Ali Hazelwood is a multipublished author—alas, of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. She recently became a professor, which absolutely terrifies her. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her two feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband). You can find Ali at AliHazelwood.com, on Twitter @EverSoAli, or on Instagram @AliHazelwood. You can find more of my reviews of Ali's works here.
As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships—but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was already going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor—and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. And when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding . . . six-pack abs. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.
Olive is, first and foremost, a hilarious narrator and main character. She is a third-year Ph.D. candidate who loves pumpkin spice everything, who loves rom-coms and other movies, and considers her friends her family. She is loyal and kind, and cares about her work so much that she runs herself into the ground to prove to herself she can succeed. I disagree with other reviewers that say we don't get to know her—it's her past we don't fully delve into, and that makes a huge statement to me that I believe is completely necessary for the book publishing industry: that characters do not and should not be defined by their pasts. Yes, Olive does share that she is studying pancreatic cancer because her mother died from it, and that she was alone during her formative years. But our look into her life currently, in the midst of grad school and during these two months when her main concern is protecting her friend and better understanding herself, is not defined by her childhood years. Our look into her life is defined by her present, and the ways her past interacts with her present in small, realistic ways, and I, for one, appreciated not getting bogged down by backstory and "my past" talks. It made for a much more enjoyable experience, because I got to know the characters on a personality and belief basis, rather than a factual one.
This book is very much defined by the tropes it uses, and its self-awareness of these tropes. The biggest trope is, of course, the fake-dating one—which is made even more hilarious by Olive's awareness of the trope itself. As an avid rom-com lover, she knows she has to set the ground rules, and follow them (to the best of her abilities . . . maybe). Yet, Hazelwood mixes in a few of our other favorites, including the Grumpy & Sunshine personality mix, a loose reworking of a workplace relationship, an ethical student and professor relationship, and "only-one-bed" anxiety. The way Olive is aware of these tropes makes for some pretty entertaining chapter openers, and for some hilarious interactions with her and Adam. This self-awareness also makes avid rom-com lovers (like myself) feel incredibly invested in the story, and in seeing the ways in which Hazelwood uses the tropes to further the story. Sometimes, it's fun to watch an author twist the tropes into something new; but other times, it's simply just fun and entertaining to watch the tropes play out exactly the way we want them to. Hazelwood definitely delivers here.
Not only does Hazelwood tackle the fake-dating trope, but she engages thoughtfully with serious conversations about academia, graduate school in general, and academic burnout. As a college student myself, I recognized a lot of my current academic stress imbued in Olive's character, even if her situation could objectively be described as 20x worse than mine. The conversations about academia in this book are necessary, and the depiction of academia is as authentic as I can imagine a depiction to be. Hazelwood doesn't gloss over the negatives of Olive's situation—she barely has any money to feed herself with; she hardly gets the sleep she needs; she is constantly on deadlines that are damn near impossible to reach. Yet, Olive's determination to continue her studies revolve around the first thing we learn about her: that she is searching for an answer only she believes she can find. Knowing this detail about her first makes it easier to understand why she is continuing to subject herself to this grueling environment. It also allows Hazelwood to avoid the romanticization of academia as a space—because not only is it exhausting, but is disgusting and dehumanizing. Being a woman in STEM, like Olive and Anh both are, means continuously pushing for more space and being thrown up against walls and disrespected and harassed. And yet, they persevere, if only to get the answers they have been forever searching for.
Another element of the story worth mentioning is Olive's sexuality. Never completely defined, Olive reveals to Adam and readers is that she thought something was wrong with her in college, and that she tried specific things that didn't work for her—all this to say, that she didn't have a label for the way she felt, but she suspects she's asexual and demisexual. No one that I've seen really touches on this, except to potentially criticize it. However, I appreciated the way Olive either didn't know the words, or didn't want to apply the labels to herself. How her sexuality goes undefined and unexplored definitely has both positive and negative effects, but I appreciated the lack of labeling because I think there is power in providing words to feelings that aren't labels. I feel like labels can sometimes reduce the feelings, especially since Olive's descriptions of her feelings were happening in a really intense moment. She hasn't found the power in labeling her feelings just yet, which is a totally valid experience to be having, and I really appreciate the way Hazelwood tackled this—to the point where I almost wish she'd expanded on this discussion just a bit further.
There is a single chapter preview of what looks to be Ali Hazelwood's next novel, Love on the Brain, which has expected publication in August 2022. I can't wait to read it, and everything else Hazelwood will (hopefully!) be writing! So, stay tuned for my review!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
Comments
Post a Comment