Publishers Weekly
06/03/2024
Dawson debuts with a heartfelt story of a bisexual woman trying to recapture her spark while dealing with a toxic workplace and memories of abuse. Charlotte Thorne, 27, toils as the executive assistant to the CEO of a tech magazine who strings her along with empty promises of a promotion. She’s excited to reunite with her friends at an alumni weekend retreat at Heim University, which provided a haven from her homophobic mother when Charlotte was a student there. After arriving at the university, however, she sees her abusive ex-boyfriend, Ben Mead, whose presence “turned campus into a haunted house of repressed trauma.” Thankfully, her best friend and former roommate—with whom Charlotte formed a group of fellow “alienated queer kids”—is bunking with her for the weekend. When another of her exes flirts with her, Charlotte is enchanted by his invitation to “go back in time,” prompting her to consider the spectrum of her experiences at Heim with a “color wheel” of emotions ranging from “charcoal gray shame” to the “vein-blood blue of being alive.” The prose can be clunky, but Dawson brings Charlotte’s pain and passion to vivid life. It’s a worthy addition to the shelf of campus novels. Agent: Jamie Carr, Book Group. (June)
From the Publisher
Praise for But How Are You, Really
“Where to read it: On your alma mater’s freshly mowed lawn. . . . A quintessentially millennial take on the return-to-campus novel, told with equal parts sensitivity and self-deprecation.”
–Elle, “The Best New Books to Read This Summer”
“It’s the perfect summer read for the girlies who pay taxes and pluck chin hairs but somehow still don’t feel like adults.”
–Betches
“To find out that [Dawson has] written a novel that encapsulates an especially fraught era—a 27-year-old media worker’s five-year college reunion weekend—is the book equivalent of an autoclick.”
–Paste, "Most Anticipated Books of 2024"
"Dawson brings Charlotte's pain and passion to vivid life. It's a worthy addition to the shelf of campus novels."
–Publishers Weekly
“Dawson’s lively debut features a diverse and relatable cast of characters with realistic issues that will be immediately recognizable to young millennials and Gen Zers. It’s both a celebration of the uniqueness of the college years and a testament to the struggles new graduates face in the ‘real world’.”
–Booklist
"Ella Dawson's But How Are You, Really lives in my chest as a deep, aching blue. The whole time I was reading I had that expansive feeling like I could cry at any moment — for sadness at some of what Charlotte has been through, but also for the sheer joyful triumph of watching Charlotte with her supportive friend group, her creative awakening as an artist, her hot and tender second chance with the love she wasn't ready for back in college. Sharply funny and observant, But How Are You, Really managed to make me nostalgic for places I've never been and people I've never met. It is easily one of the best books I've read in a long time."
–Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of With Love, from Cold World
"But How Are You, Really reminds us with humor and grace that growing up isn't something that happens all at once, but sloppily, gradually, beautifully. Dawson has a tender eye for detail, renders Charlotte and her world relatable, heartbreaking shades. A wonderful book that will have you aching for every one of your past selves."
–Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of Pizza Girl
“Part journey to self-love, part love letter to college and chosen family, But How Are You, Really vividly captures the highs and lows of post-grad life. Dawson's debut is emotional and nostalgic, introspective and romantic, featuring a beloved cast of characters who come alive on the page.”
–Carola Lovering, author of Tell Me Lies and Bye, Baby
"Moving, sexy, and painfully relatable, Ella Dawson deftly captures that lost and longing feeling we all experience in our twenties, particularly when faced with the ghosts of our past selves. Set at a college reunion, But How Are You, Really is a story of second chances and rediscovering one's self that will have you cringing, crying, and nodding in recognition. I absolutely adored it."
–Genevieve Wheeler, author of Adelaide
"Ella Dawson knows sexy angst and this book has it. It’s a throwback full of funny characters, nuanced realistic heartbreak, and the power of recovery and friendship. Come for the hot sex, stay for the catharsis. Is it possible to craft a perfect 2018 period piece? Ella’s done it."
–Gabe Dunn, New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Everyone But You
“But How Are You, Really is a delight to the senses. Dawson displays biting humor and poignant storytelling in a book that is shameless in all the best ways.“
–Andie J. Christopher, USA Today bestselling author
