't enjoy every aspect of it.
In 1998, Isabel attends Wilder College. She doesn't quite fit in with her classmates, who seem to have endless amounts of money. She has a sexual encounter she is not sure is rape or not. A few months later, she begins an affair with her married professor that haunts her for the rest of her life. The blurb actually explains a good portion of the book, so if that is up your alley, take a gander.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
In 1998, Isabel attends Wilder College. She doesn't quite fit in with her classmates, who seem to have endless amounts of money. She has a sexual encounter she is not sure is rape or not. A few months later, she begins an affair with her married professor that haunts her for the rest of her life. The blurb actually explains a good portion of the book, so if that is up your alley, take a gander.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
April 14, 2024
4.5 stars
Oh wow, I loved this book. My Last Innocent Year takes place in the winter of 1998 and follows Isabel Rosen, a senior at the prestigious, wealthy, and elite Wilder College located in New Hampshire. Isabel comes from a working-class Jewish family that owns a Lower East Side appetizing store. Her senior year starts out tumultuously when Isabel is sexually assaulted by Zev, one of the only other Jewish students on campus. The emotional upheaval in Isabel’s life escalates when she meets R.H. Connelly, a once-famous poet and non-tenure-track professor who’s teaching Isabel’s competitive writing seminar this semester. Their affair sets the shaky foundation for a series of events that transcends Isabel’s individual life and speaks to the broader landscape of gender and power of that era – and I’d venture to say, our current era as well.
I first want to applaud the writing in this book. Daisy Alpert Florin’s prose was so, so good, and so readable. I feel like she captured the atmosphere of a wealthy liberal arts college so well, as well as that period in your early 20’s where everything feels so intense and important. I found myself immersed in Isabel’s perspective in a way I haven’t felt since I read Ghosts by Dolly Alderton in February (though the two books are very different.) I was enraptured; I stayed up last night finishing the book and only got three hours of quality sleep, though it was worth it (the sleep thing may have also had to do with me drinking a Sprite right before going to bed but, whatever.) The scenes, the dialogue, Isabel’s internal reflection and the retrospective narration – I loved it.
I also appreciated the subtle yet prominent commentary about men’s mistreatment of women and the (white) feminism of the late 90’s. I thought Florin captured Isabel’s initial reactions and timidity around men so well, even when we as readers may be screaming and sighing in disdain as we witness what unfolds. Thanks to Florin’s high quality prose, the messages didn’t come across in a heavy-handed or distracting way. I also liked how Florin captured the shades of grey in certain relationships and situations, though of course not in a way that condones sexual assault or patriarchal violence. There were some elements related to female friendship that I liked and wished could have been more developed, but I didn’t feel annoyed about this enough to rate this book lower.
Finally, I loved Isabel’s growth arc. I appreciated the subtleness of it, how we see her develop some confidence though not in a particularly easy or linear fashion. This style of characterization felt keenly realistic to me, like how many of us learn about ourselves little by little as life unfolds, in a journey that doesn’t stop.
I’m rounding this one up to five stars because it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. I also liked the very implicit, maybe-not-even-there-but-I-read-it-as critique of Zionism/those who support it. Ugh, I want more people to read this book so I can discuss it with folks, especially Isabel’s relationship with Connelly which was wild (also he turned out to be such a… well… I’ll let you read it and draw your own conclusion.) I’m hoping for more books of this quality in 2024!
Oh wow, I loved this book. My Last Innocent Year takes place in the winter of 1998 and follows Isabel Rosen, a senior at the prestigious, wealthy, and elite Wilder College located in New Hampshire. Isabel comes from a working-class Jewish family that owns a Lower East Side appetizing store. Her senior year starts out tumultuously when Isabel is sexually assaulted by Zev, one of the only other Jewish students on campus. The emotional upheaval in Isabel’s life escalates when she meets R.H. Connelly, a once-famous poet and non-tenure-track professor who’s teaching Isabel’s competitive writing seminar this semester. Their affair sets the shaky foundation for a series of events that transcends Isabel’s individual life and speaks to the broader landscape of gender and power of that era – and I’d venture to say, our current era as well.
I first want to applaud the writing in this book. Daisy Alpert Florin’s prose was so, so good, and so readable. I feel like she captured the atmosphere of a wealthy liberal arts college so well, as well as that period in your early 20’s where everything feels so intense and important. I found myself immersed in Isabel’s perspective in a way I haven’t felt since I read Ghosts by Dolly Alderton in February (though the two books are very different.) I was enraptured; I stayed up last night finishing the book and only got three hours of quality sleep, though it was worth it (the sleep thing may have also had to do with me drinking a Sprite right before going to bed but, whatever.) The scenes, the dialogue, Isabel’s internal reflection and the retrospective narration – I loved it.
I also appreciated the subtle yet prominent commentary about men’s mistreatment of women and the (white) feminism of the late 90’s. I thought Florin captured Isabel’s initial reactions and timidity around men so well, even when we as readers may be screaming and sighing in disdain as we witness what unfolds. Thanks to Florin’s high quality prose, the messages didn’t come across in a heavy-handed or distracting way. I also liked how Florin captured the shades of grey in certain relationships and situations, though of course not in a way that condones sexual assault or patriarchal violence. There were some elements related to female friendship that I liked and wished could have been more developed, but I didn’t feel annoyed about this enough to rate this book lower.
Finally, I loved Isabel’s growth arc. I appreciated the subtleness of it, how we see her develop some confidence though not in a particularly easy or linear fashion. This style of characterization felt keenly realistic to me, like how many of us learn about ourselves little by little as life unfolds, in a journey that doesn’t stop.
I’m rounding this one up to five stars because it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. I also liked the very implicit, maybe-not-even-there-but-I-read-it-as critique of Zionism/those who support it. Ugh, I want more people to read this book so I can discuss it with folks, especially Isabel’s relationship with Connelly which was wild (also he turned out to be such a… well… I’ll let you read it and draw your own conclusion.) I’m hoping for more books of this quality in 2024!
September 12, 2023
my favourite thing about audiobooks is when they say "we hope you enjoyed this production" at the end and i, out loud, alone in my room, go "no."
January 4, 2024
2.5
On the surface this had all the qualities of a (for lack of better genre definer) “sad-girl-slice-of-life” that I usually enjoy but I've noticed with these types of books whether i like them or not depends on how the writer grapples with the themes and while I like the shape of the story, it didn’t have as much depth as I was hoping. Those last three chapters were great and I (ofc) don’t expect the character to carry that hindsight with her throughout the entire book, but there was just something missing from this for me that I can’t really pin down, maybe it'll come to me later.
side note: “I don’t know what russian novel you think you’re in but you're just fucking a professor and not even a tenured one” was so dfgkljdflkg
On the surface this had all the qualities of a (for lack of better genre definer) “sad-girl-slice-of-life” that I usually enjoy but I've noticed with these types of books whether i like them or not depends on how the writer grapples with the themes and while I like the shape of the story, it didn’t have as much depth as I was hoping. Those last three chapters were great and I (ofc) don’t expect the character to carry that hindsight with her throughout the entire book, but there was just something missing from this for me that I can’t really pin down, maybe it'll come to me later.
side note: “I don’t know what russian novel you think you’re in but you're just fucking a professor and not even a tenured one” was so dfgkljdflkg
March 12, 2023
Audiobook….read by Sarah Bierstock
….7 hours and 50 minutes
Not without a few in-sequential-irrelevant descriptive flaws —(that just don’t matter), or familiar themes we’ve read before…..
But…..however…..
“My Last Innocent Year” by Daisy Alpert Florin, is a very engaging debut. It works perfectly in the audio format.
Sarah Bierstock was excellent as the voice narrator.
and
Florin’s seamlessly prose succeeds at exploring obscure sexual encounters — [personally, morally, politically, and socially] on the Wilder College campus, in New Hampshire, with protagonist Isabel Rosen.
It’s 1998. Isabel’s senior year.
With graduation around the corner—Isabel has a confusing-unsatisfying-fairly -forceful sexual encounter with an Israeli guy named Zev. …but the lines between the crappy-shadiness …. is questionable — rape or not?
Add
….Isabel’s friend, Debra (and her influential input)
Add
….some vandalism: (what’s the bigger issue- the crime or the message?)
Add
….an affair with a literature professor: R. H. Connelly, a very married Professor.
….ouch? of course we’re curious how things play out.
Add
….the Clinton/Lewinsky sex scandal—
Add
….Jewish themes,
family backgrounds,
college friends,
believable-on-the-edge-of-colliding-feeling-moments…..
with
lushness, freshness, thought-provoking, sensitive, intelligent, and what I especially loved was the listening-ease….
And….
….This was was organically easy to stay engrossed with this story.
I really liked it!
Strong 4 stars. maybe 4.5
….7 hours and 50 minutes
Not without a few in-sequential-irrelevant descriptive flaws —(that just don’t matter), or familiar themes we’ve read before…..
But…..however…..
“My Last Innocent Year” by Daisy Alpert Florin, is a very engaging debut. It works perfectly in the audio format.
Sarah Bierstock was excellent as the voice narrator.
and
Florin’s seamlessly prose succeeds at exploring obscure sexual encounters — [personally, morally, politically, and socially] on the Wilder College campus, in New Hampshire, with protagonist Isabel Rosen.
It’s 1998. Isabel’s senior year.
With graduation around the corner—Isabel has a confusing-unsatisfying-fairly -forceful sexual encounter with an Israeli guy named Zev. …but the lines between the crappy-shadiness …. is questionable — rape or not?
Add
….Isabel’s friend, Debra (and her influential input)
Add
….some vandalism: (what’s the bigger issue- the crime or the message?)
Add
….an affair with a literature professor: R. H. Connelly, a very married Professor.
….ouch? of course we’re curious how things play out.
Add
….the Clinton/Lewinsky sex scandal—
Add
….Jewish themes,
family backgrounds,
college friends,
believable-on-the-edge-of-colliding-feeling-moments…..
with
lushness, freshness, thought-provoking, sensitive, intelligent, and what I especially loved was the listening-ease….
And….
….This was was organically easy to stay engrossed with this story.
I really liked it!
