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I Love You Don't Die
Acclaimed author Jade Song (Chlorine) returns with her latest literary exploration: a lyrical, poignant, and heartfelt novel about the meaning of love, friendship, debt, depression, and death in New York City—a coming-of-age for a new generation, in the vein of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh.
For as far back as she can remember, Vicky has been fascinated and obsessed with death as the only inevitable thing in life. From living above a Chinatown funeral parlor to working at a celebrity start-up for bespoke urns, she has surrounded herself with death—in her home, in her work, and in her ever-growing collection of zhizha, paper creations meant to be burned for the dead, adorning the walls of her apartment. Yet, though living in Manhattan and working her dream job is all she ever wanted, she still struggles to have meaningful connections—or find any meaning at all—in her life. Too often she spends the day in bed, only drawn out from time to time by her best (and only) friend, Jen.
That changes when a dating app leads her into a throuple with an artist and a labor organizer, who offer exactly the kind of love she needs. For some time, it’s perfect, but no one understands better than Vicky that all things must end. As doubts grow over the love in her life, her friendship with Jen, and her professional success, the oddly comforting abstraction of death starts becoming something else altogether. With everything beginning to feel hollow and temporary, Vicky must decide how to keep moving forward. To try and hold on to what she has, or to once again do what she does best: destroy.
For as far back as she can remember, Vicky has been fascinated and obsessed with death as the only inevitable thing in life. From living above a Chinatown funeral parlor to working at a celebrity start-up for bespoke urns, she has surrounded herself with death—in her home, in her work, and in her ever-growing collection of zhizha, paper creations meant to be burned for the dead, adorning the walls of her apartment. Yet, though living in Manhattan and working her dream job is all she ever wanted, she still struggles to have meaningful connections—or find any meaning at all—in her life. Too often she spends the day in bed, only drawn out from time to time by her best (and only) friend, Jen.
That changes when a dating app leads her into a throuple with an artist and a labor organizer, who offer exactly the kind of love she needs. For some time, it’s perfect, but no one understands better than Vicky that all things must end. As doubts grow over the love in her life, her friendship with Jen, and her professional success, the oddly comforting abstraction of death starts becoming something else altogether. With everything beginning to feel hollow and temporary, Vicky must decide how to keep moving forward. To try and hold on to what she has, or to once again do what she does best: destroy.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published March 17, 2026
144 people are currently reading
13009 people want to read
About the author
Jade Song
3 books943 followersJade Song is an artist and writer whose next book is Ox Ghost Snake Demon, a short story collection based on the Chinese zodiac animals forthcoming Jan 2027. Her other books are the novels I Love You Don't Die and Chlorine, which won the Writer's Center First Novel Prize and the American Library Association Alex Award and has been translated into multiple languages. Song pole dances and lives with too many books in Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 318 reviews
March 17, 2026
the type of vibe i bring to the function
(thanks to netgalley / libro.fm)
(review to come)
(thanks to netgalley / libro.fm)
(review to come)
Did Not Finish
March 23, 2026I never thought I'd DNF a book by Jade Song, but alas, at 65% I am certain this will be a two-star read, and I don't see the point in investing time into it. As someone who loved Chlorine, I was excited by this release, but it missed the mark for me. It felt like a regression from her debut.
The premise of the book centres around mortality, depression, and the disillusionment that young people experience as a result of capitalism, climate change, burnout, gentrification, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Interesting premise, but the satirical commentary casts aside nuance entirely. We often get tangents and monologues about societal injustices that feel too shoehorned in; for example, the wailing sirens of an ambulance in the background turn into our protagonist reflecting on whether or not the patient has insurance, whether or not they can afford it, and whether or not the insurance system will con them. These monologues are constant and forced into scenes that are otherwise unrelated.
The cast of characters in the novel is limited, yet they aren't given any character development. Vicky comes across as melodramatic, and her mental illness does not feel particularly nuanced or personalized. Her cynicism feels very cheesy (e.g., she hates romantic movies because "like everything good, they always end"), and results in her self-sabotaging actions feeling entirely incongruous with her very self-aware monologues. Her past is seldom explored, and ultimately leaves her a very shallow narrator. Also, minor critique, but despite her mental illness and complete ambivalence towards her job, she is somehow a star performer, even putting in the bare minimum. It all feels a little cliché.
Other characters also feel more like caricatures than people - Vicky's boss is the stereotypical workaholic, bootlicking capitalist. Her best friend is a stand-in for wellness influencers. Her attraction to Angela and Kevin is built solely on projection, and their relationship has no organic development. The reader is just expected to take everything at face value.
Lastly, though likely no fault of Song, the marketing lists this as "in the vein of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh" which entirely misrepresents the book. It is darkly comedic, tongue-in-cheek, and other than the genre overlap, I don't see the comparison. Had I known this was more akin to Emily Austin or Halle Butler than the aforementioned authors, I would have adjusted my expectations accordingly.
Overall, a long rant to basically say: this isn't the book I expected, which does not mean it is a bad book or others shouldn't read it, but it's not the type of literary fiction I enjoy. Thank you to William Morrow for the ARC!
The premise of the book centres around mortality, depression, and the disillusionment that young people experience as a result of capitalism, climate change, burnout, gentrification, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Interesting premise, but the satirical commentary casts aside nuance entirely. We often get tangents and monologues about societal injustices that feel too shoehorned in; for example, the wailing sirens of an ambulance in the background turn into our protagonist reflecting on whether or not the patient has insurance, whether or not they can afford it, and whether or not the insurance system will con them. These monologues are constant and forced into scenes that are otherwise unrelated.
The cast of characters in the novel is limited, yet they aren't given any character development. Vicky comes across as melodramatic, and her mental illness does not feel particularly nuanced or personalized. Her cynicism feels very cheesy (e.g., she hates romantic movies because "like everything good, they always end"), and results in her self-sabotaging actions feeling entirely incongruous with her very self-aware monologues. Her past is seldom explored, and ultimately leaves her a very shallow narrator. Also, minor critique, but despite her mental illness and complete ambivalence towards her job, she is somehow a star performer, even putting in the bare minimum. It all feels a little cliché.
Other characters also feel more like caricatures than people - Vicky's boss is the stereotypical workaholic, bootlicking capitalist. Her best friend is a stand-in for wellness influencers. Her attraction to Angela and Kevin is built solely on projection, and their relationship has no organic development. The reader is just expected to take everything at face value.
Lastly, though likely no fault of Song, the marketing lists this as "in the vein of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh" which entirely misrepresents the book. It is darkly comedic, tongue-in-cheek, and other than the genre overlap, I don't see the comparison. Had I known this was more akin to Emily Austin or Halle Butler than the aforementioned authors, I would have adjusted my expectations accordingly.
Overall, a long rant to basically say: this isn't the book I expected, which does not mean it is a bad book or others shouldn't read it, but it's not the type of literary fiction I enjoy. Thank you to William Morrow for the ARC!
November 11, 2025
I was immediately pulled in by the cover alone & then I read the synopsis & thought "yay, a new weird girl lit fic to dive into" & well...what I got instead was a sad but tender story about love, friendship, mental health & death.
As a former sad girl I immediately related to Vicky. She's sad, lonely, wants to love & to be loved but doesn't always know the best way how. When things get tough or emotions are too high she's prone to self isolate/self sabotage. There's a lot about Vicky that I think people will relate to, which makes her feel a lot more real as a character.
Jen x Vicky's relationship shows us that even at our darkest, when we feel the most lonely, as long as you have that one person you're never truly alone. The relationship between Vicky, kevin & Angela felt a little...awkward?? I don't know, I just didn't really get the point of making the romantic relationship a throuple if we only focus on Angela & Vicky..what exactly was the point of Kevin if we see him for what felt like a chapter & a half? I get they were bonded over being depressed baddies but Kevin as a character felt unnecessary. For a big chunk of the story I forgot Kevin was even supposed to be part of the throuple because it's so focused on Angela & Vicky.
The writing is poetic, really capturing the longing & the grief throughout the story. There is quite a bit of rambling sentences going on that felt like filler to take up space on pages. Some of the dialogue lacked depth as well. Overall, an enjoyable read just make sure you're in the right headspace before diving in!
3.5 rounded up.
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review
As a former sad girl I immediately related to Vicky. She's sad, lonely, wants to love & to be loved but doesn't always know the best way how. When things get tough or emotions are too high she's prone to self isolate/self sabotage. There's a lot about Vicky that I think people will relate to, which makes her feel a lot more real as a character.
Jen x Vicky's relationship shows us that even at our darkest, when we feel the most lonely, as long as you have that one person you're never truly alone. The relationship between Vicky, kevin & Angela felt a little...awkward?? I don't know, I just didn't really get the point of making the romantic relationship a throuple if we only focus on Angela & Vicky..what exactly was the point of Kevin if we see him for what felt like a chapter & a half? I get they were bonded over being depressed baddies but Kevin as a character felt unnecessary. For a big chunk of the story I forgot Kevin was even supposed to be part of the throuple because it's so focused on Angela & Vicky.
The writing is poetic, really capturing the longing & the grief throughout the story. There is quite a bit of rambling sentences going on that felt like filler to take up space on pages. Some of the dialogue lacked depth as well. Overall, an enjoyable read just make sure you're in the right headspace before diving in!
3.5 rounded up.
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As someone who loved CHLORINE, this is heartbreaking for me to rate. I love death. I love Asian American representation. I love queer representation. Why didn't I love this?
I started off liking this well enough, but the death/friendship/throuple storylines got more convoluted as time passed.
Death - The workplace was interesting enough, but Urnie was a little much for me.
Friends - Some friends need to be dropped.
Throuple - I'm ngl the woman was more interesting than the man. Generally is this way.
And then I skimmed the last 1/3, because it dropped off in quality.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow
I started off liking this well enough, but the death/friendship/throuple storylines got more convoluted as time passed.
Death - The workplace was interesting enough, but Urnie was a little much for me.
Friends - Some friends need to be dropped.
Throuple - I'm ngl the woman was more interesting than the man. Generally is this way.
And then I skimmed the last 1/3, because it dropped off in quality.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow
March 14, 2026
Finding books that manage to encapsulate a current, lived in experience are hard to come by. Normally, it's years after a specific moment has passed that literature can reflect the deep uncertainties of a time, the darkness, the life, the love, the joy, the death, and the loss. To ask a book, no, an author - another human living this same incredible yet, harrowing experience that we are - to ensnare all those feelings seems like a really, really monumental task. Sure, we can all lament about the economy, our friends, and politics; but, to write a story with style, finesse, and palpable heartbreak that unpacks life's current conundrums is a damn accomplishment. And Jade Song has done so with I Love You Don't Die.
Summarizing a book like this feels trivial when so much complicated ground is covered. But the big, thematic brushstrokes of I Love You Don't Die paint a picture of adult angst, petrifying fear of the state of the world, walling off all threats as self preservation, vulnerability in every variation, love of every sort, and grief in equal measure. Coming from me, a 27-year-old trying to make the "right choices" and let the "right people" in, Song's ability to accurately and poignantly depict so many of the anxieties surrounding these topics walloped my angsty heart. And maybe it's just the artist's mindset, but writing about the struggle of love in such a timely light feels necessary in connecting with our peers, our colleagues, our friends.
You see, Jade Song writes about love as a threat - the closer you are to someone, the harder you love them, the closer to annihilation you grow. Death is inevitable, and to live a life under any other impression feels futile. This mantra feels so true as avoidance of pain seems to be part of the central coda for human existence. Yet, love finds a way. In the places you don't expect, from the smallest of sentiments to the greatest of people. And where are we then? When we care, but are depressed? When we yearn, but are exhausted? When we want to live, but we are terrified?
This feels more like a philosophical rant than a review. And, maybe it is. But this is where I Love You Don't Die has left me: in a state of reflection, immensely filled with gratitude for art like this novel, and in total awe of Jade Song.
Summarizing a book like this feels trivial when so much complicated ground is covered. But the big, thematic brushstrokes of I Love You Don't Die paint a picture of adult angst, petrifying fear of the state of the world, walling off all threats as self preservation, vulnerability in every variation, love of every sort, and grief in equal measure. Coming from me, a 27-year-old trying to make the "right choices" and let the "right people" in, Song's ability to accurately and poignantly depict so many of the anxieties surrounding these topics walloped my angsty heart. And maybe it's just the artist's mindset, but writing about the struggle of love in such a timely light feels necessary in connecting with our peers, our colleagues, our friends.
You see, Jade Song writes about love as a threat - the closer you are to someone, the harder you love them, the closer to annihilation you grow. Death is inevitable, and to live a life under any other impression feels futile. This mantra feels so true as avoidance of pain seems to be part of the central coda for human existence. Yet, love finds a way. In the places you don't expect, from the smallest of sentiments to the greatest of people. And where are we then? When we care, but are depressed? When we yearn, but are exhausted? When we want to live, but we are terrified?
This feels more like a philosophical rant than a review. And, maybe it is. But this is where I Love You Don't Die has left me: in a state of reflection, immensely filled with gratitude for art like this novel, and in total awe of Jade Song.
August 11, 2025
4.5 🫶🏼🫶🏼Whew. This book took me by surprise. I read Chlorine and wasn’t a fan, but I really wanted to give this author another go and I’m so happy I did!
In this book we are following Vicky who works a remote position at home, which is perfect for her because she really doesn’t want to live… or she likes the idea of not living…but she has this best friend Jen who is her lighthouse(codependent at times for sure) who checks in on her and loves her.
Vicky decides she wants to get back into dating..mainly because Jen pushes her to so she meets up with this other couple and they start dating..to an extent.
I loved Vicky so much. Her life has shaped how she views love and the limits she has set around it. While her and Jen don’t have this perfect friendship, I found it refreshing.
The ending of this book had me 🥹🥹
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC!
In this book we are following Vicky who works a remote position at home, which is perfect for her because she really doesn’t want to live… or she likes the idea of not living…but she has this best friend Jen who is her lighthouse(codependent at times for sure) who checks in on her and loves her.
Vicky decides she wants to get back into dating..mainly because Jen pushes her to so she meets up with this other couple and they start dating..to an extent.
I loved Vicky so much. Her life has shaped how she views love and the limits she has set around it. While her and Jen don’t have this perfect friendship, I found it refreshing.
The ending of this book had me 🥹🥹
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC!
April 3, 2026
If you liked Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter, you'll definitely enjoy this book.
This had all the elements of a 5-star for me, especially at the end, which is one of my favorite things to happen in book endings, but it was missing ✨️that✨️ 5-star feeling ya know? With that being said, I found so much of this book extremely relatable through several characters. Each character had such a strongly unique voice, and im glad we got chapters from the four main ones. I think about death all the time and am one who is hyperaware of my mortality so this was a perfect book for me to pick up.
This had all the elements of a 5-star for me, especially at the end, which is one of my favorite things to happen in book endings, but it was missing ✨️that✨️ 5-star feeling ya know? With that being said, I found so much of this book extremely relatable through several characters. Each character had such a strongly unique voice, and im glad we got chapters from the four main ones. I think about death all the time and am one who is hyperaware of my mortality so this was a perfect book for me to pick up.
August 23, 2025
Many Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an advanced
copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I was a big fan of Chlorine, and was very exited to get to preview her next release: I Love You Don't Die. In this novel, Song steps away from the more horror aspects of Chlorine as she touches on so many topics: Late Stage Capitalism, Labor Rights, Climate Change, Sexuality, Privilege, 3rd generation immigrant identity, Polyamory and non-monogamy. But most of all its about depression. Depression and the way it affects how we handle the tough things in life. The way this book is almost trying to do it all without taking away from the main story is insane.
Our main character, Vicky, struggles with depression as she works for a trendy tech-bro funerary company. Her avoidant attachment style basically runs her life and dictates how she handles all of her relationships, even in her choices to seek out couples rather than one-on-one
connection. As someone who has struggled with depression, I really resonated with each of the characters. We get insights into our side characters as well, who are each handling their own grief and mental issues in different ways. I wouldn't say any of the characters are exactly likeable, but this book sure was. Highly recommend, but be sure to take a peek at the TW list if you are sensitive to things
copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I was a big fan of Chlorine, and was very exited to get to preview her next release: I Love You Don't Die. In this novel, Song steps away from the more horror aspects of Chlorine as she touches on so many topics: Late Stage Capitalism, Labor Rights, Climate Change, Sexuality, Privilege, 3rd generation immigrant identity, Polyamory and non-monogamy. But most of all its about depression. Depression and the way it affects how we handle the tough things in life. The way this book is almost trying to do it all without taking away from the main story is insane.
Our main character, Vicky, struggles with depression as she works for a trendy tech-bro funerary company. Her avoidant attachment style basically runs her life and dictates how she handles all of her relationships, even in her choices to seek out couples rather than one-on-one
connection. As someone who has struggled with depression, I really resonated with each of the characters. We get insights into our side characters as well, who are each handling their own grief and mental issues in different ways. I wouldn't say any of the characters are exactly likeable, but this book sure was. Highly recommend, but be sure to take a peek at the TW list if you are sensitive to things
March 28, 2026
For all my Sylvia Plath and Ottessa Moshfegh girlies: this one’s for you.
This speculative fiction novel is steeped in death, grief, suicidal ideation, and the raw, complicated beauty of friendship. It follows Vicky, an Asian American woman whose life revolves around death literally and emotionally. She works at a company that specializes in helping people pre-plan their funerals. She struggles to form close connections, haunted by intrusive thoughts and vivid dreams of losing those she loves. Her mind is a battleground of suicidal ideation and deep, aching loneliness.
