Format: ebook
Published: January 30th, 2025
Age: Adult
Genre: Contemporary – Literary
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Judging by the Goodreads reviews, I might be in the minority in really liking this! I do think if you’re going to pick it up though, there’s a few things to be aware of.
It’s not a romance
The MC is exceptionally messy
It’s weird – not too much, but in a kind-of-literary manner
Basically, don’t go into this expecting outright horror or monster fucking or anything like that. It is, instead, the story of an incredibly lonely woman who is trying to find her place in the world. It’s strange and compelling and you have to let yourself go along with it to enjoy it.
Vi – the daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother – has never quite fit in, not with her family, not at school, and not at college. After boyfriend Luke dumps her, Vi drops out of college and gets a job at a hotel, alongside bubbly blonde Rachel. On a night out, Vi comes across a strange blob in the street, and she takes it home. The blob soon starts growing, following Vi’s commands, and she comes to a realisation; this is her chance to form the blob into someone she could love and who could love her back.
Again, Vi is messy. She is flawed and she is struggling. And she’s also incredibly lonely, driving her to desperation and a need to be liked, even as she expresses disdain for a lot of the people around her. As well as taking us through the current events in Vi’s life, we get to see key moments from her childhood up to early adulthood scattered throughout, too, usually via her crushes. And it’s these moments which add layers to her character, where we can see how Vi ended up where she is now. It’s done really well, and it’s clear Vi never really knew how to interact with other people her age, and lacked a social understanding, much as she tries. Her confusion over her own identity, her jealously of others, her awareness that she’s different all contribute to someone who consistently, often accidentally, pushes people away.
The ‘love story’ of the title is less boy meets girl – or, in this case, blob meets girl – and instead is a more personal journey, about coming to terms with your own self. Without realising it, Vi can be quite critical towards herself, too, and often doesn’t feel like it’s worth her reaching for more because she doesn’t deserve it (my own interpretation). It makes the whole thing kind of sad, but in a way that keeps true-to-life humorous moments.
This book deserves to find an audience who loves it, but it’s far from being one that most people will (imho) enjoy – it’s not a romance, it’s weird but not quite weird enough for the usual ‘weird’ crowd, it’s not a straightforward contemporary, and perhaps not even ‘literary’ enough for that crowd, either. It’s a wonderful combination of all of them, never quite settling into one genre, just as Bob the blob and even Vi never quite settle into their own skins.
I would suggest if you pick this up, go into it with an open mind and just enjoy the ride.
Reading Challenge
2025 TV Shows Reading Challenge
Prompt: Stranger Things – A ‘coming of age’ book
Progress: 8/12
Unwrapping Words 