Strong 4 stars. maybe 4.5
June 2, 2023
This is a decent debut novel, and that's kind of its problem: Who needs decent literature? While you can fail in an interesting way, namely by trying something fresh, daring and unusual, it's hard to be fascinatingly decent. The book is very overt, taking readers to an elite New England college campus during the Lewinsky, no, let's say this correctly: the CLINTON scandal, back when the young woman was considered the slut for being taken advantage of by an older, more powerful men. Protagonist Isabel is in her senior year, and the novel ponders how two sexual encounters affect her: One with another student, a former Israeli soldier, the other one, of course, with a professor who, you know, believes in her talent.
The text does a, well, decent job discussing agency, consent, and power dynamics in relationships, but there is nothing new or fresh to see here - I've read this before. What sets the novel slightly apart is a message of personal and societal empowerment: Isabel learns that she counts just as much as the men she at the beginning looks up to, and society has learnt as well: The Clinton scandal would be judged very differently today.
Let's see what Florin does next.
The text does a, well, decent job discussing agency, consent, and power dynamics in relationships, but there is nothing new or fresh to see here - I've read this before. What sets the novel slightly apart is a message of personal and societal empowerment: Isabel learns that she counts just as much as the men she at the beginning looks up to, and society has learnt as well: The Clinton scandal would be judged very differently today.
Let's see what Florin does next.
July 25, 2025
This review is in German and English. The German version is down below 🤗
🧶 English review 🧶
This is a book for anyone in their twenties (but I will probably come back later in life to check on this, when I'm not 22 anymore)! So I guess, books really find you sometimes ❣️
Life is not perfect.
Life is messy.
You don't know what you want.
And what you want does not work out the way it was supposed to.
You have friends that are not your friends anymore.
You find people that are not like you, put complete you.
You fight.
You hate.
You love.
And you are so utterly stupidly confused.
You make mistakes.
You call your dad.
You try to move on.
You try to grow up.
You try to understand what it's like to be a woman.
And you fight again!
You fight for yourself and for the ones you love!!
I found all of the above and so much more in "My last innocent year". I was able to relate and yet (or maybe because) wanted to scream at Isabel. To be honest, I did not expect much from this book. The description and the cover screamed my aesthetic, and I went for it. You will not hear any regrets from me. It included some twists and turns that I did not expect from the start, and some that I never saw coming. I loved the writing style and have to say that I did not miss anything in the German translation. 👏🏻 Some people might not be into the writing with the pace or directness. But I loved it. Life sometimes catches you off guard and leaves you gasping for air, and you have no clue how you got here. This book made me feel that way, and I am grateful!
This book is also the perfect example of how my rating (which is based on feeling) is mostly random. I am not 100 % obsessed with the book, and yet, I know for certainty that I will read it again.
This book also handles friendship, family, religion, relationships, rape, sexuality, dreams, influence, and power in such an amazing modern way that it taught me a few things. Depression, eating disorders, cheating and suicide are also discussed - please be aware. 🫂
Thank you NetGalley and the "Eisele Verlag" for the arc in exchange of a honest review. ✨
🧶 German review 🧶
Dieses Buch ist perfekt für jede in ihren Zwanzigern (vermutlich komme ich irgendwann zurück, um das noch mal zu überprüfen, wenn ich keine 22 mehr bin)! Ich schätze, dass Bücher einen wirklich manchmal einfach zum richtigen Zeitpunkt finden❣️
Das Leben ist nicht perfekt.
Das Leben ist kompliziert.
Du weißt nicht, was du willst.
Und das was du willst, läuft nicht so wie du es dir vorgestellt hast und wie es laufen sollte.
Du hast Freunde, die nicht mehr deine Freunde sind.
Du findest Menschen, die nicht wie du sind, aber dich trotzdem vervollständigen.
Du kämpfst.
Du hasst.
Du liebst.
Und du bist so verdammt verwirrt.
Du machst Fehler.
Du rufst deinen Papa an.
Du versuchst weiter zu machen.
Du versuchst Erwachsen zu werden.
Du versuchst zu verstehen, was es bedeutet eine Frau zu sein.
Und du kämpfst erneut!
Du kämpfst für dich und für die Menschen, die du liebst!!
Ich habe alles und noch viel mehr in "Mein letztes Jahr der Unschuld" gefunden. Ich konnte mich wiederfinden und trotzdem (oder gerade deshalb) wollte ich Isabel anschreien. Um ehrlich zu sein, habe ich nicht SO viel von diesem Buch erwartet. Die Buchbeschreibung und das Cover haben aber nach mir geschrien und so habe ich mich für das Vorableseexemplar beworben. Ihr werdet aber nach dem Lesen keine Beschwerden von mir hören. Dieses Buch hatte Wendungen enthalten, die ich entweder nicht von Beginn an oder gar nicht erwartet habe. Ich habe den Schreibstil genossen und habe nichts aufgrund der Übersetzung vermisst. 👏🏻 Ich fand es sehr gut, dass manches wie "Hello, Stranger" oder "Boyfriend" nicht übersetzt wurde. Dennoch wäre ich dafür, dass "yeah" in ein einfaches "ja" übersetzt wird. Niemand spricht so im echten alltäglichen Leben (außer in Songs vielleicht). Ich habe den direkten Schreistil und dessen Geschwindigkeit geliebt. Das Leben trifft dich manchmal unvorbereitet und hinterlässt dich mit Fragezeichen und nach Luft schnappend. Ich bin dankbar, dass das ein Buch rüberbringen kann.
Dieses Buch ist außerdem ein perfektes Beispiel für mein Rating (das auf Gefühl basiert) und wie es doch random ist. Irgendwie bin ich nicht zu 100 % obsessed und trotzdem weiß ich schon jetzt, dass ich es auf jeden Fall wieder lesen werde.
Diese Buch behandelt die Themen Freundschaft, Familie, Religion, Beziehungen, Vergewaltigung, Sexualität, Träume, Einfluss und Macht in einer besonderen und tollen Art und Weise. Bitte daran denken, dass zusätzlich auch Depressionen, Essstörungen, Fremdgehen und Suizid unterschiedlich ausführlich besprochen werden. 🫂
Vielen Dank an NetGalley und den Eisele Verlag für das Vorableseexemplar im Austausch für eine ehrliche Bewertung! ✨
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
Pre-read:
I received this as an arc (German translation) and can't wait to dive into it over the next days! It reminded me of storylines/characters of Sally Rooney, and I will read anything that gives me that feeling 🤭
Also the cover? Like what - it is so pretty 💖
🧶 English review 🧶
This is a book for anyone in their twenties (but I will probably come back later in life to check on this, when I'm not 22 anymore)! So I guess, books really find you sometimes ❣️
Life is not perfect.
Life is messy.
You don't know what you want.
And what you want does not work out the way it was supposed to.
You have friends that are not your friends anymore.
You find people that are not like you, put complete you.
You fight.
You hate.
You love.
And you are so utterly stupidly confused.
You make mistakes.
You call your dad.
You try to move on.
You try to grow up.
You try to understand what it's like to be a woman.
And you fight again!
You fight for yourself and for the ones you love!!
I found all of the above and so much more in "My last innocent year". I was able to relate and yet (or maybe because) wanted to scream at Isabel. To be honest, I did not expect much from this book. The description and the cover screamed my aesthetic, and I went for it. You will not hear any regrets from me. It included some twists and turns that I did not expect from the start, and some that I never saw coming. I loved the writing style and have to say that I did not miss anything in the German translation. 👏🏻 Some people might not be into the writing with the pace or directness. But I loved it. Life sometimes catches you off guard and leaves you gasping for air, and you have no clue how you got here. This book made me feel that way, and I am grateful!
This book is also the perfect example of how my rating (which is based on feeling) is mostly random. I am not 100 % obsessed with the book, and yet, I know for certainty that I will read it again.
This book also handles friendship, family, religion, relationships, rape, sexuality, dreams, influence, and power in such an amazing modern way that it taught me a few things. Depression, eating disorders, cheating and suicide are also discussed - please be aware. 🫂
Thank you NetGalley and the "Eisele Verlag" for the arc in exchange of a honest review. ✨
🧶 German review 🧶
Dieses Buch ist perfekt für jede in ihren Zwanzigern (vermutlich komme ich irgendwann zurück, um das noch mal zu überprüfen, wenn ich keine 22 mehr bin)! Ich schätze, dass Bücher einen wirklich manchmal einfach zum richtigen Zeitpunkt finden❣️
"Fasst keine endgültigen Entscheidungen, um mit vorübergehenden Gefühlen fertig zu werden."
Das Leben ist nicht perfekt.
Das Leben ist kompliziert.
Du weißt nicht, was du willst.
Und das was du willst, läuft nicht so wie du es dir vorgestellt hast und wie es laufen sollte.
Du hast Freunde, die nicht mehr deine Freunde sind.
Du findest Menschen, die nicht wie du sind, aber dich trotzdem vervollständigen.
Du kämpfst.
Du hasst.
Du liebst.
Und du bist so verdammt verwirrt.
Du machst Fehler.
Du rufst deinen Papa an.
Du versuchst weiter zu machen.
Du versuchst Erwachsen zu werden.
Du versuchst zu verstehen, was es bedeutet eine Frau zu sein.
Und du kämpfst erneut!
Du kämpfst für dich und für die Menschen, die du liebst!!
"Wir brauchen junge Frauen mit Stimmen, die wissen, was sie wollen.""
Ich habe alles und noch viel mehr in "Mein letztes Jahr der Unschuld" gefunden. Ich konnte mich wiederfinden und trotzdem (oder gerade deshalb) wollte ich Isabel anschreien. Um ehrlich zu sein, habe ich nicht SO viel von diesem Buch erwartet. Die Buchbeschreibung und das Cover haben aber nach mir geschrien und so habe ich mich für das Vorableseexemplar beworben. Ihr werdet aber nach dem Lesen keine Beschwerden von mir hören. Dieses Buch hatte Wendungen enthalten, die ich entweder nicht von Beginn an oder gar nicht erwartet habe. Ich habe den Schreibstil genossen und habe nichts aufgrund der Übersetzung vermisst. 👏🏻 Ich fand es sehr gut, dass manches wie "Hello, Stranger" oder "Boyfriend" nicht übersetzt wurde. Dennoch wäre ich dafür, dass "yeah" in ein einfaches "ja" übersetzt wird. Niemand spricht so im echten alltäglichen Leben (außer in Songs vielleicht). Ich habe den direkten Schreistil und dessen Geschwindigkeit geliebt. Das Leben trifft dich manchmal unvorbereitet und hinterlässt dich mit Fragezeichen und nach Luft schnappend. Ich bin dankbar, dass das ein Buch rüberbringen kann.
