Image of Olivia Rodrigo, with books that match the themes of her songs.

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What to read based on your favourite Olivia Rodrigo song

Books to change your perspective on love (3)

Reading lists

Books that will change your perspective on love

As Young as This

‘One for Dolly Alderton fans’ The Times 
 
 
Girl meets boy. Girl meets another boy. And another boy. And another. 
But this is not their story, it’s Margot’s. 
 
**** 
 
Boyfriend. House. Marriage. Kids. This is how Margot pictured her life would play out. But seventeen years after her first kiss, she still keeps falling at the first hurdle. 
 
So she’s about to take a different kind of leap. As Margot prepares to make the biggest decision of her life, she can’t help looking back on the relationships that shaped her. From situationships that sizzled to others that fizzled, from youthful infatuations to grown-up dilemmas, to the one she thought might be her happily ever after. 
 
What would you do if the life you’d always imagined for yourself didn’t materialize? Would you keep to the script, or would you write a new one? 
 
 
‘With glorious attention to detail and emotional fluency, Dunn charts the ways in which we are built and broken by love' Pandora Sykes 
 
‘An achingly relatable novel about the dreams we have for our lives, and what happens when we open ourselves up to letting them go’ Harper's Bazaar

This debut novel about womanhood and expectations will be one of the most exciting of the year

The Independent, best fiction books to read in 2024

This buzzy debut is a beautiful look at how love shapes us

inews, Best New Books to Read in April 2024

A vividly sketched, intense evocation of how we're shaped by those we know - one for Dolly Alderton fans

A young woman's life, told through the men she has dated. With glorious attention to detail and emotional fluency, Dunn charts the ways in which we are built and broken by love

Beautifully written ... The second person narration lends an authenticity to Margot's nostalgic reminiscences and honest look back at her past ... It's brilliant on comparisons, self-sabotage, social expectations, fear and settling. Wonderful

As Young As This is raw, funny and beautiful - Roxy has such a lyrical and perceptive voice, this is a really gorgeously observed novel about youth and womanhood and I can’t wait to see it fly

Anyone who's ever experienced the slog of modern dating will love As Young As This, an achingly relatable novel that focuses on the dreams we have for our lives, and what happens when we open ourselves up to letting them go

Harper's Bazaar, The 10 Best Novels to Read in 2024

Relatable, poignant and gripping, told with great originality. Roxy Dunn is a fresh and exciting new voice in fiction ... I read it in a single day

This will really speak to you if you've ever had to let go of what you thought your life would look like, readjust, and let a new life take hold

What a treat to spend time with a character like Margot – warm, witty, wise (at least most of the time). A thoughtful and moving portrait of a young woman as she feels her way through life and love that made me laugh and cry

I love love loved As Young as This ... I wanted to live inside it, wallowing in that gorgeous prose. And that ending! Well, I was not prepared.

Laura Pearson, author of I Wanted You to Know

Dunn's debut novel, which combines lyrical writing with a very relatable main character, marks her out as a rising star

Roxy Dunn is a brilliant storyteller ... A future cult classic

If you’re seeking a novel that delves into the complexities of womanhood with a unique and immersive narrative voice, then you’ll find exactly that and more with Roxy Dunn’s debut ... Margot’s story is one that will feel relevant and relatable to young women of her generation. It’s the perfect read for fans of Dolly Alderton or David Nicholls’ One Day.

The witty, effortless inner monologue of Margot’s thoughts makes As Young As This an emotional rollercoaster of a read ... As Young As This is a beautiful debut for Roxy Dunn, highlighting the ways in which love can make and break us as people, but also shining a light on the friendships and bonds we make along the way

In Margot, Roxy Dunn has created a character who encapsulates so many of the anxieties of her generation. Deceptively open-handed plotting cleverly disguises a work of philosophical force. Dunn's heroine has us judging and loving her simultaneously while leaving room for us to turn the mirror on our own reasons for choosing our partners. I smiled a lot reading As Young As This, and whatever age or gender you are I challenge you not to do the same.

An interesting and relatable look at our expectations versus reality

Stylist, 10 of the best debut novels of 2024 by women

Cosmopolitan, Best New Books to Read in April

This gorgeous debut explores how our relationships mould and shape us; how each chapter of love, friendship, and heartbreak set off their own chain of events which lead us to where we are today. It’s a really very special book, and I’m already dream-casting the adaptation.

Dunn’s writing perfectly captures the exciting beginnings and achingly sad ends of relationships. You won’t be able to put it down.

A young woman’s life is told through the stories of each person she has dated; the experiences, affairs and great loves which have led her to this point: single, 34, and about to make one of the biggest decisions of her life

Roxy's debut novel, As Young as This (published by Fig Tree, Penguin) was sold at auction and was a Best Book of 2024 in The Independent, Harper’s Bazaar, Stylist, Cosmopolitan, and Sunday Times Style. She is also a screenwriter and alumna of the BBC Comedy Room. Her scripts have been optioned by several production companies and her pilot Useless Millennials was commissioned and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Wants and Needs is her second novel.

Elliot. Joe. Tommy. Nathanael. Wren. Oliver. Malik. Zach. Frank. Patrick. Noah. These are the men Margot has loved, liked, lusted over. 
 
Since she was seventeen, she's pictured them like stepping stones - each one bringing her closer to finding someone to share her life with and, eventually, father the children she's always imagined in her future. 
 
From her first sexual encounter, to her first love, from grown-up dilemmas to spontaneous thrills, she's soaked up every experience available to her, discovering friendship, joy and despair. Through all of this she's refined her search until she believes she's arrived at 'the ending' to her story. 
 
So how did she find herself here, single at thirty-four, and about to make the biggest decision of her life?

