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-Synopsis-

Meg Cabot meets a unique spin on Uptown Girls in the latest from the author of That Wasn’t in the Script, exploring the bonds of girlhood and the love we uncover along the way.

Eighteen-year-old Nora Esposito is too much, and somehow, never enough. The daughter of two celebrity chefs who can’t seem to find an identity outside of their success (or the trauma of their divorce), spoiled Nora is floundering in life.

In the wake of a social media scandal that upends her future, Nora’s mother cuts her off and offers her an ultimatum: Grow up and get a job or move out.

When her stepmother offers her the role of live-in nanny to her seven-year-old half-sister in New York City, Nora sees it as her ticket to freedom. But Frankie isn’t the child she remembers. She’s brilliant, guarded, and quietly miserable, and the more time Nora spends with her, the more she starts seeing parts of herself in Frankie that hit far too close to home.

Between navigating the city and making connections she never expected, including a budding clandestine relationship with a handsome neighbor, Nora forms a bond with Frankie, all while uncovering truths that could change their family forever. Along the way, they might just learn to embrace who they are and how much more they can be.

-Review-

A huge thank you to Sarah Ainslee and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

*Trigger Warnings: strong and consistent vulgar language, alcohol use, extramarital affairs, dysfunctional families steamier moments (but no sex on page)*
These triggers are more for the fact that this book is listed as a teen and young adult novel so just be aware of the more adult themes and writing within.

Nora Esposito is Enough was one of those books that surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Not that I expected to hate it by by any means, I just did not have the best outlook on the story when I first met Nora. Right off the bat, I was struggling with her immaturity and seemingly complete lack of social awareness. She reminded me of certain individuals I went to school with who basically did whatever they wanted with little to no consequence.

Fortunately for the story’s sake, there are quite a bit of consequences for Nora’s actions. These humiliating and humbling moments for her, were crucial for one of the best character development/coming of age stories I have read!

This story traverses the upper echelons of society from high class California, to the vertical penthouses of New York City. The type of living I can only imagine through movies and books such as this one. Personally, I tend to distance myself from all things Hollywood so it was interesting to get more of a glimpse into the lives of famous chefs and up and coming social influencers.

As the story is mainly set in New York City, I could feel the hustle and bustle of living in such an urban area. The subways and streets felt claustrophobic and anxiety inducing, making the parks and fire escapes feel like a breath of fresh air in comparison. Sarah did a fantastic job in locking all five of my senses down into this book as I could feel and experience everything just as Nora herself (the good and bad), making each scene feel like being strapped into an emotional roller coaster.

The main theme(s) of this story is a combination of coming-of-age and self discovery. Nora and Frankie were the most prevalent examples of this. Nora, constantly being pushed to the side due to not filling the box her parents were shoving her into, feels quite adrift in life and her career. She is constantly being told she is too much of ‘this and that’, while not being enough in every other category. On the not-so flip side, her sister Frankie has been struggling through her own identity.

At only 8 years old, she has already been molded into a ‘perfect’ child by her parents. She gets great grades and has all the resources she would need to become the next great ballet dancer. It would seem as though Frankie is the preferred version of Nora. However, between all the suffocating and rigid schedules, she has lost herself along the way. It is with Nora’s attention and outspokenness that Frankie begins to sift through the facade, to truly figure out who she desires to be. Even if what her heart longs for goes completely contrary to the will of her parents.

This sisterly bond of genuine connection and mutual discovery was the highlight of the story, hands down! The more heart to heart moments between Nora and Frankie, at times led me to tears. Both of them having grown up in highly dysfunctional houses that cared more for keeping up appearances than genuine love, my heart went out to both girls. However, it was through this adversity that led to their transformation into their most honest and true selves and that was incredibly beautiful and empowering to experience.

There is some romance in this story as well but that takes a bit of a back seat, of which I am glad. While I did enjoy Ben has a character, I appreciated his role being mainly used as a supportive one for both Nora and Frankie. He was a very solid and steady figure for both of them and was extremely mature when it came to his and Nora’s relationship! A top notch honorable male love interest for sure. I am not going to lie, I was on edge the entire read-through since I was expecting sexual content but, rest assured there is only kissing and some touching in this book.

All in all, Nora Esposito is Enough is a fantastic book if you enjoy a great highly emotional familial bonding story of finding one’s true voice and place in the world. My main reason for the half star deduction is the discrepancy between the YA/teen rating with the amount of language and more adult centered content that is present. Besides that, I would not be opposed to reading more of Sarah’s novels at all!

Once again, thank you to Sarah Ainslee for allowing me access to your ARC for my honest review. Thank you!

-About the Author-

Sarah Ainslee has worn several hats. Nanny, barista, social media manager, and occasional band wrangler (don’t ask.) Through it all, ‘writer’ is the only title that has ever stuck. Telling stories is what she always comes back to.

She’s a YA contemporary author with a penchant for awkward encounters and whimsical adventures—a dash of romance never hurts either. She writes stories for the teenager inside all of us who still doesn’t know what they want to be when they grow up.

Sarah currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. When she’s not writing, you can catch her hunkered down at a coffee shop, sharing every in-depth thought about her love of superheroes and romcoms over on her Instagram.