"Wir identifizierten uns mit ihr, was uns eigentlich nachsichtiger hätte machen müssen, stattdessen machte es uns nur gemein."🥺
"Aber ich will nicht, dass du wie deine Mutter wirst, mit Träumen, die nicht wahr werden. Oder wie ich, der niemals Zeit für Träume hatte."
Dieses Buch ist außerdem ein perfektes Beispiel für mein Rating (das auf Gefühl basiert) und wie es doch random ist. Irgendwie bin ich nicht zu 100 % obsessed und trotzdem weiß ich schon jetzt, dass ich es auf jeden Fall wieder lesen werde.
"Ich glaube nicht, dass amerikanische Frauen die sexuelle Aggressivität israelischer Männer verstehen. Andererseits gefällt sie dir ja irgendwie auch, also."😠
"Da wusste ich, dass ganz egal, was er mir angetan hatte, immer ich diejenige sein würde, die diese Nacht auseinandernehmen und sich fragen würde, was ich anders hätte sagen oder tun können."💔Und genau das ist das verdammte Problem!!
Diese Buch behandelt die Themen Freundschaft, Familie, Religion, Beziehungen, Vergewaltigung, Sexualität, Träume, Einfluss und Macht in einer besonderen und tollen Art und Weise. Bitte daran denken, dass zusätzlich auch Depressionen, Essstörungen, Fremdgehen und Suizid unterschiedlich ausführlich besprochen werden. 🫂
Vielen Dank an NetGalley und den Eisele Verlag für das Vorableseexemplar im Austausch für eine ehrliche Bewertung! ✨
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Pre-read:
I received this as an arc (German translation) and can't wait to dive into it over the next days! It reminded me of storylines/characters of Sally Rooney, and I will read anything that gives me that feeling 🤭
Also the cover? Like what - it is so pretty 💖
February 15, 2023
3.75
my last innocent year is a campus novel set in 1998 which follows isabel, a jewish girl from the lower east side of nyc, as she attempts to navigate her college days at a prestigious school in new hampshire. after a non-consensual sexual encounter with someone she thought was a friend, isabel begins to feel lost and confused, ultimately leading her to focus her attentions on her new writing professor - beginning an affair with repercussions which ripple out to more than the two involved.
my last innocent year is a poignant coming of age story, fluidly following isabel on her journey of self-discovery as she figures out what it means to be an artist, an adult, and more specifically, what it means to be a woman. the book is written like a stream of consciousness, accurately capturing the confused and turbulent experience of your college days as you simultaneously attempt to understand yourself and also the world around you.
while i did enjoy the book overall, i felt that the numerous plot threads were a little over-ambitious for one book: the college/coming of age aspect, the reckoning with your identity, the comments on consent, the affair with a professor, her grief over her mother, the small mystery element.
these are all very interesting themes, but they felt kind of crammed together, not given space to be explored fully. i think the book would’ve benefitted from just picking a few of these and examining them in finer detail. specifically, the commentary on the lines of consent and power dynamics/sexual politics against the backdrop of the clinton-lewinsky scandal would’ve been a great angle to focus on. unfortunately, trying to cover all of these in a 300-page book is where it suffers.
however, i did still enjoy this book and thought it was a well-written character-study with hints of 90s nostalgia. if you enjoy ‘sad girl lit fic’, coming of age stories or campus novels, you’d probably like this one.
my last innocent year is a campus novel set in 1998 which follows isabel, a jewish girl from the lower east side of nyc, as she attempts to navigate her college days at a prestigious school in new hampshire. after a non-consensual sexual encounter with someone she thought was a friend, isabel begins to feel lost and confused, ultimately leading her to focus her attentions on her new writing professor - beginning an affair with repercussions which ripple out to more than the two involved.
my last innocent year is a poignant coming of age story, fluidly following isabel on her journey of self-discovery as she figures out what it means to be an artist, an adult, and more specifically, what it means to be a woman. the book is written like a stream of consciousness, accurately capturing the confused and turbulent experience of your college days as you simultaneously attempt to understand yourself and also the world around you.
while i did enjoy the book overall, i felt that the numerous plot threads were a little over-ambitious for one book: the college/coming of age aspect, the reckoning with your identity, the comments on consent, the affair with a professor, her grief over her mother, the small mystery element.
these are all very interesting themes, but they felt kind of crammed together, not given space to be explored fully. i think the book would’ve benefitted from just picking a few of these and examining them in finer detail. specifically, the commentary on the lines of consent and power dynamics/sexual politics against the backdrop of the clinton-lewinsky scandal would’ve been a great angle to focus on. unfortunately, trying to cover all of these in a 300-page book is where it suffers.
however, i did still enjoy this book and thought it was a well-written character-study with hints of 90s nostalgia. if you enjoy ‘sad girl lit fic’, coming of age stories or campus novels, you’d probably like this one.
December 28, 2023
**Many thanks to Henry Holt and Daisy Alpert Florin for an ARC of this book!**
"No one loses their innocence. It is either taken or given away willingly."- Tiffany Madison
It's 1998, and our protagonist Isabel Rosen is a senior at Wilder College, and as a student only there on scholarship, she's always felt out of place at her fancy school. She's also met plenty of boys...but very few men. After an encounter with one such boy turns into a less-than-consensual and jarring experience with the only other Jew on campus, Isabel's friend is determined to make this male student pay. Isabel is still recovering from the loss of her mother and doesn't have the time or energy to waste on revenge, but she still feels like she's floating adrift, and isn't quite ready to face life after graduation.
But one professor is about to change her world...forever. R.H. Connelly is Isabel's writing teacher, and as a former poet, his 'glory days' are considered by most to be long behind him. But nevertheless, Isabel feels a certain kinship with him, and Connelly seems to be taken with Isabel as well. The two first bond over the written word, but the relationship soon escapes the confines of literary appreciation...and goes down a forbidden path.
Once the two begin stealing hours away together, and Isabel even starts to spend time drinking with the professor and his wife as a couple, she feels a sense of importance and power in herself that she's never known before...but where will this path lead Isabel? Can she continue to live a double life...and keep the sort of secrets she never thought she'd never be forced to keep? Is Connelly the answer to all of the questions she's been pondering for so long...or is her affair going to cost her EVERYTHING...even her future?
For starters, this is yet another book I finished MONTHS ago and for some reason took a backseat to the plethora of other reviews I've been trying to catch up on...well, since January of this year. 🥴 That being said, I couldn't let the year wind down without reflecting on this one a bit, because it's the sort of read that sort of slowly sinks its claws into you...and by story's end, had me thoroughly invested in Isabel's decision and the inevitable fallout. The prose is lovely, but to be honest, I have a lot of trouble with slow beginnings...and this book has one. The affair doesn't start until nearly the halfway point, so there's a lot of buildup and scene-setting before you get there...but once you do, the turn will make you forget ALL about these initial bumps.
There are so many books out there that feature this sort of premise, but there's something about the relationship between Isabel and Connelly that struck a unique chord with me. The third act conflict also feels markedly different than you'd expect in this type of book, and added to the stakes in a way I didn't see coming. There is a sort of thoughtful melancholia that permeates through the pages in a way that resonated with me as a reader. If this is Florin's lane, I'm ALL IN for her next book! 🃏
4 stars
"No one loses their innocence. It is either taken or given away willingly."- Tiffany Madison
It's 1998, and our protagonist Isabel Rosen is a senior at Wilder College, and as a student only there on scholarship, she's always felt out of place at her fancy school. She's also met plenty of boys...but very few men. After an encounter with one such boy turns into a less-than-consensual and jarring experience with the only other Jew on campus, Isabel's friend is determined to make this male student pay. Isabel is still recovering from the loss of her mother and doesn't have the time or energy to waste on revenge, but she still feels like she's floating adrift, and isn't quite ready to face life after graduation.
But one professor is about to change her world...forever. R.H. Connelly is Isabel's writing teacher, and as a former poet, his 'glory days' are considered by most to be long behind him. But nevertheless, Isabel feels a certain kinship with him, and Connelly seems to be taken with Isabel as well. The two first bond over the written word, but the relationship soon escapes the confines of literary appreciation...and goes down a forbidden path.
Once the two begin stealing hours away together, and Isabel even starts to spend time drinking with the professor and his wife as a couple, she feels a sense of importance and power in herself that she's never known before...but where will this path lead Isabel? Can she continue to live a double life...and keep the sort of secrets she never thought she'd never be forced to keep? Is Connelly the answer to all of the questions she's been pondering for so long...or is her affair going to cost her EVERYTHING...even her future?
For starters, this is yet another book I finished MONTHS ago and for some reason took a backseat to the plethora of other reviews I've been trying to catch up on...well, since January of this year. 🥴 That being said, I couldn't let the year wind down without reflecting on this one a bit, because it's the sort of read that sort of slowly sinks its claws into you...and by story's end, had me thoroughly invested in Isabel's decision and the inevitable fallout. The prose is lovely, but to be honest, I have a lot of trouble with slow beginnings...and this book has one. The affair doesn't start until nearly the halfway point, so there's a lot of buildup and scene-setting before you get there...but once you do, the turn will make you forget ALL about these initial bumps.
There are so many books out there that feature this sort of premise, but there's something about the relationship between Isabel and Connelly that struck a unique chord with me. The third act conflict also feels markedly different than you'd expect in this type of book, and added to the stakes in a way I didn't see coming. There is a sort of thoughtful melancholia that permeates through the pages in a way that resonated with me as a reader. If this is Florin's lane, I'm ALL IN for her next book! 🃏
4 stars
April 12, 2023
This was perfectly well-constructed commercial fiction, a coming-of-age novel about an impressionable young Jewish woman from the Lower East Side in her final year in a woodsy and WASPy New Hampshire college that closely resembles Dartmouth. Set in 1998, the year Bill Clinton was impeached in the aftermath of L'affaire Lewinsky, Isabel Rosen has a nonconsensual encounter with a classmate, and an illicit affair with her married writing professor, and learns Valuable Life Lessons before graduation. But I found this emotionally uninvolving, especially given the intensity and delicacy of the subject matter, and the prose to be belabored and pedestrian.
Thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and Netgalley for giving me an ARC, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and Netgalley for giving me an ARC, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
February 27, 2023
“my last innocent year” parades itself as a feminist tale, but that could not be further from the truth. isabel rosen is a jewish college student about to graduate from an ivy league school with a degree in literature and writing. after a sexual assault takes place, her life somewhat spirals out of control. but not really.
this is so anti-feminist and supports the idea that victims of rape and sexual assault are lying. i get that this is set in the late 90’s, but you’ve got to be kidding me. isabel was brutalized and we have the author here telling us that she was “never the victim.” that power dynamics don’t matter in a sexual relationship! that power imbalances are always okay between professor and student if the student likes it. the ending is incredibly rushed and haphazardly thrown together. obviously written in response to the me too movement, this novel fails at being anything more than a “don’t believe victims” tale.
don’t read this if you are a victim of sexual assault, violence, or rape.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
this is so anti-feminist and supports the idea that victims of rape and sexual assault are lying. i get that this is set in the late 90’s, but you’ve got to be kidding me. isabel was brutalized and we have the author here telling us that she was “never the victim.” that power dynamics don’t matter in a sexual relationship! that power imbalances are always okay between professor and student if the student likes it. the ending is incredibly rushed and haphazardly thrown together. obviously written in response to the me too movement, this novel fails at being anything more than a “don’t believe victims” tale.
don’t read this if you are a victim of sexual assault, violence, or rape.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2023
TW// cheating, mentions of anti-Semitism, rape, mentions of sexual assault, grooming, mention of dog death, mention of murder, divorce, domestic abuse, phyiscal abuse, mentions of cancer, mentions of eating disorders, sexism, death (including of mothers, fathers, children), mention of alcoholism, depression, mention of dementia, discussions of suicide, mention of self-harm (including insensitive comments about it), mentions of miscarriage, mention of heart attack
I didn’t include the triggers in a spoiler warning like I normally do because this book is extremely triggering for a lot of people, so everyone should be aware of the trigger warnings before starting the book.
It’s hard to write a review of this book because I don’t even know where to start with my thoughts. On the one hand, My Last Innocent Year did some phenomenal things. On the other hand, it severely lacked in some elements.
My Last Innocent Year reads like a memoir. It’s really fast paced and bounces around through Isabel’s memories a lot. I adored Daisy Alpert Florin’s writing style and I can see myself reading more of her works in the future.
This book is easily one that I could see being studied in English classes in the future. There’s a lot of hard hitting topics and symbolism in this book that would be interesting to study as a group.
I’m a victim of grooming, so I knew this book would be hard to read at times, but I appreciated the way that the grooming was portrayed in this book. It shows the way that grooming sneaks up on people and isn’t as obvious as most people think it is. Grooming isn’t as outright obvious as a lot of people think, so the grooming representation in this book is vital in helping young people recognize the signs.
The rape in the story was also written well in terms of how subtle it is. Like grooming, people think rape is extremely visible and easy to notice. But as Isabel’s story shows, it isn’t always easy for the victims to recognize and understand what happened to them.
Now onto the big issue I had with this book.
This book didn’t dive deep enough into how grooming effects the victims. The last two chapters should’ve focused solely on how Isabel was recovering from the events of the story, but instead it tried to rush through several years of Isabel’s life. The grooming portrayal feels incomplete without looking at how it impacts the victim’s entire life. At the end of the story, I’m not even sure if Isabel can identify what happened to her as completely wrong. I get the impression that she didn’t even try to work through what happened to her, which made the story leave off on a bleak note. While it’s true that not everyone can fully process and heal from these types of events, shouldn’t victims at least be given hope that there’s a better future? This book lacked that hope.
It’s also worth noting that this book keeps being pitched with the phrase “nonconsensual sexual encounter” and I think that’s a disservice to what happened to Isabel. It’s rape - no amount of fancy lingo will make it any different. Truthfully someone in marketing should’ve changed the wording because we don’t need fancy wording -- we need the truth.
Three stars pretty accurately summarizes how I feel about this book. It did a lot of great things, but it could’ve been a lot better. I think this book would be good for people wanting to learn about what grooming looks like and how subtle it can be. However, it needs additional material to go along with it so that people can see the impacts that the types of relationships in this book have on people.
Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
I didn’t include the triggers in a spoiler warning like I normally do because this book is extremely triggering for a lot of people, so everyone should be aware of the trigger warnings before starting the book.
It’s hard to write a review of this book because I don’t even know where to start with my thoughts. On the one hand, My Last Innocent Year did some phenomenal things. On the other hand, it severely lacked in some elements.
My Last Innocent Year reads like a memoir. It’s really fast paced and bounces around through Isabel’s memories a lot. I adored Daisy Alpert Florin’s writing style and I can see myself reading more of her works in the future.
This book is easily one that I could see being studied in English classes in the future. There’s a lot of hard hitting topics and symbolism in this book that would be interesting to study as a group.
I’m a victim of grooming, so I knew this book would be hard to read at times, but I appreciated the way that the grooming was portrayed in this book. It shows the way that grooming sneaks up on people and isn’t as obvious as most people think it is. Grooming isn’t as outright obvious as a lot of people think, so the grooming representation in this book is vital in helping young people recognize the signs.
The rape in the story was also written well in terms of how subtle it is. Like grooming, people think rape is extremely visible and easy to notice. But as Isabel’s story shows, it isn’t always easy for the victims to recognize and understand what happened to them.
Now onto the big issue I had with this book.
This book didn’t dive deep enough into how grooming effects the victims. The last two chapters should’ve focused solely on how Isabel was recovering from the events of the story, but instead it tried to rush through several years of Isabel’s life. The grooming portrayal feels incomplete without looking at how it impacts the victim’s entire life. At the end of the story, I’m not even sure if Isabel can identify what happened to her as completely wrong. I get the impression that she didn’t even try to work through what happened to her, which made the story leave off on a bleak note. While it’s true that not everyone can fully process and heal from these types of events, shouldn’t victims at least be given hope that there’s a better future? This book lacked that hope.
It’s also worth noting that this book keeps being pitched with the phrase “nonconsensual sexual encounter” and I think that’s a disservice to what happened to Isabel. It’s rape - no amount of fancy lingo will make it any different. Truthfully someone in marketing should’ve changed the wording because we don’t need fancy wording -- we need the truth.
Three stars pretty accurately summarizes how I feel about this book. It did a lot of great things, but it could’ve been a lot better. I think this book would be good for people wanting to learn about what grooming looks like and how subtle it can be. However, it needs additional material to go along with it so that people can see the impacts that the types of relationships in this book have on people.
Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
January 4, 2023
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It was well written and makes for a great debut but it just didn’t work in my opinion. This book deals with some heavy topics that didn’t bother me but please make sure you check out the tw’s just in case. This book talks about consent which is an important topic to discuss. I think my main issue with this book was the main character. She obviously went through some traumatic situations but I never felt like she reflected or gave anything any real thought. I wish the author gave her character more depth. I also didn’t care for any of the side characters; they felt too one note and almost just like generic college kids. I almost DNF this one and part of me wished I did because there was no payoff in the end. The ending left me unsatisfied. While I found the writing to be good the pacing was all over the place. It started out strong but then became so slow. It stayed slow and repetitive for the majority of the book. This book will definitely make you think and ask questions but it won’t give you any answers. Overall, it was okay. It’s a book that I’m not sure if I would recommend but I’d say give it a try for yourself. Just because I didn’t vibe with it doesn’t mean you won’t.
Thank you so much @henryholtbooks for the gifted copy on Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you so much @henryholtbooks for the gifted copy on Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 3, 2023
2.5 stars I expected, at some point, to feel angry, upset, outraged, and enormous empathy. I didn’t, really, except in the most abstract sort of way—I’ve shed more tears over objective news articles than this. Failing that, I thought at least there would be a deeper examination of the nuances behind a non-consensual encounter that Isabel herself doesn’t define as rape, something we don’t see as often, or of the complicated attraction and violation of trust surrounding her later relationship with a married professor.
There were a few subplots that could've been easily been dropped for all the effect they had on the story (I really don’t know what we were supposed to think about erratic Professor Tom and all his problems and how much ink is devoted to it, except I guess it finally makes Isabel question her lover’s judgment? *shrug*) though I’m not sure that that space would’ve been adequately filled—even the scant 300 pages here. This mostly feels like a thought-provoking writing prompt that wasn’t fully developed in plot, themes, or characterization. Not terrible, but with not enough to say. Also, her dad’s speech to her towards the end and the surprise phone call she receives felt very false and I don’t know why, in such a short book with so little actual plot, the wrap-up set a few years later was even necessary. It’s ironic that there’s so much focus on Isabel’s desire to be a writer when this book could have used a deeper developmental edit.
I enjoyed the parts in her father’s Jewish deli the most. Please tell me more about thinly slicing lox and smearing cream cheese.
Audio Notes: Sarah Bierstock does a nice job narrating, especially with a variety of different voices. Down to making me wince at a few of the strident accents.
There were a few subplots that could've been easily been dropped for all the effect they had on the story (I really don’t know what we were supposed to think about erratic Professor Tom and all his problems and how much ink is devoted to it, except I guess it finally makes Isabel question her lover’s judgment? *shrug*) though I’m not sure that that space would’ve been adequately filled—even the scant 300 pages here. This mostly feels like a thought-provoking writing prompt that wasn’t fully developed in plot, themes, or characterization. Not terrible, but with not enough to say. Also, her dad’s speech to her towards the end and the surprise phone call she receives felt very false and I don’t know why, in such a short book with so little actual plot, the wrap-up set a few years later was even necessary. It’s ironic that there’s so much focus on Isabel’s desire to be a writer when this book could have used a deeper developmental edit.
I enjoyed the parts in her father’s Jewish deli the most. Please tell me more about thinly slicing lox and smearing cream cheese.
Audio Notes: Sarah Bierstock does a nice job narrating, especially with a variety of different voices. Down to making me wince at a few of the strident accents.
January 26, 2023
Rating: 2.5
I had so many emotions going through my head while reading this book. First off, we have the “nonconsensual” sexual encounter… just no. That’s not what that was. She didn’t really enjoy it in the moment, but she never once said no, pushed him away or asked him to stop. She then after the fact regrets it and let’s her friend talk it up that she was raped. That’s not how that goes!! I almost stopped reading the book right then.
I felt like with the plot of the story there really wasn’t one. Like the author was throwing multiple things at us but she never really ran fully with any of them. The relationship with the professor bugged me because it was like Isabel never understood what she was doing was wrong. And the cheating in this book! Like come on did you not learn from your mistakes?!
Okay so after all that the reason I rounded up to a 3 instead of a 2 is because the writing of this book was beautiful. I was disagreeing with most of this book but I wanted to keep reading because of the word flow of the book. I mean it had me hooked. If you’re someone who really wants a book that is beautifully written then I will 100% recommend this book for you. I felt like I didn’t agree with this book on a personal level so I wouldn’t like it. It doesn’t mean it’s not a good book. I think for a lot of people they will absolutely love this book.
I had so many emotions going through my head while reading this book. First off, we have the “nonconsensual” sexual encounter… just no. That’s not what that was. She didn’t really enjoy it in the moment, but she never once said no, pushed him away or asked him to stop. She then after the fact regrets it and let’s her friend talk it up that she was raped. That’s not how that goes!! I almost stopped reading the book right then.
I felt like with the plot of the story there really wasn’t one. Like the author was throwing multiple things at us but she never really ran fully with any of them. The relationship with the professor bugged me because it was like Isabel never understood what she was doing was wrong. And the cheating in this book! Like come on did you not learn from your mistakes?!
Okay so after all that the reason I rounded up to a 3 instead of a 2 is because the writing of this book was beautiful. I was disagreeing with most of this book but I wanted to keep reading because of the word flow of the book. I mean it had me hooked. If you’re someone who really wants a book that is beautifully written then I will 100% recommend this book for you. I felt like I didn’t agree with this book on a personal level so I wouldn’t like it. It doesn’t mean it’s not a good book. I think for a lot of people they will absolutely love this book.
May 28, 2024
a fav of the year for me, incredible
March 9, 2023
Genre: Literary Fiction/Coming-of-Age
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pub. Date: February 14, 2023
Daisy Alpert Florin’s debut novel, “My Last Innocent Year,” is a coming-of-age novel set on a college campus pre the #MeToo era. It’s been a long time since I read a coming-of-age novel that I enjoyed. I often find them sappy, but not this one. Florin’s portrayal of New England student life includes shady college town bars, English department parties, and skinny-dipping, which reads like a stream of consciousness, accurately capturing the confusion and instability of college life. “In sophomore year at a St. Parick’s day party…He had shamrocks painted on his face; as we fucked the green paint dripped down his cheeks. There wasn’t much to say about it…except we decided never to do it again and that somehow we managed to stay friends.”
The story is set against the backdrop of President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. Our protagonist, Isabel Rosen, faces more challenges than most. She is a lower-middle-class Jewish student on a scholarship at the prestigious Wilder College, which strongly resembles the real-life Dartmouth College, filled with wealthy Christians. Besides her Saint Patrick’s sexual experiment, Isabel is the least promiscuous of her college girlfriends. She is majoring in English Lit, and her goal is to become a writer.
Throughout the novel, Florin's character exhibits profound, interceptive ideas. In the library, “I weaved my way slowly through the shelves, rubbing my fingers along the spines, pulling out books at random. I loved the way each writer burrowed deep into his or her matter, no matter how obscure, and yet taken together, the books here felt larger than the world.”
This story benefits from the author's willingness to address young women’s sexuality without passing judgment. Isabel has had two sexual encounters throughout her time in college, and they forever alter the way she remembers those years. First, Florin tackles the confusion between miscommunication and date rape. Afterward, the boy asks her, “then why did you come to my dorm room?” She "honestly doesn't know," thus she is unable to respond, showing her lack of experience in what to do when “maybe he was a little too rough.” The other happens when an older man seduces her in a Bill and Monica scenario. In her senior year, she began an “affair” with her thesis adviser, a handsome, married creative writing professor. In both experiences, we see the complex power dynamics in sexual relationships.
At graduation, Isabel wonders when a girl becomes a woman. Did it happen “when I confessed my relationship with the professor?” “Is it happening right now, in front of Fayerweather Hall as the sun rose higher into the sky?” There is beautiful prose throughout the novel. However, the tail end of the story during Isabel’s post-college years felt off. Here the writing feels rushed and clumped together, losing its tone of introspection. Still, this is a poignant coming-of-age story that I recommend to adults and young people as well.
I received this novel at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pub. Date: February 14, 2023
Daisy Alpert Florin’s debut novel, “My Last Innocent Year,” is a coming-of-age novel set on a college campus pre the #MeToo era. It’s been a long time since I read a coming-of-age novel that I enjoyed. I often find them sappy, but not this one. Florin’s portrayal of New England student life includes shady college town bars, English department parties, and skinny-dipping, which reads like a stream of consciousness, accurately capturing the confusion and instability of college life. “In sophomore year at a St. Parick’s day party…He had shamrocks painted on his face; as we fucked the green paint dripped down his cheeks. There wasn’t much to say about it…except we decided never to do it again and that somehow we managed to stay friends.”
The story is set against the backdrop of President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. Our protagonist, Isabel Rosen, faces more challenges than most. She is a lower-middle-class Jewish student on a scholarship at the prestigious Wilder College, which strongly resembles the real-life Dartmouth College, filled with wealthy Christians. Besides her Saint Patrick’s sexual experiment, Isabel is the least promiscuous of her college girlfriends. She is majoring in English Lit, and her goal is to become a writer.
Throughout the novel, Florin's character exhibits profound, interceptive ideas. In the library, “I weaved my way slowly through the shelves, rubbing my fingers along the spines, pulling out books at random. I loved the way each writer burrowed deep into his or her matter, no matter how obscure, and yet taken together, the books here felt larger than the world.”
This story benefits from the author's willingness to address young women’s sexuality without passing judgment. Isabel has had two sexual encounters throughout her time in college, and they forever alter the way she remembers those years. First, Florin tackles the confusion between miscommunication and date rape. Afterward, the boy asks her, “then why did you come to my dorm room?” She "honestly doesn't know," thus she is unable to respond, showing her lack of experience in what to do when “maybe he was a little too rough.” The other happens when an older man seduces her in a Bill and Monica scenario. In her senior year, she began an “affair” with her thesis adviser, a handsome, married creative writing professor. In both experiences, we see the complex power dynamics in sexual relationships.
At graduation, Isabel wonders when a girl becomes a woman. Did it happen “when I confessed my relationship with the professor?” “Is it happening right now, in front of Fayerweather Hall as the sun rose higher into the sky?” There is beautiful prose throughout the novel. However, the tail end of the story during Isabel’s post-college years felt off. Here the writing feels rushed and clumped together, losing its tone of introspection. Still, this is a poignant coming-of-age story that I recommend to adults and young people as well.
I received this novel at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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October 27, 2022
This was a giveaway I won and I will give my ture opinion. I really wanted to enjoy this book as someone who has been sexually assaulted I wanted to see how this individual handled that sexual assault and got on with her life.
That is not what I got in this book I dnf after about 30 pages when she regretted having sex with the young man and said that it was rape. I actually reread the sexual encounter and I still felt that it was a regret after sex. Sexual assault didn't happen in my opinion and my opinion only. I didn't continue this book because I felt the book was going in a direction that I just do not feel is productive in this day and age. Sexual assault should be taken very seriously and this and will ruin individuals lives. When someone falsely accuses another person of sexual assault it also makes the victims of sexual assault less believable in the eyes of the law. So it harms both sides the victim can be falsely accused or victim of sexual abuse will have to prove their victimization.
When her friends said that she was raped she was a passive bystander. She basically just stopped being in the moment she just was like okay whatever you say happened. I felt like she was blaming her friend for the decision she made she knows her truth but refuse to tell it. You voice is your power you can use it to say NO which is No. But you can bring someone's life by falsely accusing them.
That is not what I got in this book I dnf after about 30 pages when she regretted having sex with the young man and said that it was rape. I actually reread the sexual encounter and I still felt that it was a regret after sex. Sexual assault didn't happen in my opinion and my opinion only. I didn't continue this book because I felt the book was going in a direction that I just do not feel is productive in this day and age. Sexual assault should be taken very seriously and this and will ruin individuals lives. When someone falsely accuses another person of sexual assault it also makes the victims of sexual assault less believable in the eyes of the law. So it harms both sides the victim can be falsely accused or victim of sexual abuse will have to prove their victimization.
When her friends said that she was raped she was a passive bystander. She basically just stopped being in the moment she just was like okay whatever you say happened. I felt like she was blaming her friend for the decision she made she knows her truth but refuse to tell it. You voice is your power you can use it to say NO which is No. But you can bring someone's life by falsely accusing them.
April 16, 2024
Für Isabel Rosen beginnt 1997 das letzte Schuljahr am Wilder College. Sie hatte sich eigentlich auf diese verbleibende Zeit vor dem Erwachsenwerden gefreut, auf entspannte Stunden mit ihren Freundinnen, auf Partys und vor allem auch auf den Kurs zu kreativem Schreiben bei ihrer Lieblingsdozentin. Doch entgegen ihrer Erwartungen scheint alles, was Isabel für sicher gehalten hatte, auseinander zu brechen: Ihre Freundschaften bekommen Risse, ihre finanzielle Situation läuft aus dem Ruder und die Dozentin für kreatives Schreiben fällt aufgrund einer Scheidung aus. Das Seminar übernimmt stattdessen der Dichter und Journalist R. H. Connelly, von dem Isabel sofort fasziniert ist. Sie beginnt eine Affäre mit dem um viele Jahre älteren, verheirateten Mann, die natürlich geheim bleiben muss.
