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Hello again, dear friends! I hope all is well, and if not I hope brighter days head your way soon! So, friends, I've been a fan of Charli XCX since I was in high school (almost 12 years ago *cringes*), so I'm really happy to see she's having a moment this summer with the release of her latest album, BRAT. So, naturally, what better way to celebrate in these here parts of the bookish internet than to recommend books for what has come to be termed as "brat summer"?
But before anything definitions! What is "brat," you ask? Per Charli XCX herself:
You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like, parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.
So then what is a book that is brat? To me, a book that is brat is a book that focuses on a "messy" woman ("messy" word counter starts now 😅) in a relatively insightful way so as to focus as much on her humanity as her flaws. So, with that said, let's dive right into the recommendations!
everything i know about love by dolly alderton
✿ What It's About: In this whirling memoir about her young life, Dolly Alderton recounts finding her way into parties, jobs, friendships, romances, and ultimately, love.
♥ Why It's Brat: Alderton's memoir is quite beloved for discussing the general messiness that is being a young woman in your twenties. From getting wasted at parties to misguided hook-ups to realizing that your friends might be the real loves of your life, Everything I Know About Love confesses it all. But what comes with the confessions is also a great sense of compassion and love for being a young woman. If you're a girly in your twenties who feels she's lost herself in the middle of the muddle that is life, Everything I Know About Love just might help you find yourself again.
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
daisy jones & the six by taylor jenkins reid
✿ What It's About: In this riot of a fiction novel, the band members of The Six and notorious singer Daisy Jones recall all of the sex, drugs, and rock n' roll filled events leading up to the infamous implosion of the group.
♥ Why It's Brat: If you want "messy party girl" but rock n' roll flavored, Daisy Jones & The Six has you covered! Yet at the same time, this novel is also a roaring celebration of womanhood, of finding yourself as a woman and ultimately knowing who you are and exactly what you're worth. All of the women in Daisy Jones & The Six are raw, flawed, and, above all, deeply complex, and Reid writes their stories with compassion for both them and their experiences.
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
emma by jane austen
✿ What It's About: Believeing herself to be an excellent matchmaker, self-absorbed Emma Woodhouse meddles in the lives of her neighbors and friends to disasterous ends.
♥ Why It's Brat: Emma Woodhouse is perhaps Austen's messiest heroine, with her flaws on full display throughout Emma. Nevertheless, by the end of the novel she does manage to learn the error of her ways and find love along the way. Emma is probably the closest thing the literature of the early 1800s has to Charli XCX's concept of "brat." She does say dumb things, she does feel herself but "also has a breakdown." If you're looking for brat, in both the traditional sense and the Charli XCX sense, lemme tell ya: that's Emma Woodhouse for you!
☛ Purchase: Bookshop
conversations with friends by sally rooney
✿ What It's About: Two young women in college form an entanglement with a married couple.
♥ Why It's Brat: There's nothing messier than "an entanglement" (as Jada Pinkett-Smith once called her affair), and this one promises to be particularly interesting. Rooney is known for her pointed observations of humanity as much as she is known for her Marxist leanings (leanings we are fully on board with around these parts!), and Conversations with Friends seems as interesting and insightful as the rest of her books are. The brattiness of Rooney's wor comes in its honest reflection of human flaws, and I, for one, am here for it (hence how Conversations with Friends made its way onto my TBR)!
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
wordslut: a feminist guide to taking back the english language by amanda montell
✿ What It's About: With sparkling wit, sociolinguist Amanda Montell reveals the ways the English language has been used to reinforce patriarchy and how women can reclaim the language for themselves.
♥ Why It's Brat: Is the word "brat" in and of itself a patriarchal linguistic construct and is Charli XCX really reclaiming it successfully? I don't know the answer to those questions, but reading Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back The English Language might get me just a tad closer to figuring it out. In a delightfully engaging conversationsal style, Amanda Montell brilliantly explains the intersection of gender and sociolinguistics in a down-to-earth, easy to understand way.
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
yellowface by r.f. kuang
✿ What It's About: When June Hayward's writer frenemy dies, June decides to steal her frenemy's incredible Asian-focused #OwnVoices manuscript, take a racially ambiguous photo, and pass herself off as "June Song," fully attempting to masquerade as an Asian author. What ensues is chaos of literary proportions.
♥ Why It's Brat: June Hayward isn't just "messy," she's straight up not a good person. Yet despite having a main character who is, for all intents and purposes, "the bad guy," Yellowface is far from a bad novel. A scathing critique of racism in the publishing industry at all levels, this novel hits every high note whilst its main character hits every foor on the way down to Hell.
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
the woman in me by britney spears
✿ What It's About: You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn't think they know the infamous life story of pop superstar Britney Spears, but with this memoir Britney reclaims her narrative and delves into the realities of her chaotic life.
♥ Why It's Brat: As a child in the early naughties, I watched Britney Spears' life implode in realtime whilst tabloids tore the superstar apart for any and every small thing. As a young woman I saw the #FreeBritney movement come to a head as Britney finally managed to escape the abusive conservatorship she had been forced into. Finally, with this The Woman in Me on my TBR, I'm looking forward to hearing Britney's side of it all. With this memoir, Britney boldly retakes her narrative, and re-shapes the public's understanding of her and her harrowing life.
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
bright young women by jessica knoll
✿ What It's About: Inspired by the real life murders committed by Ted Bundy, this novel reimagines the story of sorority sisters and several other women whose lives collide with the killer's.
♥ Why It's Brat: I never got into the true crime craze (although I did have a phase of using Dateline as background noise while doing homework as an IB student in high school...which I don't recommend if you want to be super productive...) so I've never been fascinated by Ted Bundy in the way that some people seem to be. That said, this book sounds so interesting me, as the author's apparent goal was to point out Ted Bundy wasn't the extraordinary one in that case, the bright young women he murdered were. I'm also hoping this book may show that no matter how "messy" or "bright" someone is, they never deserve death. Regardless, Bright Young Women is sure to be read that is in turns twisty and tragic.
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
down the drain by julia fox
✿ What It's About: The iconic Julia Fox recounts the wild whirlwind of her life in this riot of a memoir.
♥ Why It's Brat: Do you ever find yourself singing the line from Charli XCX's "360" that goes, "I'm everywhere, I'm so Julia," and find yourself wondering, "Wait. Who the fuck is Julia?!"? If so, then this book is here to help you, as it's the memoir of infamous icon Julia Fox, who that line from "360" is actually in reference to. In Down The Drain, Julia recounts the batshit wild tale of her life, talking everything from drug-dealing boyfriends to being a dominatrix.
☛ Purchase: Bookshop | Libro.fm
So that's all for today, dear friends! I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe found a few good book recommendations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a very bookish brat summer to continue enjoying! Ta ta for now!
spill the beans, friends!
- Do you enjoy Charli XCX's music?
- What books do you feel embody "brat summer"?
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