Roxy Dunn

Thoughtful, fresh and intelligent (and so wryly funny), Roxy Dunn writes so smoothly about the limitations - and liberations - of adult love with such delicacy and honesty. This is a timely novel about things that are, conversely, timeless - self-worth, desire and the deep questions of the heart

Claire Daverley, author of Talking at Night

An unconventional love story with comedic chops ... Funny, witty and fast-paced, I tore through it on a Sunday afternoon'

Narrated by a refreshingly offbeat heroine, Wants and Needs is a thoroughly amusing coming-of-age (in your thirties) novel written with wit, honesty and tenderness

In this smart novel about post- break- up drift, dating apps and ethical non- monogamy Dunn writes frankly about dependency and self knowledge, drawing you in with her protagonist's messy experiment in love

Roxy Dunn is oh so good on love. The big feelings. The thinking (and overthinking). The thrills and the spills. Wants and Needs is witty, warm and seriously sexy. A story about what we desire and deserve

From the author of As Young as This comes a razor-sharp tale of what happens when life doesn’t work out the way you hoped it would. At 32, Misty is back in her childhood bedroom after breaking up with her fiancé. She hits the dating apps and finds herself trying non-monogamy in an attempt to learn how to become less attached

Dunn’s novel asks the kind of questions that keep most of us up at night: what’s the difference between what we want and what we need? And can we learn to care – or possibly, to love – less?

Desperately sad and desperately entertaining ... I just knew I was going to inhale it when I read that first page. So enjoyable and well observed and the writing is just so good and moreish. I loved it

This book needs to be read by people who don't have it all figured out but think everyone else does ... It's an absolutely fantastic book, and I can't wait to read more by Dunn

A funny, deeply perceptive novel about desire, commitment, and the drastic (sometimes questionable) measures we'll take to avoid ourselves. Dunn writes with an honesty and intimacy that would be scary if the book wasn't also so much fun

Morgan Dick, author of Favourite Daughter

[Dunn] is so good on the mysteries of adult relationships. Newly-single Misty is dallying with dating apps and finds herself intrigued by Christopher - it’s not until she’s fallen for his charms that she realises ENM is not the name of band, but ethical non-monogamy… Can she keep her heart out of the equation?

Book(ish) – Good things, good intentions and good books for 2026

Such an astutely observed and charmingly witty story about the complex rollercoaster of modern love

Rosie Wilby, author of The Breakup Monologues

Addictive, hilarious and moving. I was totally charmed by this sensitively-rendered and emotionally astute portrait of modern love. Roxy Dunn’s voice is so fresh, funny and human. I missed Misty the moment I closed the book

A very thoughtful exploration of fresh starts, the importance of emotional honesty, and the gap between what we want and what we actually need

A thoughtful exploration of fresh starts, the importance of emotional honesty, and the gap between what we want and what we need

This hilarious novel beautifully captures the struggles of starting afresh and feeling fulfilled

Being able to connect with readers, to make them see themselves in a character, requires considerable skill and perception of the world. Roxy Dunn does this effortlessly. Wants and Needs is a great, thought-provoking and unique read. Misty and the other characters are all very dynamic and real, making the book a new and refreshing take on love and life.

A tender novel about the pursuit of love ... Dunn writes with a perceptive frankness

Independence seems to be drifting away from Misty. Just months ago, she was living with her fiancé and planning their life together. Now she’s single, back in her childhood bedroom, on crutches from knee surgery, and relying on her mother to help her with the smallest of tasks. This isn’t how thirty-two was meant to look. 
 
When Misty turns to dating apps, she's immediately intrigued by charismatic, handsome Christopher – so intrigued that she doesn't doesn’t even notice the acronym ‘ENM’ on his profile. By the time she discovers that it stands for ‘ethical non-monogamy' – and that he’s in a long-term open relationship – she already feels such undeniable, dizzying chemistry that she decides to give things a go. 
 
And so Misty makes a pact with herself to date Christopher for the next six weeks while his partner is away. It’s all part of her plan: she wants to learn to become less attached, and to prepare herself for her next ‘real’ relationship. But is what she wants really what she needs?

Roxy Dunn

Praise for Wants and Needs

Thoughtful, fresh and intelligent (and so wryly funny), Roxy Dunn writes so smoothly about the limitations - and liberations - of adult love with such delicacy and honesty. This is a timely novel about things that a ...

An unconventional love story with comedic chops ... Funny, witty and fast-paced, I tore through it on a Sunday afternoon'

Narrated by a refreshingly offbeat heroine, Wants and Needs is a thoroughly amusing coming-of-age (in your thirties) novel written with wit, honesty and tenderness

Thoughtful, fresh and intelligent (and so wryly funny), Roxy Dunn writes so smoothly about the limitations - and liberations - of adult love with such delicacy and honesty. This is a timely novel about things that a ...

An unconventional love story with comedic chops ... Funny, witty and fast-paced, I tore through it on a Sunday afternoon'

Narrated by a refreshingly offbeat heroine, Wants and Needs is a thoroughly amusing coming-of-age (in your thirties) novel written with wit, honesty and tenderness

Thoughtful, fresh and intelligent (and so wryly funny), Roxy Dunn writes so smoothly about the limitations - and liberations - of adult love with such delicacy and honesty. This is a timely novel about things that a ...

An unconventional love story with comedic chops ... Funny, witty and fast-paced, I tore through it on a Sunday afternoon'

Narrated by a refreshingly offbeat heroine, Wants and Needs is a thoroughly amusing coming-of-age (in your thirties) novel written with wit, honesty and tenderness

Books by Roxy Dunn

Articles featuring Roxy Dunn

What to read based on your favourite Olivia Rodrigo song

Books that will change your perspective on love

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