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JANUARY
2025

Welcome, book-clubbers, to a brand new year of reviews! We are ringing in 2025 with a firecracker of a book; the compelling More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova.

 

*cue fireworks*

 

Already a household name with notable titles such as Still Alice and Inside the O'Briens, I couldn't have been more excited to read the latest novel from Lisa Genova and it is an excellent choice for the start of what will no doubt be a chaotic year. Told over the course of 18 months, we follow the life of Maddy Banks, a college freshman at New York University who receives a life-changing diagnosis.

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After a rough start of being dumped by her toxic high school boyfriend (a finance bro in the making), Maddy is buckling under the pressure of her studies and family expectations to choose a secure career path like her 'perfect' brother and sister.

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One particularly bad decision though sees Maddy's fresh heartbreak and loneliness spiral into a severe depression she feels is impossible to overcome. When prescribed anti-depressants however, Maddy transforms into an over-eager, straight-A student who requires only three hours sleep, very little food and finds infinite joy through the lyrics of Taylor Swift (don't we all?).

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Unfortunately, admiration turns into obsessive and psychotic delusions that result in Maddy's hospitalisation and diagnosis of bipolar 1; a serious mental illness whom her absent father's past erratic behaviour fits.

This diagnosis radically changes Maddy's life as her treatment is made #1 priority which means regular medication with less than ideal side effects, therapy and taking leave from college to live under the watchful eye of her mother.

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Maddy's constant alienation from her family grows as her disorder puts her through the same dangerous cycle again and again. A good mood escalates into euphoria and triggers a month-long manic episode, resulting in another hospitalisation and depression.

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Her one distraction from the monotony and brain fog of medication is writing stand-up comedy; an outlet her family see only as a risk and doomed to end in failure both financially and for Maddy's long-term health.

The tightrope Maddy must walk is wire-thin as she monitors herself for signs she is losing control while hiding her disorder from her peers and audiences. With each personal victory, comes a frustration and emotional exhaustion that is keenly felt as Maddy's connection to who she wants to be is hindered by a hard and unfair reality.

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While More or Less Maddy is a work of fiction, Lisa Genova has delivered an empathic and insightful account of a complicated mental disorder that (much like OCD) is still widely misunderstood and not without stigma. With the author's background in neuroscience, her intensive research and skill as a writer, it is no wonder Maddy's story feels as accessible and heartfelt as if it were a biography. 

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The eventual strength Maddy finds in sharing who she is with her audience is particularly moving, as well as the evolving relationship with her mother and sister.

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Both a dizzying and satisfying read, I can't help but hope that More or Less Maddy finds its way on the small screen (come on Netflix series!).

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SIMILAR TITLES

 

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

No.1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult brings to life the woman many believe was the real playwright behind the work of William Shakespeare alongside a contemporary story of a New York author suffering the same fate of being silenced.

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Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

A witty, profound and painfully relatable debut novel exploring solitude, desire, and the allure of chasing something that promises nothing.

 

Honey by Isabel Banta

A coming-of-age story that follows a pop star as she skyrockets to fame during the Y2K era.

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Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz

An extraordinary, unputdownable debut novel exploring trauma, connection, and our cultural obsession with dead girls.

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All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenbourg

An unforgettable novel of family secrets from New York Times bestselling author of The Middlesteins.

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The Children by Ann Leary

From New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary comes the charming and captivating story of a wealthy - but entirely unconventional - family.

 

My Mess is a Bit of a Life by Georgia Pritchett

This memoir, told in gloriously comic vignettes, is an utterly joyful reflection on living - and sometimes thriving (sometimes not) - with anxiety.​

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RESOURCES

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EXTRACT

READING 
GROUP NOTES

Download reading group notes for your book club.

A LITTLE SOMETHING

Check out this lovely author letter from Lisa Genova herself!

SEE LAST MONTH'S PICK

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Want more book recs? We got you! See what Em chose last month.

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