"Mein letztes Jahr der Unschuld" von Daisy Alpert Florin, aus dem amerikanischen Englisch übersetzt von pociao und Roberto de Hollanda, ist eine Geschichte, die man so oder so ähnlich in den letzten Jahren öfter gelesen hat: Eine junge Frau an der Schwelle zum Erwachsenwerden geht eine Beziehung zu einem älteren Mann in einer Machtposition ein. In Daisy Alpert Florins Erzählung geht es um Machtmissbrauch und Consent, aber auch um die Suche nach Orientierung und der eigenen Stimme - und wie dieser Zustand der Orientierungslosigkeit ausgenutzt werden kann. Die Autorin lässt Isabels Story vor dem Hintergrund der 1997 medial sehr präsenten Clinton-Affäre abspielen, immer wieder finden Diskussionen der Figuren darüber Eingang in den Roman und bilden dadurch eine interessante Metaebene. Zudem wird das Buch rückblickend erzählt, weshalb auch immer wieder Einwürfe der Jetztzeit-Isabel in die Geschichte einfließen. Genau hier setzt aber auch mein Kritikpunkt an: Durch die vielen Nebenschauplätze, die die Autorin eröffnet - Isabels Aufwachsen in einer jüdischen Familie, die prekäre finanzielle Lage von Schreibenden, der frühe Tod von Isabels Mutter, die Vergewaltigung Isabels durch ihren Kommilitonen Zev usw. - , wird das Kernthema des Romans in meinen Augen zu sehr verwässert und keiner der Erzählstränge erhält die Tiefe, die für einen nachhaltigen Eindruck notwendig gewesen wäre. So war das Buch für mich eine durchaus spannend zu lesende und mit wichtigen Themen gefüllte Coming-Of-Age-Geschichte, die aber hinter ihren Möglichkeiten zurück bleibt und mich letztlich nicht ganz überzeugt hat.
"Mein letztes Jahr der Unschuld" von Daisy Alpert Florin, aus dem amerikanischen Englisch übersetzt von pociao und Roberto de Hollanda, ist eine Geschichte, die man so oder so ähnlich in den letzten Jahren öfter gelesen hat: Eine junge Frau an der Schwelle zum Erwachsenwerden geht eine Beziehung zu einem älteren Mann in einer Machtposition ein. In Daisy Alpert Florins Erzählung geht es um Machtmissbrauch und Consent, aber auch um die Suche nach Orientierung und der eigenen Stimme - und wie dieser Zustand der Orientierungslosigkeit ausgenutzt werden kann. Die Autorin lässt Isabels Story vor dem Hintergrund der 1997 medial sehr präsenten Clinton-Affäre abspielen, immer wieder finden Diskussionen der Figuren darüber Eingang in den Roman und bilden dadurch eine interessante Metaebene. Zudem wird das Buch rückblickend erzählt, weshalb auch immer wieder Einwürfe der Jetztzeit-Isabel in die Geschichte einfließen. Genau hier setzt aber auch mein Kritikpunkt an: Durch die vielen Nebenschauplätze, die die Autorin eröffnet - Isabels Aufwachsen in einer jüdischen Familie, die prekäre finanzielle Lage von Schreibenden, der frühe Tod von Isabels Mutter, die Vergewaltigung Isabels durch ihren Kommilitonen Zev usw. - , wird das Kernthema des Romans in meinen Augen zu sehr verwässert und keiner der Erzählstränge erhält die Tiefe, die für einen nachhaltigen Eindruck notwendig gewesen wäre. So war das Buch für mich eine durchaus spannend zu lesende und mit wichtigen Themen gefüllte Coming-Of-Age-Geschichte, die aber hinter ihren Möglichkeiten zurück bleibt und mich letztlich nicht ganz überzeugt hat.
February 25, 2024
ITS FINALLY HERE AND ITS EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN I REMEMBER IT TO BE!!!!!! Please please pick this up! This was so compelling, so beautifully written. When I think of great literary fiction/women’s fiction; I think of this. So happy it’s out in the world!!!!!! GO READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel so lucky to have been given a chance to read this early because this is now going down as one of my favorite reads! It's so introspective, intimate, and beautifully written. An incredible debut, and it makes me so, so excited for anything and everything Daisy Alpert Florin will create in the future.
To start, I loved Isabel's character. Florin's writing captures this age in womanhood so clearly and vividly. Even though it's set in the late 90s before my time in college, I could still resonate with so many of the thoughts and feelings Isabel was having. I saw so much of myself in her character, but I also saw the authenticity and realness of being a young woman in general. I don't know how she did it, but Florin captured the entirety of that perfectly. There's one quote towards the end that talks about how she felt as if she's still a girl in a woman's body, and I don't think I had ever heard someone put that coming of age/ being in college/in your 20's experience in such simple, yet perfect way. I think Florin's writing style captures all of these elements perfectly, and I loved how easy and captivating it was to go through this story with Isabel. Rather than seeing it from a distance, she lets you go through the experiences with Isabel, and that made the story that much more fulfilling for me.
There's so much to unpack in this story. There are layers of experiences, feelings, thoughts, attitudes, and quite literally everything a young woman can go through in this. To me, it felt like a quiet, contemplative piece. There were so many small pieces of wisdom, understanding, and realizations spread throughout. Again, it really felt like I was going through it all with Isabel, that I understood things at the same time she was and seeing the world through her eyes. I ended up feeling an intense and intimate sense of solidarity with her that I don't think I've felt with a female character in a long time.
What I liked most about this story was how perfectly it captured Isabel's coming of age. Most of the coming-of-age novels I've read have been teen/YA, so I enjoyed reading one centered in college and with characters in their early 20s. As I said, Florin's writing style captures these feelings and thoughts perfectly. It left me feeling like I had to unpack and dig through so much in my life. I loved how Florin writes about this idea that as 20-something adults, when you make a decision, you think you know what you're doing, but you don't ACTUALLY know what you're doing. It's not until years later, when you can look back at it with a clearer, wiser head, that you see things for what they actually were. There are so many choices we make in our early adulthood, choices we don't fully comprehend the weight or the repercussions of, that we have to live with for the rest of our lives that it almost feels unfair to be able to make such choices at all.
So, this is just to say that this book left me with a lot to think about. It's honest, personal, reflective, and incredibly well written. I think you can tell how good a book is by how long it stays with you after you're done reading it, and I think this will be one of the ones that stay with me for a long time. Daisy Alpert Florin is going down as one of my favorite authors because of this novel. It's selfish, but I hope she continues writing about women's experiences, ones that span an entire lifetime, so I can continue to feel the kind of wisdom and comfort this story brought me as I get older.
Thank you Henry Holt and Co., for the chance to read this early in exchange for a review! I'm so grateful. Truly one of my favorite reads this year/ever.
I feel so lucky to have been given a chance to read this early because this is now going down as one of my favorite reads! It's so introspective, intimate, and beautifully written. An incredible debut, and it makes me so, so excited for anything and everything Daisy Alpert Florin will create in the future.
To start, I loved Isabel's character. Florin's writing captures this age in womanhood so clearly and vividly. Even though it's set in the late 90s before my time in college, I could still resonate with so many of the thoughts and feelings Isabel was having. I saw so much of myself in her character, but I also saw the authenticity and realness of being a young woman in general. I don't know how she did it, but Florin captured the entirety of that perfectly. There's one quote towards the end that talks about how she felt as if she's still a girl in a woman's body, and I don't think I had ever heard someone put that coming of age/ being in college/in your 20's experience in such simple, yet perfect way. I think Florin's writing style captures all of these elements perfectly, and I loved how easy and captivating it was to go through this story with Isabel. Rather than seeing it from a distance, she lets you go through the experiences with Isabel, and that made the story that much more fulfilling for me.
There's so much to unpack in this story. There are layers of experiences, feelings, thoughts, attitudes, and quite literally everything a young woman can go through in this. To me, it felt like a quiet, contemplative piece. There were so many small pieces of wisdom, understanding, and realizations spread throughout. Again, it really felt like I was going through it all with Isabel, that I understood things at the same time she was and seeing the world through her eyes. I ended up feeling an intense and intimate sense of solidarity with her that I don't think I've felt with a female character in a long time.
What I liked most about this story was how perfectly it captured Isabel's coming of age. Most of the coming-of-age novels I've read have been teen/YA, so I enjoyed reading one centered in college and with characters in their early 20s. As I said, Florin's writing style captures these feelings and thoughts perfectly. It left me feeling like I had to unpack and dig through so much in my life. I loved how Florin writes about this idea that as 20-something adults, when you make a decision, you think you know what you're doing, but you don't ACTUALLY know what you're doing. It's not until years later, when you can look back at it with a clearer, wiser head, that you see things for what they actually were. There are so many choices we make in our early adulthood, choices we don't fully comprehend the weight or the repercussions of, that we have to live with for the rest of our lives that it almost feels unfair to be able to make such choices at all.
So, this is just to say that this book left me with a lot to think about. It's honest, personal, reflective, and incredibly well written. I think you can tell how good a book is by how long it stays with you after you're done reading it, and I think this will be one of the ones that stay with me for a long time. Daisy Alpert Florin is going down as one of my favorite authors because of this novel. It's selfish, but I hope she continues writing about women's experiences, ones that span an entire lifetime, so I can continue to feel the kind of wisdom and comfort this story brought me as I get older.
Thank you Henry Holt and Co., for the chance to read this early in exchange for a review! I'm so grateful. Truly one of my favorite reads this year/ever.
March 14, 2023
I don't know what exactly what this book was trying to say. Was it about the struggle of artist expression? The abuse of authority involving student/teacher relationships? The morale obligations of spouses? This book had the most beautiful writing and was utterly mysterious and introspective, yet the directionless plot left me feeling a bit hollow.
February 15, 2023
3.5 stars
Thank you MacMillan audio for the alc.
I love a DEBUT and always love to try a new author. I think this was a solid debut novel that had lots of potential. The audiobook was very easy to breeze through. It’s the kind of book that you can sample and easily tell if you want to continue. The tone is very consistent.
This gave me definite My Dark Vanessa vibes but wasn’t quite as fleshed out as MDV.
It’s a look at desire, control and consent and set during the 90s before the #MeToo movement.
An author to watch out for.
Thank you MacMillan audio for the alc.
I love a DEBUT and always love to try a new author. I think this was a solid debut novel that had lots of potential. The audiobook was very easy to breeze through. It’s the kind of book that you can sample and easily tell if you want to continue. The tone is very consistent.
This gave me definite My Dark Vanessa vibes but wasn’t quite as fleshed out as MDV.
It’s a look at desire, control and consent and set during the 90s before the #MeToo movement.
An author to watch out for.
