Pick of the Week: Dear Emma

Emma has it all together. She doles out perfect advice in a weekly column in the college newspaper. She knows when to tell you to break up with him or when to confront your roommate about unspoken issues.

Harriet is a whole different story. Harriet is a college junior juggling school, work, boys, and friends. She tries her best, but the results often end up messy, complicated, and with a whole lot of Facebook stalking.

Harriet is clearly nothing like Emma. She isn’t decisive. She isn’t perfect. But Harriet is Emma. Harriet writes the Dear Emma column for her college newspaper. Katie Heaney’s new novel Dear Emma follows the journey of Harriet and her column during the spring semester of her junior year when life begins to unravel. Heaney creates the perfect blend of Dear Abby and the complex Facebook dating world of a college junior throughout the narrative. Dear Emma is infused with themes of its namesake, Jane Austen’s Emma, while also dealing head-on with the often humorous and complicated aspects of Facebook and texting etiquette required in today’s world. Heaney is no stranger to the world of the interwebs; she’s a senior editor for Buzzfeed and frequent contributor elsewhere.

Another thing makes Dear Emma a good read for right now: it takes place in Illinois during the spring. There’is just something special about being able to track the season and time with the narrator. If you’re looking for a fun and timely read, check out Dear Emma today.