What do you think?
Rate this book
Don't You Miss It
Not yet published
Expected 20 Apr 27Three best friends from college, burning brightly on the cusp of adulthood, face a loss that tests and transforms them, in this bold, cathartic debut
Hannah, Vera, June, and Peyton have spent four years of college tying their lives into one happy, inextricable knot. They share secrets, fears, inside jokes, and elaborate traditions. They paper over one another’s flaws and challenge one another’s assumptions. Whatever comes their way after college, they know they'll face it together. But one fizzy spring night just before graduation, an unthinkable accident closes the door to that future. The group of four becomes three, who must now cross the threshold into a different adulthood than the one they’d imagined.
Set over the course of one pivotal summer, Don’t You Miss It moves propulsively between the lives of the three remaining girls as they navigate grief, pursue connection, and try to get their adult lives off the ground. One character discovers romance, a second falls out of love, and a third seeks dangerous distraction, all as the novel circles closer and closer to a bittersweet secret waiting to be exposed, a truth that will further transform them.
With a sharp, satisfying sense of humor, a jubilant depiction of young love (romantic and platonic), and a pitch-perfect ear for contemporary culture, Don’t You Miss It is a warm, infectious ode to friendship and a reminder that true connection with others is often how we come to know ourselves. Through her life-affirming story, author Julia Pike understands the bonds that keep us moving forward, even when what we really want, more than anything, is to go back.
Hannah, Vera, June, and Peyton have spent four years of college tying their lives into one happy, inextricable knot. They share secrets, fears, inside jokes, and elaborate traditions. They paper over one another’s flaws and challenge one another’s assumptions. Whatever comes their way after college, they know they'll face it together. But one fizzy spring night just before graduation, an unthinkable accident closes the door to that future. The group of four becomes three, who must now cross the threshold into a different adulthood than the one they’d imagined.
Set over the course of one pivotal summer, Don’t You Miss It moves propulsively between the lives of the three remaining girls as they navigate grief, pursue connection, and try to get their adult lives off the ground. One character discovers romance, a second falls out of love, and a third seeks dangerous distraction, all as the novel circles closer and closer to a bittersweet secret waiting to be exposed, a truth that will further transform them.
With a sharp, satisfying sense of humor, a jubilant depiction of young love (romantic and platonic), and a pitch-perfect ear for contemporary culture, Don’t You Miss It is a warm, infectious ode to friendship and a reminder that true connection with others is often how we come to know ourselves. Through her life-affirming story, author Julia Pike understands the bonds that keep us moving forward, even when what we really want, more than anything, is to go back.
- GenresFictionContemporary
416 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 20, 2027
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Read
November 4, 2026I really enjoyed this debut about female friendship that is true to life, heartfelt and real; and one that is beautifully written. It brought back all the complicated joy and heartache found in the deep bonds of early female friendships.
Four young women meet at college and form what they believe is an unbreakable bond, but when one of them dies suddenly, the remaining three go into free-fall, spinning away from each other, finding other loves and addictions, and uncovering secrets.
Four young women meet at college and form what they believe is an unbreakable bond, but when one of them dies suddenly, the remaining three go into free-fall, spinning away from each other, finding other loves and addictions, and uncovering secrets.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!
As someone who recently graduated college and is currently back at another college for my masters degree this hit hard🤧
Girl friendships are very sacred and I think this captured it very well.
As someone who recently graduated college and is currently back at another college for my masters degree this hit hard🤧
Girl friendships are very sacred and I think this captured it very well.
September 17, 2026
Um what? This was amazing and beautiful and perfect.
Honest, raw, and jarring, DON'T YOU MISS IT is a gorgeous paradox of what it's like to graduate from college. This book felt like an obsession and read like a love letter to female friendship. Everything you need to know is in the title: "Don't you miss it" in the sense of taking any and all opportunities that come your way in your early 20's, and "Don't you miss it" as in yearning for a time filled with the opportunity to learn and have everything within an arms reach.
Honest, raw, and jarring, DON'T YOU MISS IT is a gorgeous paradox of what it's like to graduate from college. This book felt like an obsession and read like a love letter to female friendship. Everything you need to know is in the title: "Don't you miss it" in the sense of taking any and all opportunities that come your way in your early 20's, and "Don't you miss it" as in yearning for a time filled with the opportunity to learn and have everything within an arms reach.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Four female friends studying at University together form an unbreakable bond that is mutually supportive, deeply affectionate and genuinely committed.
Then the unexpected loss of one of their number leads the other three to spiral into grief - and consequently, behaviours that are distracting and sometimes borderline unhealthy, if not downright self destructive.
This is a deeply emotional story about friendship and human connection, how we lose our way, and how we find a way back to each other. It easily gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Then the unexpected loss of one of their number leads the other three to spiral into grief - and consequently, behaviours that are distracting and sometimes borderline unhealthy, if not downright self destructive.
This is a deeply emotional story about friendship and human connection, how we lose our way, and how we find a way back to each other. It easily gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews