My Hot Friend by Sophie White. No Advance Reader Copy included. No affiliate links were used. Read my full disclosure policy here.
‘What am I like? She repeated silently.
What am I like? What am I like?
It’s happening again. It’s not. It’s not.
It’s happening again. I’ll never be free of this.’
I started reading Sophie White’s latest novel, My Hot Friend when my pre-order arrived in May. I had to force myself to put it down and go to sleep. Yet, as the story progressed, my sense of dread and recognition grew, and I needed to walk away from the novel for a while. Contrary to how that sounds, I mean it as a compliment. White’s depiction of bipolar disorder is so realistic that watching Claire’s mental health spiral made me remember my hypomanic episodes. As much of them as are rememberable, anyway!
I picked it up again because it’s this month’s Tired Mammy Book Club choice, and I am so glad I did because I loved it. It’s the best depiction of bipolar I’ve read in fiction. I nodded along as Claire second-guessed herself. Her inner monologue about whether she was keeping on top of her medication and getting enough sleep was so familiar. I understood the warped logic that had Claire insist that she was perfectly fine when it was increasingly obvious that she wasn’t. I felt Claire’s realisation that everything was not, in fact, okay deep in my bones.
But what about the plot? Claire hasn’t heard from her friends in a while, and the group chat is suspiciously quiet, which can only mean one thing — they’ve set up a new WhatsApp group without her. Lexi co-hosts the popular Your Hot Friend podcast with her best friend Amanda — but between the semi-regular online cancellations and the increasing fame, is the podcast worth ruining their friendship? Joanne is struggling with the change in friendship dynamics since she had her son — neither her friends nor her boyfriend understands how lonely she is because she cannot simply drop everything for impromptu drinks anymore.
As their lives intersect in ways that only Sophie White could make sound even remotely plausible, each woman must figure out which relationships are worth saving. I’ve focused on Claire’s storyline because it impacted me the most. But Lexi and Joanne are relatable characters even if their specific circumstances aren’t.
Have I mentioned how hilarious My Hot Friend is? It shouldn’t be given much of the subject matter. But I appreciate that Sophie White handles difficult topics with dark humour. I had tears streaming down my face from laughing just as much as I did from the novel’s more devastating scenes.
How do you sum up a book like My Hot Friend? With words that ordinarily wouldn’t make sense together. It is poignant. It is also heart-warming. It’s funny. It is also heartbreaking. Sophie White brilliantly examines female friendships, online culture, and mental illness. A must-read!
Also, someone must make the “I’m sorry for what I did when I was manic” merch happen! I could do with more than a few apology cards and a t-shirt.
My Hot Friend by Sophie White is published by Hachette Books Ireland, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. My Hot Friend is available in trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
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