Percy has admired Joe from afar since the moment she laid eyes on him in college. He’s the aloof cool dude, which is attractive, sure, but from the moment they first interact, she realizes they click musically in a magical way. They finish each other’s sentences. They make each other better. But Percy doesn’t just like working with him, she likes him. It is a fee yearning that’s not fully reciprocated because “we don’t want to ruin our awesome working relationship, right?” And so begins years of back and forth that takes us from the Berkeley campus to NYC and back to San Francisco at the dawn of the millennium.
As someone just a few years younger than the main characters, this was ultimate nostalgia. Brickley perfectly captures what it was like to watch the wave of digital take over media – Percy’s big girl job felt right on the money. And what it felt like to be young and sooo knowledgeable about a niche of pop culture and people JUST DON’T GET IT. (They do, but when we’re 20, we’re a tinge myopic.) Brickley also portrayed these music douches just like they are. That was never my crew, and this book shows why. I have to admit, the on and off nature of Percy and Joe’s relationship was a real turnoff. The way he treated her was realistic, but I would never have put up with his nonsense for as long as she did. And, as an outsider, kinda think their “happy ending” came too quickly and is doomed.
4 out of 5 stars.
Pair with: Miller High Life
Peaches to Apples 