Good Joy, Bad Joy

Joy is 89 years old. This is her coming out story. Instead of continuing to live a safe, dependable life, Joy decides that she is going to break out of the mold. It is the mold that her father, her husband and her environment confined her to from childhood on. Her best friend, Hazel, is terminally ill. Hazel has lived an adventureous life and this makes Joy realize that she herself, has not had any adventures. It is time for Joy to break out--to get some adventure before her life is over.Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complementary ARC. I am honored to have received the opportunity to be among the first reviewers. This review is my own opinion.

(4.25)This story is about friendship, growing older and making life changes. Sometimes we don’t appreciate things till we are forced to see them in a new light. Joy and Hazel are total opposites but best friends for 80 years. Hazel is full of life, unapologetic in her words and actions, ahead of her time. Joy is the opposite; quiet, loyal, rule follower and much a product of her time. I loved seeing Joy blossom, I questioned many of her actions but applauded others. Watching Hazel change and learn to be on the receiving end for once was so sweet. This beautiful story celebrates female friendships and the ability to change at any age. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. The ending was perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the way the author brought this friendship to life. This was the first book I’ve read by this author, but have added her previous book to my list.Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

This was such a poignant and emotional read. Joy and Hazel’s friendship felt so genuine, and the story really captures the bittersweet reality of aging, regret, and trying to find joy while there’s still time. It definitely made me tear up more than once.I loved the balance between the lighter, funny moments and the deeper emotional themes, and the writing was beautiful without feeling overly sentimental. Overall, a heartfelt, well-written story about friendship, love, and figuring yourself out… even late in life.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Mikki Brammer for the ARC and ALC of Good Joy, Bad Joy.I did an immersive read for this one, listening to the audiobook while following along with the ebook, and I absolutely loved the experience. The narrators, Kimberly M. Wetherell and Maggi-Meg Reed, did such a wonderful job bringing both the emotion and humor of the story to life. Their performances made Joy and Hazel feel even more real and lovable.Joy might honestly be one of my new favorite characters. Her friendship with Hazel was unexpected, messy, funny, and absolutely perfect at the same time. When Joy learns that Hazel has terminal cancer, her response is not to retreat from life but to throw herself into it even harder, and watching that transformation unfold was both heartwarming and deeply moving.At its core, this is a story about friendship, but it is also very much about grief, especially the kind of grief that begins before someone is even gone. The book explores those quiet but powerful questions we all ask ourselves eventually: Did I live enough? Did I love enough? Did I take enough risks? Did I make the right choices?Despite those emotional themes, this book is also genuinely hilarious. There were multiple moments where I literally laughed out loud. The balance between humor and emotional depth was handled so beautifully.This book truly felt like a gift. It was funny, heartfelt, wise, and deeply human. Highly, highly recommended.

I loved this story about 89-year-old widow Joy, who has always tried to be good and do what is expected of her, often to her own detriment. When she learns that her best friend is dying of cancer, Joy decides that it might be time to start breaking some rules. I really enjoyed her journey of self-discovery and witnessing how her relationships evolved.The story is told entirely from Joy’s perspective, but one storyline is in the present, and one storyline traces Joy’s relationships with her family members and her friend Hazel through the years, starting from when she was 7 years old. This worked well, allowing us to slowly learn more about Joy and why she made the choices she did, and why she is compelled to change things now. It’s a heartwarming story with some surprises along the way.The audiobook production was excellent, and I loved the dual narration by Maggi-Meg Reed for the present and Kimberly M. Wetherell for the past. Their narration suited the story, with good pacing, clear pronunciation, distinctive voices to suit each character, and the ability to convey mood and emotion effectively. They really brought the characters to life, and the story works very well in audio.Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free ARC and to Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free advanced review copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.