The New Me

Author: Halle Butler

Publisher: Penguin Books (2019)

A Vox Best Book of the Decade
An NPR Best Book of 2019

Thirty-year-old Millie just can't pull it together. She spends her days working a thankless temp job and her nights alone in her apartment, fixating on all the ways she might change her situation—her job, her attitude, her appearance, her life. Then she watches TV until she falls asleep, and the cycle begins again.

When the possibility of a full-time job offer arises, it seems to bring the better life she's envisioning within reach. But with it also comes the paralyzing realization, lurking just beneath the surface, of how hollow that vision has become.

Masterfully cringe-inducing, The New Me is a must-read novel by National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree and Granta Best Young American Novelist Halle Butler.

“[A] definitive work of millennial literature . . . wretchedly riveting.” 

–Jia Tolentino