by Sophie Kemp
First published 2025
Reality Kahn knows her destiny. At twenty-three, she will become the greatest girlfriend of all time. She makes zines, studies to be a notary, and stars in waterslide commercials on the Eastern Seaboard. Reality takes guidance from Girlfriend Weekly, an ancient ladies magazine that sends her messages from beyond. At a Gowanus punk venue called Paradise, she meets Ariel and claims him as her boyfriend. Reality throws herself into winning his eternal love. She enrolls in Dr. Zweig Altmann's clinical trial designed to create perfect girlfriends. She films new commercials and masters the art of hosting. But Reality discovers that willpower and an open heart cannot guarantee true love. Ariel betrays her trust. Her commercial agent Jethro proves unreliable. Dr. Altmann reveals his own agenda. Reality's quest becomes a surreal spiral through a world where authentic love seems impossible under patriarchal control.
Genres: literary-fiction, feminist-theory, contemporary, social-issues, comedy, surreal
Vibes: absurdist, bittersweet, darkly-comedic, introspective, surreal, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, disillusionment, obsessive-love, self-discovery, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Gowanus, Eastern Seaboard, Paradise
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
256 pages · Paperback
Content warnings: emotional-abuse, gaslighting, toxic-relationship