Commencement

New York Times Bestseller and National Bestseller

From the acclaimed author of Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan delivers a sparkling, deeply human story about female friendship, coming of age, and the dizzying freedom—and confusion—of having every door open but no map to follow.

When Celia, Bree, Sally, and April are assigned to the same dorm at Smith College, it seems like a cosmic mistake. Celia smuggles in vodka and questions everything she learned in Catholic school. Beautiful, traditional Bree dreams of her Savannah fiancé. Sally, grieving and meticulous, keeps her world perfectly ordered. And April—fierce, feminist, unapologetic—wants out immediately. But somehow, these four mismatched women become inseparable.

Sullivan follows them through late-night conversations, heartbreaks, and the messy years beyond graduation with warmth, wit, and remarkable insight. The New York Times praised the novel’s “strong, warmly believable three-dimensional characters who have fun, have fights and fall into intense love affairs.”

This is a book about the friends who shape us, the choices that define us, and what it means to be a woman navigating a world of infinite possibilities. Perfect for readers who love character-driven fiction, stories of lasting friendship, and novels that capture the particular joy and chaos of being young and trying to figure it all out.

A brilliant, big-hearted read that will make you laugh, think, and maybe call your college roommate.

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