Lauren Appelbaum’s debut novel, RACHEL WEISS’S GROUP CHAT, a Jewish, millennial version of Pride and Prejudice with Broad City vibes.
RACHEL WEISS’S GROUP CHAT
by Lauren Appelbaum
Grand Central, September 2024
(via The Whalen Agency)
Rachel Weiss turns 30 this year, and she has it all: a fabulous social life, three best friends, and a job that pays the bills. Unfortunately, she also has a slightly unhinged Jewish mother who’s desperate for her to be married. When a millionaire tech bro named Christopher buys the house next door, Rachel’s mom fixates on him as a match for her daughter. But Rachel has worked in the tech industry for years and she knows guys like Christopher: arrogant, algorithmobsessed capitalist overlords. Besides, she hits it off with a mysterious hottie whose party boy persona appeals to her more than Christopher’s buttoned-up politeness. She doesn’t need her mom’s help. Especially because she has the world’s most amazing group chat with her best friends that gets her through everything.
But when not one, but two, of her friends start ghosting the group chat, she learns those friendships might be shakier than she thought. To make matters worse, she can’t stop bumping into Christopher, who has some history with Rachel’s new boyfriend that one of them seems to be lying about. But spending time with Christopher, who has it all figured out, makes Rachel question what she’s doing with her life. As she watches her friends move on toward the lives they’re building, and her own bad choices catch up with her, Rachel must decide how to build the life she really wants.
Lauren Appelbaum lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter and their two tuxedo cats. She loves iced oat milk lattes, drizzly autumn days, and ending each night snuggled up with a good book. If she can make just one reader laugh, she’ll consider that a win.
The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: one, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List—a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away—will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self and pave the road to a new future. Riley isn’t sure what to expect from Tom, who has been distant since his famous mom’s scriptwriting career pulled him away. But when Riley arrives in the city, their reconnection is as effortless as it was when they were young―except with one, unexpected complication that will pull Riley’s feelings in a direction she didn’t know they could take. As she, Tom, and their newfound friends work their way through the delightfully chaotic items on The Getaway List, Riley learns that sometimes the biggest adventure is not one you take, but one you feel in your heart._JPG.jpg)
Viola Reyes is annoyed. Her painstakingly crafted tabletop game campaign was shot down, her best friend is suggesting she try being more “likable,” and school running back Jack Orsino is the most lackadaisical Student Body President she’s ever seen, which makes her job as VP that much harder. Vi’s favorite escape from the world is the MMORPG Twelfth Knight, but online spaces aren’t exactly kind to girls like her—girls who are extremely competent and have the swagger to prove it. So Vi creates a masculine alter ego, choosing to play as a knight named Cesario to create a safe haven for herself. But when a football injury leads Jack Orsino to the world of Twelfth Knight, Vi is alarmed to discover their online alter egos—Cesario and Duke Orsino—are surprisingly well-matched. As the long nights of game-play turn into discussions about life and love, Vi and Jack soon realise they’ve become more than just weapon-wielding characters in an online game. But Vi has been concealing her true identity from Jack, and Jack might just be falling for her offline.
As a cupid, Jude thinks they understand love a little bit more than the average human. It makes sense — Jude’s been studying love their whole teen life. And, yes, there have been some bumps in the road, and they’re currently on probation for doing something that they absolutely, definitely shouldn’t have done… but they’re ready to prove they can make matches without ever getting involved.