📚 Book Review: Early Thirties by Josh Duboff 📚
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There’s something about books that explore the messiness of adulthood that always piques my interest. Life isn’t always neat and tied up with a bow—friendships get complicated, dreams shift, and reality doesn’t always match expectations. Early Thirties by Josh Duboff attempts to capture that raw, unfiltered version of life in your thirties, and while I appreciate what it was trying to do, I ultimately found it wasn’t for me.
What Worked: The Honest Portrayal of Adult Friendships
One of the biggest strengths of Early Thirties is how realistically it portrays friendships in adulthood. This isn’t the glossy, ride-or-die bestie dynamic we often see in books or TV shows. Instead, it’s filled with tension, miscommunication, and moments that make you wonder if these people even like each other. It’s messy, unglamorous, and at times, painfully real.
Zoey and Victor, the two best friends at the heart of the story, have a bond that feels authentic, even when it’s frustrating. Their relationship is full of missed opportunities and unspoken resentments, but also a deep understanding that keeps them tethered. The book does a great job of showing how friendships evolve (or sometimes deteriorate) as people grow up and change.
What Didn’t Work: Too Many Characters, Too Many POVs
While the core friendship between Zoey and Victor was compelling, the book introduced so many side characters that it became overwhelming. I struggled to keep track of who was who, and because we weren’t given enough depth for each one, many of them felt forgettable. Some characters weren’t even particularly likable—a few of the so-called “friends” felt more self-absorbed than supportive, which made their dynamics frustrating rather than interesting.
Another issue was the shifting perspectives. Some chapters were in first person, while others were in third, and it disrupted the flow of the story for me. It made it harder to stay immersed, and at times, it felt disjointed.
A Male Author Writing a Female Protagonist… and It Shows
There were definitely moments where you could tell the FMC was written by a man. Some of her thoughts, behaviors, and interactions didn’t quite ring true, which took me out of the story. It wasn’t glaringly bad, but it was enough to notice.
Final Thoughts: Is This Book for You?
If you love books that dive deep into the complicated, often unflattering realities of adulthood, Early Thirties might be up your alley. It’s a brutally honest, sometimes cringeworthy look at friendships, identity, and the awkward stage of life where you’re supposed to have things figured out—but don’t.
For me, though, the excess of characters, shifting POVs, and the occasional disconnect with the FMC made it a bit of a struggle. While I didn’t hate it, I also didn’t love it. It was well-written in many ways, but just not my kind of book.
✨ Have you read Early Thirties? Do you enjoy books with messy, complicated friendships, or do you prefer more wholesome dynamics? Let’s chat in the comments! ✨
3 responses to “Early Thirties by Josh Duboff – A Raw but Flawed Look at Adult Friendships [Book Review]”
Great review! This books sounds intriguing and I absolutely love some messiness and realness when just comes to books that try to give a realistic vibe. It makes it authentic and people definitely can relate to the characters more. At least for me is very important how the characters feel if they are too polished and perfect it’s never going to work for me. I need them to be raw, uncut and flawed. I would love to read this book and see how i would feel about it since I’m in my early 30s!
It is difficult to write in another genders point of view. Lovely honest review.
Thanks for your insightful review, Tessa💜