Late-thirties, hard-drinking writer Mavis Gary has ghost authored several young adult novels, but her life in Minneapolis is hardly stable. Although she escaped her hometown years ago, a brief contact with her old high school boyfriend Buddy Slade (now married and a newborn father) gives her a sudden epiphany that they're meant to be together, and she decides to return home-despite her clear disdain for everything and everyone there. Upon her return, she finds an unexpected confidant in Matt Freehauf, a former high school classmate who was once erroneously the victim of a hate crime. A character study of a character you really wouldn't want to know, this is interesting early on and funny in spots, but the longer it goes on the clearer it becomes that there isn't any real poignancy or insight, nor does there seem to be a true learning curve for the central character. Theron fearlessly brings this deeply flawed protagonist to life, but her toxic personality and delusional single-mindedness make it difficult to accompany her on her journey, and despite some good supporting work from Oswalt it all feels bathed in negativity. **
Review of Young Adult
