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Haley Jakobson | Author-Reader Match: OLD ENOUGH

June 23, 2023

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Haley Jakobson (she/her)!

 

Writes:

I’m a Brooklyn Bisexual and Gemini apologist. I write about queerness and trauma and girlhood and brains and bodies. My debut novel, OLD ENOUGH, is about a college sophomore named Sav – who is almost the person she wants to be. It’s second semester and Sav has finally come out as bi, is making friends with the other queers in her dorm and has just about recovered from her disastrous first queer situationship. But when she learns that Izzie, her best friend from childhood, has gotten engaged, Sav faces a crisis of confidence. Things with Izzie haven’t been the same since what happened between Sav and Izzie’s older brother when they were sixteen. Now, with the wedding around the corner, Sav is forced to reckon with trauma she thought she could put behind her. On top of it all, Sav can’t stop thinking about Wes from her Gender Studies class, with their stupid long eyelashes that make her lose feelings in her hands. There’s something different here—with Wes and with her new friends – it feels, terrifyingly, like they might truly see her in a way no one has before.

 

About:

Hi, I’m Haley, and I’m wholly uninterested in being hard to get. I am a V Online Bisexual who has been writing on the internet since the golden age of Tumblr (read: before it got rid of gay porn.) I live in Brooklyn, love bodega sandwiches, and would die without google maps. I love writing about being bisexual, living as a SA survivor, the nostalgia and torment of girlhood, and mental health. I’m obsessed with advocating for folks with OCD and I try to write down the things you think but don’t quite know how to say. I will change your mind about Geminis and I’m a fantastic follow on Instagram.

 

My ideal reader match for my upcoming novel OLD ENOUGH are people who luv

  • Coming-of-age campus novels
  • Books about: bisexual main characters! Queer community! Coming into your identity and reveling in queer joy!
  • A strong, awkward, hopeful protagonist hurtling towards the person she wants to be, while contending with the person she thought she had to be.
  • Toxic queer situationships
  • Investigating the highs and hurts of girlhood and the way trauma weaves in and out of our development as adults
  • A taste of a friends-to-lovers romance arc
  • An exploration of the pain and complexity of best-friend-breakups and the grief that follows.
  • Healing as a sexual assault survivor in a post #metoo world
  • A love letter to friendship and chosen family

 

What to expect if we’re compatible:

  • Oversharing on the internet
  • More queer characters, all of them hot
  • Writing that explores mental illness, especially OCD
  • Cracking stereotypes open and excavating the humanity in all people
  • Justice for femmes with long nails
  • No cats

OLD ENOUGH by Haley Jakobson

Old Enough

Savannah “Sav” Henry is almost the person she wants to be, or at least she’s getting closer. It’s the second semester of her sophomore year. She’s finally come out as bisexual, is making friends with the other queers in her dorm, and has just about recovered from her disastrous first queer “situationship.” She is cautiously optimistic that her life is about to begin.

But when she learns that Izzie, her best friend from childhood, has gotten engaged, Sav faces a crisis of confidence. Things with Izzie haven’t been the same since what happened between Sav and Izzie’s older brother when they were sixteen. Now, with the wedding around the corner, Sav is forced to reckon with trauma she thought she could put behind her.

On top of it all, Sav can’t stop thinking about Wes from her Gender Studies class—sweet, funny Wes, with their long eyelashes and green backpack. There’s something different here—with Wes and with her new friends (who delight in teasing her about this face-burning crush); it feels, terrifyingly, like they might truly see her in a way no one has before.

With a singularly funny, heartfelt voice, Old Enough explores queer love, community, and what it means to be a sexual assault survivor. Haley Jakobson has written a love letter to friendship and an honest depiction of what finding your people can feel like—for better or worse.

 

New Adult | LGBTQ [Dutton, On Sale: June 20, 2023, e-Book, ISBN: 9780593473009 / ]

Buy OLD ENOUGHKindle | BN.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR

About Haley Jakobson

Haley Jakobson

Haley Jakobson is a writer living in Brooklyn, NY. In her work Haley explores mental health and wellness, queerness, sex and trauma, and bodies. As a Very Online Bisexual Haley reaches an audience of thirty thousand readers on her instagram page. Haley is represented by Ayla Zuraw-Friedland at Frances Goldin Literary Agency.

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

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