This is Vicky's story as she attempts to navigate young adulthood while living with major depressive disorder. Though there is a romantic subplot, the emotional core of the book is her relationship with her best friend, Jen. Their bond is messy, real, and heartbreakingly intimate. It's rare and refreshing to read a story where the protagonist isn’t "saved" by romantic love, but by a soulmate of a different kind: a best friend who sees her, understands her, and holds space for her pain when she can’t hold it herself.
The book is dark and lyrical. It doesn’t tidy up grief or glamorize mental illness, but rather sits in the discomfort. The prose is beautiful, melancholic, and precise.
If you liked Chlorine, you’ll find familiar threads here: an Asian protagonist, themes of mental illness, and the search for identity. But this novel carves a different and more intimate path. It’s haunting, human, and unforgettable.
This speculative fiction novel is steeped in death, grief, suicidal ideation, and the raw, complicated beauty of friendship. It follows Vicky, an Asian American woman whose life revolves around death literally and emotionally. She works at a company that specializes in helping people pre-plan their funerals. She struggles to form close connections, haunted by intrusive thoughts and vivid dreams of losing those she loves. Her mind is a battleground of suicidal ideation and deep, aching loneliness.
This is Vicky's story as she attempts to navigate young adulthood while living with major depressive disorder. Though there is a romantic subplot, the emotional core of the book is her relationship with her best friend, Jen. Their bond is messy, real, and heartbreakingly intimate. It's rare and refreshing to read a story where the protagonist isn’t "saved" by romantic love, but by a soulmate of a different kind: a best friend who sees her, understands her, and holds space for her pain when she can’t hold it herself.
The book is dark and lyrical. It doesn’t tidy up grief or glamorize mental illness, but rather sits in the discomfort. The prose is beautiful, melancholic, and precise.
If you liked Chlorine, you’ll find familiar threads here: an Asian protagonist, themes of mental illness, and the search for identity. But this novel carves a different and more intimate path. It’s haunting, human, and unforgettable.
April 27, 2026
It seems I'm in the exception here, but I loved this book. It was a 4 until near the end at which point it took me from 0 to sobbing in the span of 2 pages.
It isn't an action heavy book, it isn't even a story of deep emotional growth, I'd even say it's a little self-indulgent at times, but there's something about it that just worked for me that slowly sank its claws into my head and didn't let go.
The character can be a little bit prickly and dare I say, somewhat (very) annoying, but there's something relatable and endearing about her. The prose isn't overly stylized but it was pleasant enough.
Would recommend for people who enjoyed Diavola (ILYDD isn't horror but if you vibed with the character in Diavola I think you'll like the one in ILYDD).
It isn't an action heavy book, it isn't even a story of deep emotional growth, I'd even say it's a little self-indulgent at times, but there's something about it that just worked for me that slowly sank its claws into my head and didn't let go.
The character can be a little bit prickly and dare I say, somewhat (very) annoying, but there's something relatable and endearing about her. The prose isn't overly stylized but it was pleasant enough.
Would recommend for people who enjoyed Diavola (ILYDD isn't horror but if you vibed with the character in Diavola I think you'll like the one in ILYDD).
April 14, 2026
2.5 rounded up.
I suspected this probably wouldn't live up to Chlorine, and I'm sorry to say I was right. Sprinkled throughout, there are bits of insight and black humor about corporate sell-out culture and exploitation of marginalized groups, self-aggrandizement, and the monstrosity that is social media, but overall the story was as much of a mess as its characters were disingenuous and unsympathetic. I was mainly bored, the insta-love of the throuple was unconvincing, and the end was nonsense.
Rounded up because the best thing this book does, and does well, is immerse you in contemporary life as a young person in New York City. I'll still read more from Jade Song in the future; I'll just hope for much better.
I suspected this probably wouldn't live up to Chlorine, and I'm sorry to say I was right. Sprinkled throughout, there are bits of insight and black humor about corporate sell-out culture and exploitation of marginalized groups, self-aggrandizement, and the monstrosity that is social media, but overall the story was as much of a mess as its characters were disingenuous and unsympathetic. I was mainly bored, the insta-love of the throuple was unconvincing, and the end was nonsense.
Rounded up because the best thing this book does, and does well, is immerse you in contemporary life as a young person in New York City. I'll still read more from Jade Song in the future; I'll just hope for much better.
April 29, 2026
Girl what…
Want to Read
November 6, 20252026 most anticipated list <3
Chlorine ★★★★
Chlorine ★★★★
March 19, 2026
(rounded up from 4.5)
Chronic depression is a bitch, and this is a book that will showcase that to its fullest extent. This is my first Jade Song book, and I did enjoy the skilful way she captures a moment in time that is fleeting but somehow relatable. A birthday outing with people you love and singing karaoke badly. Being in a cemetery on a date with potential, and just inhaling. Finding someone whose sadness mirrors your own, while your partner doesn't have that shape of sadness in them. Pre-emptively escaping sadness because of the fear of being abandoned or numbing yourself to the idea of death because it fascinates and terrifies you. Incredible stuff with obviously heavy content warnings for depression and suicidal ideation.
Chronic depression is a bitch, and this is a book that will showcase that to its fullest extent. This is my first Jade Song book, and I did enjoy the skilful way she captures a moment in time that is fleeting but somehow relatable. A birthday outing with people you love and singing karaoke badly. Being in a cemetery on a date with potential, and just inhaling. Finding someone whose sadness mirrors your own, while your partner doesn't have that shape of sadness in them. Pre-emptively escaping sadness because of the fear of being abandoned or numbing yourself to the idea of death because it fascinates and terrifies you. Incredible stuff with obviously heavy content warnings for depression and suicidal ideation.
January 29, 2026
The parts of this that I liked were little moments throughout in which the author really nailed a specific feeling, like being out at a bar late at night with friends when you’re young and everything is suddenly bright and magical, or how it feels to let all of your anger and stress dissolve into an incredible meal. Those sorts of experiences.
