Interesting Facts About Space

Emily Austin's debut, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, was easily my favorite book of 2021, so I approached her sophomore novel with excitement as well as trepidation. There's a lot going on in the blurb for this one: a phobia of bald men, a true crime and space obsession, dysfunctional family stuff, queer dating, mental health. Before I started reading I worried it was trying to do too much or that it would be quirky for quirk's sake, but I was quickly reassured by Austin's execution. She crafts a flawed, lovable protagonist in Enid, who is driven by fear and loyalty and a desire to belong. Emily Austin is my favorite voice of the Millennial generation, capturing what it's like to be a mess while trying in earnest to do the best that you can.