Why read Tell Me I'm an Artist?

Book cover of Tell Me I'm an Artist

Book description

"Portrait of the artist as a broke and brilliant, hungry and funny young woman" (Lynn Steger Strong, author of Want), this hilarious and incisive coming-of-age novel about an art student from a poor family struggling to find her place in a new social class of rich, well-connected peers is perfect…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Tell Me I'm an Artist as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Laura Catherine Brown

Author

The voice in this coming-of-age novel was smart, funny, raw, caustic, and filled with heart and truth. You will start this book, you won’t put it down, and you’ll wish it didn’t have to end because you want to keep that narrator with you.

Joey’s in art school in San Francisco, but her family is poor and dysfunctional in Lodi. Her sister’s an addict, and Joey has to constantly navigate disparate worlds while under relentless financial strain and the pressure of trying to make art.

The prose was full of surprises, and I totally related on every level.

From Laura's 3 favorite reads in 2023.