In some ways, main character Vicky is kind of relatable. But in others, she’s very frustrating. And that only intensified as the story continued. Her job at the urn company was interesting at first, but eventually I felt like it was encroaching too much on the rest of the story. Even so, not a lot happens in this book as far as plot until probably the last third or so, but I also wouldn’t call it a “just vibes” book, either.
There are empty conversations between characters that I didn’t want to be present for. (I don’t like meaningless small talk in real life, so I don’t enjoy it in books, either.) Another example would be the conference calls Vicky has to do for her job. And the ending felt melodramatic and over the top, especially given Vicky’s prior behavior. I mean, I know she’s struggling but I wasn’t buying it. It probably sounds mean to say that she came across as performative, but I’m going to say it anyway. (I’m being vague on purpose.) I understand why the POV switching was done for various chapters, but it felt uneven and disorienting.
I’m giving this one a 2.5 rounded up to 3. Parts of it that dealt with mental illness and addressed different sexualities felt real and capably explored. But the overall story and much of the scene work holding the chapters together didn’t keep me incredibly invested. I do have this author’s other book “Chlorine” waiting on my Kindle and I plan to read it when the weather gets warmer.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Please mind the triggers on this one, especially if Depression/Suicidal behavior is a no go for you.
Biggest TW: Disordered eating, Anxiety, Suicidal Ideation, Substance Abuse, Racism, Depression, Self-Harm
In some ways, main character Vicky is kind of relatable. But in others, she’s very frustrating. And that only intensified as the story continued. Her job at the urn company was interesting at first, but eventually I felt like it was encroaching too much on the rest of the story. Even so, not a lot happens in this book as far as plot until probably the last third or so, but I also wouldn’t call it a “just vibes” book, either.
There are empty conversations between characters that I didn’t want to be present for. (I don’t like meaningless small talk in real life, so I don’t enjoy it in books, either.) Another example would be the conference calls Vicky has to do for her job. And the ending felt melodramatic and over the top, especially given Vicky’s prior behavior. I mean, I know she’s struggling but I wasn’t buying it. It probably sounds mean to say that she came across as performative, but I’m going to say it anyway. (I’m being vague on purpose.) I understand why the POV switching was done for various chapters, but it felt uneven and disorienting.
I’m giving this one a 2.5 rounded up to 3. Parts of it that dealt with mental illness and addressed different sexualities felt real and capably explored. But the overall story and much of the scene work holding the chapters together didn’t keep me incredibly invested. I do have this author’s other book “Chlorine” waiting on my Kindle and I plan to read it when the weather gets warmer.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Please mind the triggers on this one, especially if Depression/Suicidal behavior is a no go for you.
Biggest TW: Disordered eating, Anxiety, Suicidal Ideation, Substance Abuse, Racism, Depression, Self-Harm
March 23, 2026
whatever girl, you could've just taken zoloft and gone to therapy instead of all that
April 21, 2026
im sure there is an unmedicated bisexual lady in bushwick who has a new favourite book after reading this
April 13, 2026
She will descend back into her nightmares, the visions that had her screaming awake when she was fifteen years old after the death of her grandfather, which had brought the realization that no matter how hard and how deeply she loves someone, they will still die. A childhood lesson: Love did not save. Love meant grief.
▴▴▴
i can understand disappointment with this book, especially after jade song's fantastically surreal debut, chlorine. but this is a solid work of depressive fiction, bleak but tinged with a dark sense of comedic irony.
it's about stumbling through life, chronically depressed and passively suicidal, sabotaging relationships with negativity and noncommunication. i can relate to many elements of the self destructive depression narrative, but that doesn't make this a compelling or enjoyable story - the stale murky shadow of depression is not a pleasant place to inhabit, and this book puts the reader in that space.
our queer protagonist, vicky, lives in an NYC chinatown apartment over a funeral parlor, and she works on the marketing team for a corporation that sells personalized urns. vicky is fixated on death, and there's insightful commentary on the death industry and the commodification of all the details of death and dying.
there's also excellent representation of the crushing contrast that exists when you're deeply depressed and trying to survive by working a job that demands enthusiasm. such exhaustion from putting on that friendly team player mask every day, when all you want to do is sink into your bed forever.
it's hard to be a good friend when you're in a bad mental space, and i was cringing while watching vicky's many missteps. she is avoidant and she continually resists recognizing that loving someone requires showing up for them, being real with them, reaching out, being there even when it's hard to do so.
ultimately this book is about friendship, love, and the way the people we surround ourselves with can make a painful existence worth enduring. the relatively healthy nonmonogamy rep is enormously refreshing!
i appreciate the themes and the messaging, but unfortunately the first two thirds of the book make for a middling experience. it's slow, filled with dreary inner monologues and dull conversations. but i saw what was coming, and i'm glad i saw it through - the final few chapters are worth the patience it takes to get there.
it ends with
May 7, 2026
[now]
4.5/5, rounded up.
I found this devastating and I think having the right expectations with it is somewhat key. For readers of Chlorine, don't go in expecting that tone at all, or horror vibes, or any speculative or ambiguous elements. This is literary fiction and it works well as what it is. I wanted to read it because of the non-monogamy mentioned in the synopsis and the fact that one character is a labor organizer and yeah, I had the vibes and I was right, because that's exactly where it shone for me.
But this is a very sad book, that with a piece of foreshadowing near the midpoint creates a very dense, blanketing dread. This is a book where two of the main characters are very depressed and the central character, Vicky, is pretty much obsessed with death. And I dig it. I needed it and it found me or we found each other. I thought the non-monogamy aspects were really sensitive and lovely and nuanced. From the beginning I loved that Vicky had a very non-normative view of relationships (non-hierarchical between friends and lovers), even if it somewhat stemmed from having commitment issues. I loved that basically all five main characters were on the queer spectrum and some of them were against labels, because labelling queer can be fucking annoying. A thing I would have wanted more of is the throuple aspect, I feel like it could have had more depth. However, I love a good, complicated, painful friendship, and the one between Vicky and Jen is gorgeous and it really hurt in some moments.
