Mona Lisa Míreles of Tucson, Arizona, is fresh out of college with a finance degree, but she can’t find a job. She attends a program at her family’s church to help people find employment. There she has encounters with several people who turn her life in unintended directions.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the writing and the story, but I was reading this novel at the end of the covid-19 pandemic when unemployment wasn’t just caused by a recession so I probably felt a little more unsympathetic than necessary toward Mona than I would have had I read this novel at any other time.

Young adulthood can be a particularly difficult period, and this novel addresses many of the problems faced by individuals at this stage of life. Some of the story was funny, and some parts were sad. However, the chapter I liked the most was the one where Mona goes out on a date with her boss Skip from the telephone call center. That episode was simply hilarious and kept me belly laughing throughout. That part could even stand alone as a short story.

This debut novel is from a writer to watch. I’ll be curious to see in what direction she’ll take her next novel. ( )