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I’ve had this book on my imaginary ‚to be read‘ list since 2022/23. Mainly because I didn’t want to read it at the time, when I was being ghosted by my boyfriend.

Crazy, right? Life goes on and I forgot about this book. Suddenly it was 2025 and thank goodness I was in a much better place, doing financing and investments. I picked up Ghosts by Dolly Alderton because I was struggling with a book hangover and unable to read any book, DNF-ing all the books I touched. I will tell you about one of those books in my next blog post. Spoiler alert, though, because I can’t stop oversharing: It’s Alchemised by SenLinYu.

Reading Ghosts feels unbelievably revolutionary, even though I’m in a serious, stable and healthy relationship (my old self could never have believed this). I think more about social injustice than boys nowadays, unlike a few years ago. Reading this book has convinced me that no matter how old I get, if I read Dolly’s books, I will still laugh out loud and smile nostalgically as I remember how crazy my twenties were. (I’m 29 as I write this review, by the way)

Therefore, I would religiously recommend this book to anyone in their twenties, although it’s not as if you’ll be immune to ghosting and manipulation if you’re thirty or older. These are my reasons for recommending Ghosts by Dolly Alderton:

Storyline/Book summary

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton revolves around the main character, Nina Dean, who navigates her thirties with events in her life that can be categorised as triumphs or not-so-triumphs. Her career is going well, but she is single and has taken her time after her long-term relationship ended. On the other hand, life happens, and her relationship with her family is less than perfect. Her life is now complicated by a new dynamic: Max. Despite their amazing connection and everything seemingly going in the right direction, Max leaves Nina, not just on read, but by officially turning himself into a ghost and disappearing. So, what happened next, Max?

This book feels like a hug from your best friend

One of Dolly’s rare talents is her ability to tell this everyday story — literally a story that most women have experienced, myself included — in a warm and hilarious way. It makes me care about many things, and it leaves enough room for my ego to take a step back and assess the situation. Every book of hers that I read, including Ghosts, feels like receiving a hug from a best friend. We would laugh and rant about the silly, disappointing things that had happened in our lives. We fought with our girlfriends and made up, just as happens in the book. The book encourages me to reflect on the hurdles we face in life, particularly those related to dating and friendships, and to accept that they may be meant to happen.

A highly accurate telling of manchild epidemic

Maybe it’s not as tragic now in 2025, but between 2019 and 2023, I swear there was a ghosting epidemic. This book doesn’t just rant about it; it offers anecdotes and insights that are highly accurate and might explain why men like to ghost. If I could go back and meet my younger self or any other woman in her 20s experiencing this epidemic, I would make her laugh and give her this book. Because, let’s face it, it manipulates more women than a virus.

If I have to put it into tropes:

• Female friendship,
• How to not be a d*ck,
• and Men are ghastly (if not trash)