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Unprecedented Times
Not yet published
Expected 18 Aug 26Malavika Kannan establishes herself as the literary voice of Gen Z in this piercing coming-of-age narrative
Which comes experience or narrative? Rishi thinks she knows the answer as she arrives on campus for her first year at Stanford. Her narrative is set—she’s going to leave behind the strict trappings of her Indian-American childhood in Florida, embrace her queer identity, experiment with love, and write all about it. Within a few months, she gets a new tattoo, makes her first real best friend, falls in love with her un-labeled situationship, and even gets her heart broken. Rishi’s first semester Asian American Autofiction final practically writes itself.
What is not a part of Rishi’s plan, however, is the onset of the COVID pandemic. As the outside world becomes a terrifying place, she finds more and more solace in the friendships she’s made. In lieu of virtual college, Rishi and her classmates join a farm collective and grapple with America’s political situation and growing disillusionment…along with sexual tension and responsibility. It’s only when those relationships, too, start fracturing under the stress of careless decisions, unrequited crushes, jealousies, and, yes, the unprecedented times, that Rishi begins to question her own story.
Unprecedented Times captures the beauty, frustration, love, and pain that exists in relationships between best friends, between lovers, between mothers and daughters, and between storytellers and themselves. Malavika Kannan’s fresh, arresting novel captures the excitement and the terror of modern young adulthood through the eyes of an unforgettable, flawed, and lovable narrator.
Which comes experience or narrative? Rishi thinks she knows the answer as she arrives on campus for her first year at Stanford. Her narrative is set—she’s going to leave behind the strict trappings of her Indian-American childhood in Florida, embrace her queer identity, experiment with love, and write all about it. Within a few months, she gets a new tattoo, makes her first real best friend, falls in love with her un-labeled situationship, and even gets her heart broken. Rishi’s first semester Asian American Autofiction final practically writes itself.
What is not a part of Rishi’s plan, however, is the onset of the COVID pandemic. As the outside world becomes a terrifying place, she finds more and more solace in the friendships she’s made. In lieu of virtual college, Rishi and her classmates join a farm collective and grapple with America’s political situation and growing disillusionment…along with sexual tension and responsibility. It’s only when those relationships, too, start fracturing under the stress of careless decisions, unrequited crushes, jealousies, and, yes, the unprecedented times, that Rishi begins to question her own story.
Unprecedented Times captures the beauty, frustration, love, and pain that exists in relationships between best friends, between lovers, between mothers and daughters, and between storytellers and themselves. Malavika Kannan’s fresh, arresting novel captures the excitement and the terror of modern young adulthood through the eyes of an unforgettable, flawed, and lovable narrator.
- GenresAdult
352 pages, Paperback
Expected publication August 18, 2026
192 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 29, 2025
I hope you like it!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
An engrossing page-turner of a semi-autobiographical novel involving a group of friends who meet at Stanford and navigate their lives before , during and after the Covid Pandemic. They ar queer, biracial, have different attitudes and interests, but shared experiences and their ability to communicate with each other keeps the bonds strong.
The protagonist goes through a sexual and platonic awakening involving her roommate, fellow classmates, and once Stanford goes on lockdown and a few members of the group retreat to a farm commune, she briefly becomes involved with the commune''s leader.
There is much drama, switching of alliances and sexual partners, eventually each person moving to where their heart feels most challenged and/or comfortable.
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.
The protagonist goes through a sexual and platonic awakening involving her roommate, fellow classmates, and once Stanford goes on lockdown and a few members of the group retreat to a farm commune, she briefly becomes involved with the commune''s leader.
There is much drama, switching of alliances and sexual partners, eventually each person moving to where their heart feels most challenged and/or comfortable.
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.
Want to read
November 17, 2025wait, is this fucking play about us (a queer Asian kid who attended a bay area college before and during the pandemic)? 😭
this is DEFINITELY a need
this is DEFINITELY a need
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews