This past Spring, former Gawker Writer, Emily Gould released And the Heart Says Whatever. This collection of essays took me by surprise and is definitely worth a summer read.

In And the Heart Says Whatever, Emily Gould has written her own story: a whip-smart, deadpan narrative, largely about the mistakes she’s made, in public and in private. These mistakes are disastrous, often avoidable, and sometimes hilarious—and they may remind you of the best stories of your own life. Whether you live in the suburbs of the Midwest or you wake up in the same NY borough that Emily Gould does every day, you’ll enjoy one of the most hotly anticipated debuts this season.

I could not put And the Heart Says Whatever down. I finished it rather quickly and I can say the same for you. It’s a page turner!

Emily Gould has really interesting stories to tell and it seemed like this was just touching the surface of those captivating tales. The first of many in this series of essays is about Emily working for Gawker. Unfortunately, there is not too much insight given into working in the publishing world. The little insight that is given is such a tease! What this book primarily focuses on is love, loss, and a number of jobs that Emily held down after arriving to New York, after her stint in college. If you are in your early 20s and/or are fairly new to New York, you may find this book much more entertaining than the average person. If you are familiar with Emily from her work on Gawker, you surprisingly maybe slightly disappointed.

While a good read, while honest and witty, this collection of essays is not as juicy or as fascinating as Emily’s past Gawker posts. This honestly felt like reading a variety of blog posts from a New York transplant that is new to writing or is falling back into writing after a really long break. It seemed like her heart said, “Whatever” but not in the “Whatever, I got this. I can do this. I’m just going to put it all out there,” kind of way but instead a “Whatever, I’ve put it out there before, let me just get this out there and over with” kind of way. Don’t get me wrong, this writing did not seem forced but it did lack some heart. Perhaps that is because Emily mainly shared her recollections without providing much insightful commentary and back story.

What she does end up describing is well detailed. But aside from this, the writing was not the best given the overwhelming amounts of long winded run on sentences. Also, it doesn’t seem like the essays are in chronological order as it seemed I was jumping back and forth between jobs and boyfriends. But Emily does a fabulous job at detailing her life as a New Yorker; getting an apartment that has “character,” discovering the city, and such. I would love to read more about her crazy nights out on the town and fun discoveries around the city. But I think that’s a book within itself. Yeah? In the end, And the Heart Says Whatever will engage you with its entertaining essays and will no doubt intrigue readers to find out more about Emily Gould.

And the Heart Says Whatever by Emily Gould is in book stores now.