January 8, 2023
*3.5 stars rounded up
My Last Innocent Year is set in 1998 in New Hampshire and centers around Jewish college student Isabel Rosen. Isabel is on a scholarship at the prestigious Wilder College where she is in her last semester before graduating. Isabel struggles to fit in among her wealthy elite classmates.
Isabel’s writing professor and also a once-famous poet, R.H. Connelly becomes Isabel’s only friend. Connelly makes Isabel feel good about herself and soon they begin an affair. Soon after the lines between youth and adulthood begin to blur as the lives of adults around her fall apart.
This one is hard to rate and review. This character-driven/literary work was stunning and the writing was ingenious. The author did an excellent job crafting her debut novel. I loved Florin’s character and her introspective thoughts reminded me so much of myself in college/my 20s.
Now let's get to the hard part. The young girl having a relationship with her teacher/professor has been used a lot recently in fiction; My Dark Vanessa, Dark Horses, The Ingenue, and now My Last Innocent Year. As difficult as these stories are, I believe that they are important. The only issue I had with My Last Innocent Year is that I was hoping for something different that's not already been done before, but unfortunately I didn't find it. But I would still recommend this one solely based on ingenious writing and spatial characterization.
This story will not be for everyone. There are a ton of topics in this book that would be triggering to so many people. Non-consensual sex, domestic violence, and suicide are only a few of these topics included in My Last Innocent Year.
My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin will be available on February 14, 2023. Many thanks to Henry Holt Books for the gifted copy!
My Last Innocent Year is set in 1998 in New Hampshire and centers around Jewish college student Isabel Rosen. Isabel is on a scholarship at the prestigious Wilder College where she is in her last semester before graduating. Isabel struggles to fit in among her wealthy elite classmates.
Isabel’s writing professor and also a once-famous poet, R.H. Connelly becomes Isabel’s only friend. Connelly makes Isabel feel good about herself and soon they begin an affair. Soon after the lines between youth and adulthood begin to blur as the lives of adults around her fall apart.
This one is hard to rate and review. This character-driven/literary work was stunning and the writing was ingenious. The author did an excellent job crafting her debut novel. I loved Florin’s character and her introspective thoughts reminded me so much of myself in college/my 20s.
Now let's get to the hard part. The young girl having a relationship with her teacher/professor has been used a lot recently in fiction; My Dark Vanessa, Dark Horses, The Ingenue, and now My Last Innocent Year. As difficult as these stories are, I believe that they are important. The only issue I had with My Last Innocent Year is that I was hoping for something different that's not already been done before, but unfortunately I didn't find it. But I would still recommend this one solely based on ingenious writing and spatial characterization.
This story will not be for everyone. There are a ton of topics in this book that would be triggering to so many people. Non-consensual sex, domestic violence, and suicide are only a few of these topics included in My Last Innocent Year.
My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin will be available on February 14, 2023. Many thanks to Henry Holt Books for the gifted copy!
January 30, 2024
[TW: Language, sexual assault, eating disorder, bullying, family drama, death of parent, anxiety, alcoholism, cancer, domestic abuse, depression, smoking, cheating, use of c-word, death by suicide (mention), miscarriage, classism, divorce]
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:It’s the winter of 1998 and Isabel Rosen has one semester left at Wilder College, a prestigious school in New Hampshire with a wealthy, elite student body and the sort of picturesque buildings college brochures were invented to capture. The only daughter of a Lower East Side appetizing store owner, Isabel has always felt out of place at Wilder, and the death of her mother shortly before she arrived on campus left her feeling unmoored in a way that’s proven hard to shake. Now, right as she’s coming to believe she’s finally found her place, the fallout from a nonconsensual sexual encounter with one of the only other Jewish students on campus leaves Isabel reeling.
Enter R.H. Connelly: a once-famous poet and Isabel’s married writing professor, a man with secrets of his own. Connelly makes Isabel feel seen, beautiful, talented; the woman she longs to become. His belief in her ignites a belief in herself. The two begin an affair that shakes the foundation of who Isabel thinks she is, for better and worse.
Release Date: February 14th, 2023
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Writing was good but had the tone of a teenager
What I Didn't Like:
1. The way sexual assault is dealt with
2. Uninteresting characters
3. Boring
4. 10000 times that she is poor
Overall Thoughts:
The book starts off with Isabel meeting up with Zeb to have sex with him in his dorm room. As they are making out she asks him to please slow down but he doesn't and she returns back to her dorm room where her friend, Debra upon seeing her face immediately jumps to that her friend has been raped. They then run to this person's dorm and spray paint on his door "rapist." It felt weird to me that this would be the thing her friend (who is very up to date with the issues facing women) decides they should do rather than ask if Isabel needs to see a doctor or would she like her to call the police. So the best thing for her friend to do is take her back to the place she was just sexually assaulted and possibly have a confrontation with her rapist. It was at this point I thought even her friend doesn't care about her but more about herself being the out spoken person who'd rather make a statement to society than care about the well-being of her friend.
It just bothered me because rather than the author making this something important we then proceed throughout the rest of the book as if there is no aftermath of this sexual assault to Isabel. She proceeds to move along and not really even be bothered with what happened or process her feelings. She gets no help and when she does get the card to a therapist in the college her friend (the same one who took her to spray paint on a door) makes fun of the therapist because she couldn't save a client who had an eating disorder. Of course Isabel throws the card away and I guess that's the most we ever get of any kind of counseling she would have gotten. And then we just move on from the whole subject of Isabel being sexually assaulted to now she needs to have sex with her teacher and is so turned on she then goes to the bathroom to masturbate thinking about him. It's like this crazy jump.
The rest of the book read like a teens journal of a girl complaining about being poor but still getting all the perks of being rich. So really the poor tone of this book felt like an after thought. I don't know many poor people that own a store that's been open for 20 years. I don't know many poor people that get 75% of their college paid for. I don't know many poor people that don't even have to work while going to college. I suppose that she's poor when compared to other Jewish people but she is not poor when compared to the average American.
I'm sorry it sounds ridiculous Isabel is mad because she sees Connelly out with another woman and then she starts accusing him of cheating on her with this other woman, but he's already cheating on his wife with her. It ridiculous. Plus she was was flirting with her male friends.
There are 3 stories in this book;
• Social Justice: A girl is raped in college
• Controversial Relationship: A girl is having an affair with her teacher
• Mystery: Tom and his daughter are missing
It just felt like this book didn't know what it wanted to be. Too much happening but yet nothing happening.
80% you know Tom is hiding in Connelly's cabin.
Everyone knows about Isabel's relationship with Connelly.
So we find out the Abe (Isabel’s father ended up having to take some loans out for her schooling) but when she talks about the amount she'll have to pay back $175 ($322 in today's amount) for the next 10 years. She then says;
"Just enough to stop me from joining friends for dinner or buying a new pair of boots or handbag or in other words just enough to keep me from enjoying myself in the city."
Ah. Is she poor or just middle class?? The classism in this book is confusing to me. Being poor to me is like washing your clothes in the tub because you can't afford to pay to wash them or buying rice/potatoes/beans for dinner.
Isabel then proceeds to rake her father over the calls saying that he never supported her wanting to be a writer. Did he not just pay for your college education? Was that not support? I can't stand this character she is so entitled. Not only did Abe have to deal with her mother and the fact that she didn't want to get a job because she wanted to be a painter so she let her husband struggle to work in his store but now he has a daughter who's ungrateful for everything he's done for her. Throw her away. Just throw Isabel away please.
It's also pretty obvious why she believed Conley when he said she had great talent and she was a good person, it's because she doesn't value her father's opinion. She thinks that he is below her because he is a worker and she's entitled. Even though she knows she doesn't have the money that her friends have she still thinks she's just as good as they are but better than her father.
She gets married two years later and they move to the Upper Eastside of New York City, which is a rich part of Manhattan. She says she's embraced optimism and now she has everything. Hear that poor people all you have to do is thing positive and you won't be poor anymore. Her uncle pays off her student loan so that whole storyline and struggle went no where, thanks for that pointless thing.
So then she gets a letter from Connelly and writes him back. And then she writes a book and writes everytime she writes a book or for random reasons. He never writes her back.
She also cheats on her husband because I guess she is bored. Have I mentioned I hate this character? She then writes to Connelly when her marriage ends saying he made or ended her. Makes zero sense because she is responsible for your own actions. You can't blame someone because you chose to cheat on for a year and then it ends in divorce. She is how horrible Isabel is. She can't even admit she's the problem.
This book didn't feel like the story of a woman that was abused by her teacher but more about a woman that was sad that he didn't want her and continued to show her how much he didn't care about her.
Final Thoughts:
Sexual assault in this book is treated like it's just the flu, just something to get over, a bump in the road.
I spent a lot of time wishing and hoping that something more would be happen.
I don't understand how a story that is supposed to be so focused on sexual abuse and a relationship with a teacher barely has much to do with her feelings through the year. It almost feels like an after thought. As though the author started writing a mystery but didn't know how to so stopped to write an odd story about sexual abuse.
Skip this book and read my Dark Vanasa.
IG | Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:It’s the winter of 1998 and Isabel Rosen has one semester left at Wilder College, a prestigious school in New Hampshire with a wealthy, elite student body and the sort of picturesque buildings college brochures were invented to capture. The only daughter of a Lower East Side appetizing store owner, Isabel has always felt out of place at Wilder, and the death of her mother shortly before she arrived on campus left her feeling unmoored in a way that’s proven hard to shake. Now, right as she’s coming to believe she’s finally found her place, the fallout from a nonconsensual sexual encounter with one of the only other Jewish students on campus leaves Isabel reeling.
Enter R.H. Connelly: a once-famous poet and Isabel’s married writing professor, a man with secrets of his own. Connelly makes Isabel feel seen, beautiful, talented; the woman she longs to become. His belief in her ignites a belief in herself. The two begin an affair that shakes the foundation of who Isabel thinks she is, for better and worse.
