You know that all-consuming, semi- intoxicated feeling you get when you find yourself so invested in a book that you don’t want to put it down? I may not have gotten any hard feelings from Genevieve Novak’s debut, No Hard Feelings, but I certainly did feel that one. Which is no mean feat, particularly when the writing is as character-driven and contemplative as Novak’s.

Set against the familiar backdrop of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, No Hard Feelings follows 26-year-old Penny as she navigates the disorientating tumult that characterises work, friendships and relationships in your mid- twenties. There are three central challenges that Penny faces throughout the novel: her unfulfilling (read: toxic) relationship with her commitment-phobic sometimes-boyfriend Max, the pressure that conflicting priorities and constant comparisons are putting on her relationship with best friends Annie and Bec, and her inability to please her demanding boss Margot at the digital marketing agency where she works. Underlying it all is Penny’s constant struggle to manage her insecurities and avoid unhealthy patterns while burdened by the creeping feeling that she is the only one for whom life isn’t quite falling into place.

No Hard Feelings establishes Novak as part of an increasingly popular generation of female authors who are unveiling the contemporary woman’s inner life in all its chaotic, complicated glory (think Dolly Alderton, Ottessa Moshfegh and Diana Reid). In Penny, Novak gives us a heroine whose flaws are just the right balance of frustrating and endearing. The authenticity of her as a character, and of the writing in general, is what makes this debut so impressive. Even Novak’s pop- culture references, from Gilmore Girls to Euphoria, feel remarkably of-the-moment. Overall, No Hard Feelings is perceptive and unflinching, yet upbeat enough to keep me engaged from start to finish. I can’t wait to see what Novak writes next.

Olivia Hurley is a bookseller at Readings St Kilda.