And then there's the labor aspect of it all. Vicky works in PR and her best friend Jen (or Jenn, sorry, I listened to it) in marketing sports 'stuff' (?!) and the sheer uselessness of those fields of work is beautifully revealed and explored within the novel. The utter dystopian shit of Vicky working for a company started by a nepo baby ex-actor, Ernie, a gay guy, who uses the multiple losses of people in his life to sell death in the form of disrupting the funeral industry is excellent and infuriating. At some point Vicky works on a limited release series of urns adorned with specific queer flags from the spectrum and it so well represents rainbow capitalism, but also the precarity of queer life and how present queer death is, accepted as normal.
And the novel does great with this aspect, and with precarity, even for people who have good jobs like Vicky and Jen, they still feel tied to their shitty jobs because of health care and try to buy into loving these jobs, to find meaning in them, leading to utter devastation for me, as the foreshadowed thing made me cry for like 10 minutes while listening.
Like I said, I wished that the couple made up of Angela (said labor organizer) and Kevin (artist) would have been even more fleshed out. Or their dynamic with Vicky, anyway. I still cared about them, though. And the non-monogamy was not toxic at all, woohoo! Fun fact, I also dated a couple for a short while (not more than a month, I don't think), and while that wasn't exactly toxic, it wasn't as nice as this.
[then]
Okay, I am super interested in this, the title reminds me of that line in 'Sorry, Baby' and the cover reminds me of me... And a throuple with an artist and a labor organizer sounds amazing, I will just be very miffed if the non-monogamy is toxic in this!
4.5/5, rounded up.
I found this devastating and I think having the right expectations with it is somewhat key. For readers of Chlorine, don't go in expecting that tone at all, or horror vibes, or any speculative or ambiguous elements. This is literary fiction and it works well as what it is. I wanted to read it because of the non-monogamy mentioned in the synopsis and the fact that one character is a labor organizer and yeah, I had the vibes and I was right, because that's exactly where it shone for me.
But this is a very sad book, that with a piece of foreshadowing near the midpoint creates a very dense, blanketing dread. This is a book where two of the main characters are very depressed and the central character, Vicky, is pretty much obsessed with death. And I dig it. I needed it and it found me or we found each other. I thought the non-monogamy aspects were really sensitive and lovely and nuanced. From the beginning I loved that Vicky had a very non-normative view of relationships (non-hierarchical between friends and lovers), even if it somewhat stemmed from having commitment issues. I loved that basically all five main characters were on the queer spectrum and some of them were against labels, because labelling queer can be fucking annoying. A thing I would have wanted more of is the throuple aspect, I feel like it could have had more depth. However, I love a good, complicated, painful friendship, and the one between Vicky and Jen is gorgeous and it really hurt in some moments.
And then there's the labor aspect of it all. Vicky works in PR and her best friend Jen (or Jenn, sorry, I listened to it) in marketing sports 'stuff' (?!) and the sheer uselessness of those fields of work is beautifully revealed and explored within the novel. The utter dystopian shit of Vicky working for a company started by a nepo baby ex-actor, Ernie, a gay guy, who uses the multiple losses of people in his life to sell death in the form of disrupting the funeral industry is excellent and infuriating. At some point Vicky works on a limited release series of urns adorned with specific queer flags from the spectrum and it so well represents rainbow capitalism, but also the precarity of queer life and how present queer death is, accepted as normal.
And the novel does great with this aspect, and with precarity, even for people who have good jobs like Vicky and Jen, they still feel tied to their shitty jobs because of health care and try to buy into loving these jobs, to find meaning in them, leading to utter devastation for me, as the foreshadowed thing made me cry for like 10 minutes while listening.
Like I said, I wished that the couple made up of Angela (said labor organizer) and Kevin (artist) would have been even more fleshed out. Or their dynamic with Vicky, anyway. I still cared about them, though. And the non-monogamy was not toxic at all, woohoo! Fun fact, I also dated a couple for a short while (not more than a month, I don't think), and while that wasn't exactly toxic, it wasn't as nice as this.
[then]
Okay, I am super interested in this, the title reminds me of that line in 'Sorry, Baby' and the cover reminds me of me... And a throuple with an artist and a labor organizer sounds amazing, I will just be very miffed if the non-monogamy is toxic in this!
March 23, 2026
this was very not good... I loved Chlorine and this was so hard to get through. boring, repetitive, immature characters.
thanks to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book
thanks to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book
April 19, 2026
I Love You Don’t Die by Jade Song follows a death-obsessed young woman navigating loneliness, fragile friendships, and complicated love. As she forms intense bonds, she struggles between connection and self-sabotage. Moving through grief and instability, she searches for meaning in relationships that sustain and unsettle her, confronting what it means to stay, to love, and to keep going.
This is very much a feelings-forward story. I Love You, Don’t Die sits in the aforementioned loneliness, and grief. Capturing especially well the awkward space of wanting connection but not knowing how to hold onto it. The main character feels familiar in a frustrating way, making choices that isolate her even as she yearns for closeness.
Some of the relationships in this book stick the landing; especially that of Vicky and Jen feels grounding, honest, and necessary. The romantic dynamic, though, feels underdone. It drifts in and out, which made it difficult for me to stay invested.
True to form, Jade Song writes weird stories with a soft, poetic edge. At its absolute best, I Love You, Don’t Die captures longing with precision. At its weakest, it circles the same ideas without adding depth. In my humble opinion, a tighter edit would have strengthened the impact. Still, at its core, this was a mostly thoughtful, introspective read with moments that stick, even if the full picture doesn’t totally come together.
I found that some of my friends across Goodreads and Fable opted to DNF this book. I never considered stepping away, even when the trajectory of the book felt frustrating. I loved Chlorine, and while I only liked I Love You, Don’t Die, I’ll still pick up Song’s next release.
