Better by Far

In the appealing latest from YouTuber Hayes (Out of Love), an Irish writer deals with heartbreak and the pressure of a deadline while providing support to her friends. After Kate breaks up with Finn, they take turns living in their Dublin apartment. While grieving their rupture, Kate relives the loss of her mother when she was nine. Adding to her emotional turmoil, she faces pressure from her publisher to complete the novel for which she’s already received an advance. While procrastinating, she addresses her narration to Finn, in a voice reminiscent of Hayes’s YouTube videos: “I’m supposed to be writing a book, but instead I find myself writing to you.” In a pair of affecting subplots, Kate helps her best friend Jenna, who’s undergoing multiple rounds of IVF to have a baby; and Fran, another friend who struggles with trust issues after his parents disowned him for coming out as trans. Not only does Hayes have a knack for voice-driven narration, she also evokes the sights and sounds of the region (“The sweet, sorrowful sound of an Irish lament drifts down, siren-like, from the bathing shelter above, and we are drawn up towards it—travellers to phantom lights”). This is bursting with feeling. (Apr.)