Worry

by Alexandra Tanner
Worry cover
Good Books rating 4.0
Contemporary Fiction
Technical:
  • ID: 458
  • Added: 2025-09-11
  • Updated: 2025-09-12
  • ISBN: 9781668018613
  • Publisher: Simon and Schuster
  • Published: 2024-03-26
  • Reviews: 4

Set in 2019 Brooklyn, "Worry" follows sisters Jules and Poppy Gold as they become roommates for the first time since childhood. Jules, an anxious, frustrated wannabe writer, and Poppy, recovering from a suicide attempt and battling chronic hives, confront their intertwined struggles with mental health, family dysfunction, and the chaotic world around them. Their dynamic is marked by sharp sibling rivalry, dark humor, and a search for meaning amid internet obsessions and a toxic family environment. As the year unfolds, the sisters face a disastrous trip home to Florida and the looming uncertainty of a new decade. Their relationship—comrades, competitors, and constant fixtures in each other's lives—is tested as they grapple with their identities, their mother's descent into conspiracy theories, and the presence of a maladjusted rescue dog named Amy Klobuchar. Ultimately, "Worry" is a darkly funny and poignant exploration of sisterhood, love, and the challenge of finding connection in a fractured world.

Reviews
mysidepieceblog.com · Jamie McCormick · 2024-06-23
compelling 4.50

The book vividly captures the overwhelming anxiety and dread of modern life through the lens of two sisters, blending humor and discomfort in a compelling literary experience.

Jamie McCormick describes Worry as a literary embodiment of doomscrolling, reflecting the relentless anxiety and existential dread of contemporary life. The novel made the reviewer laugh and squirm, provoking deep reflection on personal relationships with technology, consumerism, and social comparison. McCormick found the book unputdownable, praising its raw honesty and its ability to engage readers emotionally while confronting the pervasive sense of a collapsing world. The review appreciates Tanner’s skill in portraying the sisters’ struggles with authenticity and humor, making the story relatable especially for readers familiar with internet culture and millennial anxieties. The book’s impact lies in its uncomfortable yet captivating depiction of living in uncertain times, making it one of the best reads of the year for the reviewer.

Quick quotes

    This book was a doom scroll brought to life.

    I laughed a little. I squirmed a lot.

    It made me think about my relationship with technology. And 'buying stuff.' And following accounts 'ironically' only to get sucked into the endless void of content.

Reading, Writing, and Me · 2024-04-12
intimate 3.50

The novel offers an intimate, interior look at two sisters bonded by family struggles and anxiety, with a focus on their complex, sometimes fraught relationship.

This review emphasizes the novel's intense focus on the internal lives of the two sisters, Jules and Poppy, who are deeply connected yet not close in a conventional sense. It highlights how the book explores their navigation of life together amid anxiety and family messiness, portraying a realistic and raw sibling dynamic. The reviewer appreciates the depth given to the sisters, noting that other characters are less developed, which keeps the narrative tightly centered on their emotional journey. The reviewer rates the book moderately positively, recognizing its strengths in character dimension and the honest depiction of mental health struggles. Though the book may not be broadly expansive in scope, its exploration of the sisters' relationship and personal challenges resonates as authentic and thoughtfully rendered.

Quick quotes

    This is a very interior book, and the two sisters are the only characters that really have much dimension.

    Jules and Poppy are not the kind of sisters that are best friends, but they are inextricably linked as the only two people who understand their messy family.

    When Poppy shows up on Jules's doorstep, they have to figure out how to navigate life with each other even when neither are sure that's what they really want.

Paste Magazine · 2024-03-27
intriguing 3.50

The novel is a frustrating yet addictive and uncomfortable exploration of sisterhood and millennial anxieties, with strong allegorical elements but some thin character development.

This review highlights how Alexandra Tanner's Worry presents a self-absorbed narrator whose life is unraveling, making the story feel more like an allegory of sisterhood than a fully fleshed-out character study. The book captures moments and moods across a year with vivid imagery and emotional depth, focusing on the sisters’ complex relationship and their parallel struggles with mental health. Although the characters sometimes feel underdeveloped, the novel's strength lies in its atmospheric portrayal of late millennial life and the uneasy bonds between siblings. The reviewer finds the narrative structure more like a collection of character studies than a traditional plot-driven story, which might frustrate some readers but also lends a unique texture to the book. The dynamic between the sisters, especially through the lens of Poppy’s recovery and Jules’s descent, anchors the novel’s emotional core, making it a compelling if sometimes challenging read about identity, family, and personal crisis.

Quick quotes

    Alexandra Tanner’s Worry is a late Millennial nightmare --- frustrating, addictive, uncomfortable, and fun.

    Individual scenes feel like investigations into how someone would act, character studies, more than discrete moments in a plot that’s moving somewhere.

    If Worry does have a frame, it’s Poppy’s recovery from a serious depression through Jules’s eyes, and Jules’s parallel slip into the same.

Goodreads · emmareadstoomuch · 2024-03-26
provocative 4.50

A darkly funny, sharp, and wordy exploration of sisterhood, internet culture, and existential dread that creeps under your skin.

The reviewer found the book to be a compelling mix of humor and sharp insight into modern anxieties, particularly the pervasive influence of the internet and the complexities of sister relationships. They praised the witty and cerebral writing style that captures the claustrophobic feeling of adulthood shadowed by anxiety. Although they did not love the ending, they considered it brilliant and provocative, leaving a strong impression and a desire for a sequel.

Quick quotes

    Deadpan, dark, and brutally funny, Worry is a sharp portrait of two sisters enduring a dread-filled American moment.

    It’s a page-turner of jokes, ideas, and witty observations, yet also creeps under your skin.

    Finally, the ending is tailor made to piss people off and I thought it was brilliant.

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