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F.it
James Anderson is a teenager and a high school senior, exhausted by expectations and staring down a future he cannot see or plan for. Everyone wants answers from teachers, parents, friends, and his ex-girlfriend. But all he has is a fog thick enough to choke on. So he falls back on the only philosophy that makes sense f*ck it.
One wild night turns into a chain parties, mistakes, heartbreak, and a girl on a balcony who feels like both trouble and clarity. Caught between who he was and who he might become, James is pulled into the messiest and most exhilarating year of his life.
As friendships strain, consequences stack, and love collapses and reforms in unexpected ways, James has to decide whether f*ck it is freedom or just another way of running from himself.
Raw, intimate, and sharply funny, F.it is a coming-of-age story about pressure, escape, and the terrifying possibility of choosing your own path.
One wild night turns into a chain parties, mistakes, heartbreak, and a girl on a balcony who feels like both trouble and clarity. Caught between who he was and who he might become, James is pulled into the messiest and most exhilarating year of his life.
As friendships strain, consequences stack, and love collapses and reforms in unexpected ways, James has to decide whether f*ck it is freedom or just another way of running from himself.
Raw, intimate, and sharply funny, F.it is a coming-of-age story about pressure, escape, and the terrifying possibility of choosing your own path.
413 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 27, 2025
4 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Smith
1 book2 followersFormer teacher, cigarette swirler by aesthetic, Guinness enthusiast by devotion. I’m drawn to stories fuelled by youth, existential grit, rebellion, disillusionment and the kind of characters who spiral beautifully while trying to figure out who they are.
I love rugby and spend most weekends yelling at games, despite a playing career generously described as below mid. When I’m not writing, I’m in the ocean hoping it fixes me, or standing on top of a small Cape Town hill pretending it was a real summit.
I love rugby and spend most weekends yelling at games, despite a playing career generously described as below mid. When I’m not writing, I’m in the ocean hoping it fixes me, or standing on top of a small Cape Town hill pretending it was a real summit.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 25, 2025
This book is a comforting, easy read that makes you want to go back in time and give your younger self a big warm hug, and let them know that they're going to be okay!
Once finished, you'll find yourself returning to the story in order to truly understand the complexity of the characters.
Once finished, you'll find yourself returning to the story in order to truly understand the complexity of the characters.
December 27, 2025
PHYSICAL: A fantastic debut novel by South African author, J.M. Smith is a teen drama, historical fiction - sharing a glimpse of a teens life during 2011.
Having lived through the era of reckless “fuck it moments” myself, around about the same age as James Anderson was during the set scene in the book - I can say with honest truth, I was taken back in time. The details of the memories were incredible.
The MMC feels like someone I know, someone I knew, someone I can be best friends with, someone you’d want to experience life with, someone to look up to, while they are following their dream - even when it goes against the grain.
J.M. Smith has written and edited the storyline with such intent! Each chapter has been created to pace you with the characters heads space and energy.
I laughed. I got angry. I cried (uncontrollably). A true 5 star read!
Having lived through the era of reckless “fuck it moments” myself, around about the same age as James Anderson was during the set scene in the book - I can say with honest truth, I was taken back in time. The details of the memories were incredible.
The MMC feels like someone I know, someone I knew, someone I can be best friends with, someone you’d want to experience life with, someone to look up to, while they are following their dream - even when it goes against the grain.
J.M. Smith has written and edited the storyline with such intent! Each chapter has been created to pace you with the characters heads space and energy.
I laughed. I got angry. I cried (uncontrollably). A true 5 star read!
December 31, 2025
I have found my new favorite anti-hero in James. I laughed at his ridiculousness, cried at his vulnerability, was angry at him, but also wanted to hug him as he wobbled his way through his story.
What a rollercoaster of a ride this read was!
I had to stop reading a few times because of the sentence gems in the writing - you know those sentences that just stop you in your tracks and you have to surface from your immersion in the story to let them sink in? This book is so well written. It’s not a story it’s a journey.
Definitely my favorite book of the year. I will be reading it again because it’s that good. I will also be keeping a close eye out for another by this author. What a debut novel. What a talented writer. Well worth the five stars. Pity there aren’t more to give.
What a rollercoaster of a ride this read was!
I had to stop reading a few times because of the sentence gems in the writing - you know those sentences that just stop you in your tracks and you have to surface from your immersion in the story to let them sink in? This book is so well written. It’s not a story it’s a journey.
Definitely my favorite book of the year. I will be reading it again because it’s that good. I will also be keeping a close eye out for another by this author. What a debut novel. What a talented writer. Well worth the five stars. Pity there aren’t more to give.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews