by David Levithan (with songs by Jens Lekman)
First sentence: “Let’s start at the urinal.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy given to me by my co-worker who needed someone to read it.
Release date: August 5, 2025
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It will be in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

J, a Swedish singer-songwriter, has accidentally gotten into the wedding singer business. He doesn’t really mind: it was a song of his that inspired the first request, and he likes writing songs for couples getting married and then performing at their weddings. Especially since he can usually get his girlfriend, V, to come along. He’s happy. Or, at least he thinks so. Then, V’s job takes her on an extended trip to New York City, and suddenly J’s life is upended. He’s unmoored. He wants his life back as he knew it, and V’s not willing – or able – to give J what he wants. And so, their relationship slowly dissolves.

I wanted to like this one more than I actually ended up liking it. It was… fine. I liked it enough to finish it, but I’m not sure what Levithan was getting at – exploring what happens when a relationship falls apart, not because of some grand tragic event, but because two people just go in different directions – was that compelling. I didn’t particularly like J or V (or the fact that they didn’t have names, when everyone else in the book did), and I didn’t particularly care for their story.

I am curious about the songs, though, so I may listen to whatever playlist Lekman cooks up when the book actually comes out. But, honestly: that may be the only thing I truly like about this book.