Lauryn Chamberlain (Friends from Home) captures the essence of ever-changing friendships through the striking narrations of Rachel, Clarissa, Dev, and Nate in Who We Are Now. Over a 15-year period, the college friends question their individual paths, identities, and importance to each other following the seemingly unbreakable bond they built during their years at Northwestern University. After surviving their "ramshackle" college house; their joint record of 10 rounds of the "shot ski without anyone throwing up"; and actual graduation, Nate toasts: "To the best four years, and my three best friends," adding, "If that's cheesy, fuck it." The novel begins at the end of their college careers, and the four friends can't imagine navigating their uncertain futures without each other. However, faced with the professional and personal setbacks of early adulthood, they find that feelings of anxiety, jealousy, and disconnection begin to crack the foundation of their friendship.
Chamberlain successfully packs small moments with tremendous meaning. The point of view seamlessly alternates among the four friends, covering each year following their college graduation, with each character communicating individual emotions and insights into their choices, failures, and successes. Expertly intertwining important conversations about race, sexuality, sexual violence, and addiction, Chamberlain conveys the familiar struggles of those in their 20s and 30s. Who We Are Now allows readers to follow the small and big decisions that have the power to change everything in an instant. Down-to-earth and raw prose make Rachel, Clarissa, Dev, and Nate an inspirational example of evolving love, loss, and what it really means to be a friend. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer