Barely functional adult : it'll all make sense eventually /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Funny, introspective, and touching. . . . The lessons Meichi gently shares with us through delightful stories are full of wisdom for people at any life stage who need a reminder they're not alone." --Mari Andrew, author of Am I There Yet

From the creator of Barely Functional Adult, a painfully relatable webcomic with over 130k followers on Instagram, comes a never-before-seen collection of incriminating short stories about exes, murder, friendship, therapy, anxiety, Hufflepuff, sucking at things, freaking out about things, calming down momentarily, melodrama, wrinkles, pettiness, and other wonderful delights.

Wielding her trademark balance of artful humor, levity, and heartbreaking introspection, Meichi Ng's indisputably relatable collection of short stories holds a mirror to our past, present, and future selves. Featuring a swaddled Barely Functional Adult as its protagonist who says all the things we think but dare not say, this book is equal parts humorous and heartbreaking as it spans a spectrum of topics from imposter syndrome, therapy, friendships, first loves, letting go of exes, to just trying to find your purpose in the world. Prepare to excitedly shove this book in your friend's face with little decorum as you shout, "THIS IS SO US!"

In this beautiful, four-color collection compiled completely of never-before-seen content, Meichi perfectly captures the best and worst of us in every short story, allowing us to weep with pleasure at our own fallibility. Hilarious, relatable, and heart-wrenchingly honest, Barely Functional Adult will have you laughing and crying in the same breath, while taking solace in the fact that we're anything but alone in this world.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Occupying a space somewhere between memoir and self-help, prose and comics, this wry anecdotal debut unpacks Instagram cartoonist Ng's second coming-of-age, when she's waiting for "real" adulthood to start. Amusing, metaphor-packed cartoons about Ng's life are arranged within topical text chapters that include subjects like the realms of responsibility, ill-fated relationships, career anxiety, and therapy. A memory of watching for shooting stars as a child, for example, provides insight into the difficult process of finding friends as an adult. Ng's quick-draw cutesy cartooning style is familiar from fellow "explainer" webcomics, such as Matthew Inman's the Oatmeal series. But her balance of straight text and light art lands uncomfortably as not-one-or-the-other, and sometimes overexplains what has already been shown in the brief illustrations. The border between "relatable" and "overdone" is also a fine line Ng sometimes crosses; while much of the book hits home, other sections tread into the oversaturated gag cartoon territory of bad managers and imposter syndrome, though she wisely avoids being prescriptive or preachy. These visual essays deliver a mostly distinctive take on familiar millennial woes. Agent: Cindy Uh, Thompson Literary. (Nov.)