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Whoever You Are, Honey

Whoever You Are, Honey

Summary

'Built on simmering tensions at the precipice of boiling over . . . vivid storytelling' VOGUE

'An intimate, pitch-perfect fable of the time' YRSA DALEY-WARD

'Sensual, detail-rich, utterly immersive . . . So propulsive and atmospheric' JENNY MUSTARD

***

BEHIND THIS GLASS, EVERYTHING IS MORE BEAUTIFUL


On the Santa Cruz waterfront, every house is as perfect as the people inside. Not so for Mitty and Bethel, the oddball pair in the dilapidated bungalow – they are the last vestiges of a town now housing the tech elite. But Mitty is about to cross the threshold. Someone has arrived next door who finally wants to know this forgotten girl.

Lena is different and she knows it. Reliant on her entrepreneur boyfriend Sebastian, her life is oddly limited for someone bathed in wealth. But when she sees Mitty, Lena begins to recognize a part of herself she has yet to face, something anxious, something broken – something real.
And in this salt-blasted town, friendship will bleed into obsession, minds and bodies will betray, and the past will come back with a howl and a bite.

Thrilling, seductive and prescient, WHOEVER YOU ARE HONEY is a blazing debut that dissects perfection, examines how women are made and explores the intersection of passion, technology, and power.

Reviews

  • Set against the backdrop of an AI pioneer’s murder, Whoever You Are, Honey is built on simmering tensions at the precipice of boiling over, marked by a distinct strain of techno-pessimism endemic to someone who grew up during the rise of Silicon Valley. The twin themes of women’s loneliness and desire are the timeless beating hearts of Olivia Gatwood’s debut novel, propped up by of-the-moment ruminations on queerness and artificial intelligence . . . vivid storytelling
    Vogue

About the author

Olivia Gatwood

Olivia Gatwood is the author of two poetry collections, New American Best Friend and Life of the Party. Her debut novel, Whoever You Are, Honey, was released in 2024, which she will also adapt for the screen. She has received international recognition for her poetry, writing workshops, and work as a Title IX Compliant educator in sexual assault prevention and recovery. Her performances have been featured on HBO, HuffPost, MTV, VH1, and the BBC, and more. Her poems have appeared in The Poetry Foundation, Sundance Film Festival, Lambda Literary, and The Missouri Review. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, she lives in California.
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