Thank you to the publisher for sending an advance copy!
This is very much a feelings-forward story. I Love You, Don’t Die sits in the aforementioned loneliness, and grief. Capturing especially well the awkward space of wanting connection but not knowing how to hold onto it. The main character feels familiar in a frustrating way, making choices that isolate her even as she yearns for closeness.
Some of the relationships in this book stick the landing; especially that of Vicky and Jen feels grounding, honest, and necessary. The romantic dynamic, though, feels underdone. It drifts in and out, which made it difficult for me to stay invested.
True to form, Jade Song writes weird stories with a soft, poetic edge. At its absolute best, I Love You, Don’t Die captures longing with precision. At its weakest, it circles the same ideas without adding depth. In my humble opinion, a tighter edit would have strengthened the impact. Still, at its core, this was a mostly thoughtful, introspective read with moments that stick, even if the full picture doesn’t totally come together.
I found that some of my friends across Goodreads and Fable opted to DNF this book. I never considered stepping away, even when the trajectory of the book felt frustrating. I loved Chlorine, and while I only liked I Love You, Don’t Die, I’ll still pick up Song’s next release.
Thank you to the publisher for sending an advance copy!
August 11, 2025
This has been compared to Rooney and Moshfegh, to me this felt like a slightly darker Emily Austin with a deeply interior and depressed protagonist.
There’s a real heaviness to this especially when it comes to suicide and suicidal ideation so be wary if this is a triggering topic for you. Additionally, these characters are complex and very unlikeable which may be offputting to some.
It’s rare to see ace and poly representation in litfic and even bi rep is pretty limited so I enjoyed seeing this here. While there is romance here, friendship is at the front and center, explored at its best and worst.
I also liked the exploration of Vicky’s identity as a 3rd generation immigrant who is both othered by white America and disconnected from her Chinese heritage.
There was something almost dystopian about this book despite it being set in the present day. It feels satirical in how it digs into the despair of late stage capitalism and trying to survive as a creative. It offers a sharp critique on identity as a commodity or a market waiting to be unlocked.
I did enjoy this, and I’m glad I picked it up despite not really vibing with Chlorine.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
There’s a real heaviness to this especially when it comes to suicide and suicidal ideation so be wary if this is a triggering topic for you. Additionally, these characters are complex and very unlikeable which may be offputting to some.
It’s rare to see ace and poly representation in litfic and even bi rep is pretty limited so I enjoyed seeing this here. While there is romance here, friendship is at the front and center, explored at its best and worst.
I also liked the exploration of Vicky’s identity as a 3rd generation immigrant who is both othered by white America and disconnected from her Chinese heritage.
There was something almost dystopian about this book despite it being set in the present day. It feels satirical in how it digs into the despair of late stage capitalism and trying to survive as a creative. It offers a sharp critique on identity as a commodity or a market waiting to be unlocked.
I did enjoy this, and I’m glad I picked it up despite not really vibing with Chlorine.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Immature novel of sad queer-ish 20somethings living in New York, stymied by ethical living under capitalism. Hopefully the page long paragraphs of musings of death, capitalism, food, sadness, art, etc were a kindle formatting error because by the last 40% my eyes were glazing over each time I reached one. Definitely too earnest for satire, with each opinion justified in dense text. I don't even know what to do with the end.
The one nice thing- I read one night when I couldn't sleep so it was a fast read.
The one nice thing- I read one night when I couldn't sleep so it was a fast read.
April 2, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
This is a dark and emotional book that’s like peering into a dark coffin. It shows the true depth of 6 feet and could possibly put a gravedigger to shame. This story has so many relatable elements in it that you’re bound to find at least one piece you relate to or empathize with. I think this will resonate with anyone who identifies as:
-Queer
-Goth
-Alt
-Emo
and/or anyone who has struggled with:
-Grief/Loss
-Depression
-Anxiety
-Self Worth
-Their job
-Balancing love for yourself with love for others
This book did a wonderful job of balancing struggles and dark subjects with clever tones and witty tangents. I don’t have a ton of patience for characters who are super self piteous or what I may perceive as “whiny” and given the title one could assume this is one of those-but it’s not. This is well balanced. The main character Vicky is morbid and has some real struggles but her growth and strength are inspiring. This also covers some interesting cultural traditions and ties one of them into the plot in an almost touching and clever way. I think this is definitely worth the read especially if you identify with any of the above, enjoy a reflective and introspective read, or enjoyed this authors other book Chlorine.
⚰️”Grief is illuminating but brief.”
This is one of the fun witty tangents I mentioned and I think is worth highlighting:
🛁”The sort of tub an urban explorer might photograph shoved onto its side in an abandoned former tuberculosis sanitarium, overflowing with darkness in the shape of a million uncontrollable Susuwatari—those spiky black spherical soot-sprites in Spirited Away —though her Susuwatari would be neither cuddly nor helpful. Hers would be vomiting out of the bathtub in the form of anxious thoughts, unstable emotions, and depressive behavior.”
This is a dark and emotional book that’s like peering into a dark coffin. It shows the true depth of 6 feet and could possibly put a gravedigger to shame. This story has so many relatable elements in it that you’re bound to find at least one piece you relate to or empathize with. I think this will resonate with anyone who identifies as:
-Queer
-Goth
-Alt
-Emo
and/or anyone who has struggled with:
-Grief/Loss
-Depression
-Anxiety
-Self Worth
-Their job
-Balancing love for yourself with love for others
This book did a wonderful job of balancing struggles and dark subjects with clever tones and witty tangents. I don’t have a ton of patience for characters who are super self piteous or what I may perceive as “whiny” and given the title one could assume this is one of those-but it’s not. This is well balanced. The main character Vicky is morbid and has some real struggles but her growth and strength are inspiring. This also covers some interesting cultural traditions and ties one of them into the plot in an almost touching and clever way. I think this is definitely worth the read especially if you identify with any of the above, enjoy a reflective and introspective read, or enjoyed this authors other book Chlorine.