Release Date: February 14th, 2023
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Writing was good but had the tone of a teenager
What I Didn't Like:
1. The way sexual assault is dealt with
2. Uninteresting characters
3. Boring
4. 10000 times that she is poor
Overall Thoughts:
The book starts off with Isabel meeting up with Zeb to have sex with him in his dorm room. As they are making out she asks him to please slow down but he doesn't and she returns back to her dorm room where her friend, Debra upon seeing her face immediately jumps to that her friend has been raped. They then run to this person's dorm and spray paint on his door "rapist." It felt weird to me that this would be the thing her friend (who is very up to date with the issues facing women) decides they should do rather than ask if Isabel needs to see a doctor or would she like her to call the police. So the best thing for her friend to do is take her back to the place she was just sexually assaulted and possibly have a confrontation with her rapist. It was at this point I thought even her friend doesn't care about her but more about herself being the out spoken person who'd rather make a statement to society than care about the well-being of her friend.
It just bothered me because rather than the author making this something important we then proceed throughout the rest of the book as if there is no aftermath of this sexual assault to Isabel. She proceeds to move along and not really even be bothered with what happened or process her feelings. She gets no help and when she does get the card to a therapist in the college her friend (the same one who took her to spray paint on a door) makes fun of the therapist because she couldn't save a client who had an eating disorder. Of course Isabel throws the card away and I guess that's the most we ever get of any kind of counseling she would have gotten. And then we just move on from the whole subject of Isabel being sexually assaulted to now she needs to have sex with her teacher and is so turned on she then goes to the bathroom to masturbate thinking about him. It's like this crazy jump.
The rest of the book read like a teens journal of a girl complaining about being poor but still getting all the perks of being rich. So really the poor tone of this book felt like an after thought. I don't know many poor people that own a store that's been open for 20 years. I don't know many poor people that get 75% of their college paid for. I don't know many poor people that don't even have to work while going to college. I suppose that she's poor when compared to other Jewish people but she is not poor when compared to the average American.
I'm sorry it sounds ridiculous Isabel is mad because she sees Connelly out with another woman and then she starts accusing him of cheating on her with this other woman, but he's already cheating on his wife with her. It ridiculous. Plus she was was flirting with her male friends.
There are 3 stories in this book;
• Social Justice: A girl is raped in college
• Controversial Relationship: A girl is having an affair with her teacher
• Mystery: Tom and his daughter are missing
It just felt like this book didn't know what it wanted to be. Too much happening but yet nothing happening.
80% you know Tom is hiding in Connelly's cabin.
Everyone knows about Isabel's relationship with Connelly.
So we find out the Abe (Isabel’s father ended up having to take some loans out for her schooling) but when she talks about the amount she'll have to pay back $175 ($322 in today's amount) for the next 10 years. She then says;
"Just enough to stop me from joining friends for dinner or buying a new pair of boots or handbag or in other words just enough to keep me from enjoying myself in the city."
Ah. Is she poor or just middle class?? The classism in this book is confusing to me. Being poor to me is like washing your clothes in the tub because you can't afford to pay to wash them or buying rice/potatoes/beans for dinner.
Isabel then proceeds to rake her father over the calls saying that he never supported her wanting to be a writer. Did he not just pay for your college education? Was that not support? I can't stand this character she is so entitled. Not only did Abe have to deal with her mother and the fact that she didn't want to get a job because she wanted to be a painter so she let her husband struggle to work in his store but now he has a daughter who's ungrateful for everything he's done for her. Throw her away. Just throw Isabel away please.
It's also pretty obvious why she believed Conley when he said she had great talent and she was a good person, it's because she doesn't value her father's opinion. She thinks that he is below her because he is a worker and she's entitled. Even though she knows she doesn't have the money that her friends have she still thinks she's just as good as they are but better than her father.
She gets married two years later and they move to the Upper Eastside of New York City, which is a rich part of Manhattan. She says she's embraced optimism and now she has everything. Hear that poor people all you have to do is thing positive and you won't be poor anymore. Her uncle pays off her student loan so that whole storyline and struggle went no where, thanks for that pointless thing.
So then she gets a letter from Connelly and writes him back. And then she writes a book and writes everytime she writes a book or for random reasons. He never writes her back.
She also cheats on her husband because I guess she is bored. Have I mentioned I hate this character? She then writes to Connelly when her marriage ends saying he made or ended her. Makes zero sense because she is responsible for your own actions. You can't blame someone because you chose to cheat on for a year and then it ends in divorce. She is how horrible Isabel is. She can't even admit she's the problem.
This book didn't feel like the story of a woman that was abused by her teacher but more about a woman that was sad that he didn't want her and continued to show her how much he didn't care about her.
Final Thoughts:
Sexual assault in this book is treated like it's just the flu, just something to get over, a bump in the road.
I spent a lot of time wishing and hoping that something more would be happen.
I don't understand how a story that is supposed to be so focused on sexual abuse and a relationship with a teacher barely has much to do with her feelings through the year. It almost feels like an after thought. As though the author started writing a mystery but didn't know how to so stopped to write an odd story about sexual abuse.
Skip this book and read my Dark Vanasa.
IG | Blog
February 25, 2023
the year is 1998 and we follow isabel who after a troubling and less than consensual sexual encounter starts questioning first herself and then the even bigger discussion of how it is to navigate life as a woman in a man’s world.
all of this leads to her jumping headfirst into an affair with her married professor who sees her as the woman she longs to become rather than the one she currently is.
this was a beautiful coming-of-age story, exploring conflicts such as identity, consent, privilege, and power dynamics. it’s a portrait of a young woman allowing herself to take up more space and finding her place in the world. the book is written in an extremely confessional and realistic way, and the entire story felt so real and authentic which to me made it that much more captivating and gripping.
the publisher kindly provided this arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
all of this leads to her jumping headfirst into an affair with her married professor who sees her as the woman she longs to become rather than the one she currently is.
this was a beautiful coming-of-age story, exploring conflicts such as identity, consent, privilege, and power dynamics. it’s a portrait of a young woman allowing herself to take up more space and finding her place in the world. the book is written in an extremely confessional and realistic way, and the entire story felt so real and authentic which to me made it that much more captivating and gripping.
the publisher kindly provided this arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 24, 2023
god... this is the type of book that made me pour a drink after reading and I still can't get the ending out of my head. this aching book is somehow so obvious and so poignantly profound... the structure is beautiful, the parallels are beautiful, and the emotionally detached first past POV somehow makes it ache even more.
I hate that the world is so disgustingly comfortable treating women in the varied, abusive ways portrayed in this book that makes it feel sickeningly universal. honestly, thank god for the sort of detached POV because otherwise i would have never been able to stomach the reality and truth in this beautiful book
I hate that the world is so disgustingly comfortable treating women in the varied, abusive ways portrayed in this book that makes it feel sickeningly universal. honestly, thank god for the sort of detached POV because otherwise i would have never been able to stomach the reality and truth in this beautiful book
September 30, 2025
Esta es una novela coming of age publicada en 2023. Es la novela debut de la autora Daisy Alpert Florin.
Es una novela debut muy bien escrita, cuando termine de leerla me dije "quiero leer todo lo que escriba Florin".
En esta novela acompañamos a la protagonista Isabel, quien inicia sus estudios universitarios.
Florin hace un trabajo fantástico retratando lo difícil que es entrar en el mundo adulto, las inseguridades, los temores, el intentar encajar, y como esto lleva a la fácil manipulación de una persona.
Isabel pasa por una experiencia sexual la cual la lastima tan profundamente (más allá incluso de lo que ella imagina), y esto la lleva a terminar en los brazos de un hombre que Isabel cree su salvador (que por motivos de evitar spoilers, no diré su nombre).
La relación está plagada de señales de toxicidad, que Isabel por su edad y falta de experiencia en lidiar con relaciones no ve.
A su vez, Isabel también impactará la vida de este hombre, donde lamentablemente los dos caen en un círculo vicioso de toxicidad.
Me da la sensación que Florin no ahonda mucho en la construcción de sus personajes, parece como si la autora permitiera fluir a sus personajes dentro de una trama muy bien lograda.
"Mi último año de inocencia" tiene una trama perfecta con personajes imperfectos, como la vida misma.
Aquí no hay romantización, ni tampoco justificación de los hechos relatados.
La prosa de Florin es simple, y eso se agradece porque el foco está en la historia, y que el mensaje llegue. El estilo se asemeja a leer el diario íntimo de una persona, donde está volcado sentimientos, sueños, y aspiraciones.
Es de esas historias que te rompen el corazón y te dejan pensando.
📚 Motivo de lectura
Challenge Community Picks.
📌 Trigger warnings/Tropes
⚠️ Violación. ⚠ Consentimiento dudoso. ⚠️ Relación tóxica. ⚠ Suicidio. ⚠ Problemas salud mental. ⚠ Infidelidad.
Novela. Coming of age.
Es una novela debut muy bien escrita, cuando termine de leerla me dije "quiero leer todo lo que escriba Florin".
En esta novela acompañamos a la protagonista Isabel, quien inicia sus estudios universitarios.
Florin hace un trabajo fantástico retratando lo difícil que es entrar en el mundo adulto, las inseguridades, los temores, el intentar encajar, y como esto lleva a la fácil manipulación de una persona.
Isabel pasa por una experiencia sexual la cual la lastima tan profundamente (más allá incluso de lo que ella imagina), y esto la lleva a terminar en los brazos de un hombre que Isabel cree su salvador (que por motivos de evitar spoilers, no diré su nombre).
La relación está plagada de señales de toxicidad, que Isabel por su edad y falta de experiencia en lidiar con relaciones no ve.
A su vez, Isabel también impactará la vida de este hombre, donde lamentablemente los dos caen en un círculo vicioso de toxicidad.
Me da la sensación que Florin no ahonda mucho en la construcción de sus personajes, parece como si la autora permitiera fluir a sus personajes dentro de una trama muy bien lograda.
"Mi último año de inocencia" tiene una trama perfecta con personajes imperfectos, como la vida misma.
Aquí no hay romantización, ni tampoco justificación de los hechos relatados.
La prosa de Florin es simple, y eso se agradece porque el foco está en la historia, y que el mensaje llegue. El estilo se asemeja a leer el diario íntimo de una persona, donde está volcado sentimientos, sueños, y aspiraciones.
Es de esas historias que te rompen el corazón y te dejan pensando.
📚 Motivo de lectura
Challenge Community Picks.
📌 Trigger warnings/Tropes
⚠️ Violación. ⚠ Consentimiento dudoso. ⚠️ Relación tóxica. ⚠ Suicidio. ⚠ Problemas salud mental. ⚠ Infidelidad.
Novela. Coming of age.
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