Ellis only has four days of her sophomore year left, and summer is so close that she can almost taste it. But, even with vacation just within reach, Ellis isn't exactly relaxed. Her father has been in a coma for years, the result of a construction accident, and her already-fragile relationship with her mother is strained over whether or not to remove him from life support. Her best friend fails even to notice that anything is wrong and Ellis feels like her world is falling apart. But when all seems bleak, Ellis finds comfort in the most unexpected places.
Life goes on, but in those four fleeting days, friends are lost and found, promises are made, and Ellis realizes that nothing will ever quite be the same.
"Simone's is a wisecracking, mordantly observant, wide-awake voice. Even when the humor is bitter, there's something joyful in it--like hearing a direct dispatch from a neurotic person's consciousness."
Karen Russell, O Magazine
"With her first novel, musician and memoirist Alina Simone proves herself a hilariously whipsmart chronicler of thirtysomething creative ambition."
Scott Indrisek, Bookforum
"Note to Self is goofy, sweet, and all the things you want in a coming-of-age story. There's redemption in all this quotidian depravity."