⚰️”Grief is illuminating but brief.”
This is one of the fun witty tangents I mentioned and I think is worth highlighting:
🛁”The sort of tub an urban explorer might photograph shoved onto its side in an abandoned former tuberculosis sanitarium, overflowing with darkness in the shape of a million uncontrollable Susuwatari—those spiky black spherical soot-sprites in Spirited Away —though her Susuwatari would be neither cuddly nor helpful. Hers would be vomiting out of the bathtub in the form of anxious thoughts, unstable emotions, and depressive behavior.”
March 18, 2026
I rarely DNF anything, but Jade Song’s first novel annoyed me so much that I abandoned it pretty quickly. I found I Love You, Don’t Die to be better, but still very whatever. It’s the type of book that relies on hammering in sassy, quirky takes on a theme (in this case, depression) to keep the reader’s interest, at the expense of actually having a message, developing the characters, or building a plot. I guess it’s just a 100% vibes book and 0% anything else.
‘Chlorine’ really annoyed me because it kept describing bulking as something obscene when it’s not that deep. You eat more to gain muscle, then you cut. The end. This is gym 101 stuff. In this book, it felt like a “stop making fetch happen” situation, because it just kept repeating things we’ve all already seen on Tumblr without developing anything. Anyway, this novel can be summed up with one sentence: “It doesn’t make you special to be sad.” That’s all it is. A sad girl trying to get everyone’s attention, featuring Tumblr/Pinterest-style sentences.
1.5 stars. Rounded up even though I was annoyed and I found the book very forgettable too.
ARC received for free. This hasn’t impacted my review.
‘Chlorine’ really annoyed me because it kept describing bulking as something obscene when it’s not that deep. You eat more to gain muscle, then you cut. The end. This is gym 101 stuff. In this book, it felt like a “stop making fetch happen” situation, because it just kept repeating things we’ve all already seen on Tumblr without developing anything. Anyway, this novel can be summed up with one sentence: “It doesn’t make you special to be sad.” That’s all it is. A sad girl trying to get everyone’s attention, featuring Tumblr/Pinterest-style sentences.
1.5 stars. Rounded up even though I was annoyed and I found the book very forgettable too.
ARC received for free. This hasn’t impacted my review.
March 27, 2026
TW!!!!! MENTAL HEALTH AND SELF UNALIVING
If you have any thoughts of self unaliving, suffer from depression and/or not “in a good frame of mind” I do NOT recommend going any where near this book. If I had read this book 15 years ago (it wasn’t even out yet, but that’s beside the point) I would’ve ended up in the hospital.
I am now more than ever in love with life and this books made me realize how much I’ve grown from when I used to suffer from severe depression.
Although these are strong topics that are discussed in within the book, they are very important to talk about. Very thankful that the author added different hotline numbers inside of the book.
If you have any thoughts of self unaliving, suffer from depression and/or not “in a good frame of mind” I do NOT recommend going any where near this book. If I had read this book 15 years ago (it wasn’t even out yet, but that’s beside the point) I would’ve ended up in the hospital.
I am now more than ever in love with life and this books made me realize how much I’ve grown from when I used to suffer from severe depression.
Although these are strong topics that are discussed in within the book, they are very important to talk about. Very thankful that the author added different hotline numbers inside of the book.
April 12, 2026
file under: books to tuck inside my ribcage
April 12, 2026
I’m so disappointed by this. It’s not that it’s a bad book or anything, but I loved Chlorine so much that this just didn’t live up to it. There was so much packed into this book—too many themes and theses—that I lost the thread almost before I even reached the middle section. I understand what it’s trying to say, and it’s interesting, but I found the book far too confusing when it came to what its main goal actually was.
April 9, 2026
i'm sure i would've loved this book if i were still eighteen and miserable, but alas!
April 1, 2026
In this story, we follow a girl and her search for meaning amongst a struggle with depression and a fascination with death. Vicky is a complicated character that I think people will either love her because they see themselves in her complexity- her messy, queer, polyamorous, and mostly avoidant relationships, her crippling depression that she's hindered by yet also fascinated with to the point of self-destruction, and her struggle between self-isolation and succumbing to her almost righteous, indignant nihilism, or choosing the difficult choice of community and all the selflessness that it encompasses. Or, they will look at her in a similar light to other notable "unlikable" characters such as the unnamed woman from My Year of Rest and Relaxation, or Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar. The seemingly selfish and greedy languish into a depression spiral at the expense of everyone around her.
Vicky's fascination and fixation on death as a concept (what happens to us after we die) or as a right of passage (her zhiza collection and interest in the death traditions of different cultures) and her desire to feel literally above the fear of death (even having an apartment above a funeral parlor in Chinatown) so that she can feel removed from the inevitable pain it will cause when she eventually loses someone she loves.
Vicky's friendship with Jen, her relationship with Angela, and even her relationship to her own heritage, all feel distant and one step removed from her. She struggles between wanting to connect so much with them, but also wanting to stay removed for the sake of staying safe.
This is a deeply dark and triggering novel about mental health. I'd recommend this to fans of Luster, Ripe, or My Year of Rest and Relaxation. But please look up trigger warnings!!
Vicky's fascination and fixation on death as a concept (what happens to us after we die) or as a right of passage (her zhiza collection and interest in the death traditions of different cultures) and her desire to feel literally above the fear of death (even having an apartment above a funeral parlor in Chinatown) so that she can feel removed from the inevitable pain it will cause when she eventually loses someone she loves.
Vicky's friendship with Jen, her relationship with Angela, and even her relationship to her own heritage, all feel distant and one step removed from her. She struggles between wanting to connect so much with them, but also wanting to stay removed for the sake of staying safe.
This is a deeply dark and triggering novel about mental health. I'd recommend this to fans of Luster, Ripe, or My Year of Rest and Relaxation. But please look up trigger warnings!!
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