Review by Lois L. K. Chan
Simon and Schuster, 2024
400 pages, Hardcover, $26.99 CAD
ISBN13: 9781665926072
Young Adult
Romance, Coming-of-Age
“‘I don’t show people less than my best,’ I whisper.
I’m not sure what it is about this darkness, why it makes me brave enough to say the honest, unfiltered truth to a boy I know so well, to a boy I barely know at all.
‘That sounds really fucking exhausting,’ Levi says, returning my honesty in his soft, tentative way.
It is.But I don’t know how to be any other way. It’s who I am. Perfect grades. Perfect clothes. Perfect Fitz. But if I’m a person who never shows people less than their best…how is it possible to still feel like my best is never enough?”
Ava Fitzgerald doesn’t go by “Ava” — she goes by “Fitz,” the nickname that inspired her social media handle, @IfTheShoeFitz, an account she uses to highlight her passion for sustainable fashion design. As she nurtures her online platform, she’s also set on convincing her family that fashion is more than just a hobby. That’s why Fitz is in New York City for a summer program at FIT, and ready to have the time of her life with her girlfriend, Dani, who’s doing a theatre internship before beginning her freshman year at NYU in September.
But things aren’t picture-perfect for long. After less than a day in New York, Dani dumps Fitz, accusing her of being more focused on social media than their relationship. As Fitz spirals, she tries to find refuge in her older sister Tessa, a New York transplant, only Tessa’s caught up in relationship issues of her own. It’s only when Fitz miraculously bumps into Levi, the childhood best friend she lost contact with seven years ago, that she begins to feel like New York might not be the loneliest place on Earth.
When Dani accidentally bumps into Levi and Fitz while they’re hanging out, a brilliant plan comes to Fitz’s mind: Fitz decides to fake-date Levi to make Dani jealous and to make it seem real, she decides to go on a social media hiatus to prove that she can be relationship-focused! After all, Levi also needs to make his ex regret asking him for a “break.” What could go wrong?
Finally Fitz offers readers a complicated protagonist in Fitz, who, initially, was unlikeable with her image obsessed and stand-offish personality. Even so, the sizzling chemistry in her love triangle with Dani and Levi had me flipping to the next page to figure out if the spark both Dani and Levi see in Fitz would become visible to me too. As the novel progresses, it explores Fitz’s complex relationships with her Jewish identity, bisexuality, and family. Once Fitz realizes she needs to shed her filters and take care of her mental health, she finally comes into focus for the reader in a triumphant character arc.
While the story is rife with not-so-natural attempts to depict the internet-tainted brain of a Gen-Z protagonist (note the Lil Nas X namedrop and Emily in Paris reference, amongst many others), Kanter still manages to represent a younger generation respectfully, without falling into stereotypes. The novel also makes lovely use of the setting. New York City never fails to prove itself as the perfect rom-com setting as we accompany Fitz to the Pride Parade, on thrifting sprees, and through many plant-rehabilitation adventures with Levi. The pacing moves along nicely throughout the novel, however, for all the issues the novel insightfully tackles, I longed to see Fitz’s relationship with her parents, and her developing artistic identity, fleshed out more.
Nonetheless, Finally Fitz is an endearing coming-of-age novel reminiscent of XO Kitty’s exploration of culture, family, and romance with the childhood friends-to-lovers trope thrown into the mix. It’s a perfect read for people who might enjoy a love letter to New York City, artistic pursuits, and ultimately—finding yourself.
Lois L.K. Chan is currently a Creative Writing major at UBC. She predominantly writes fiction, owns too many short story collections, and was once compared to an “antique store.” Her stories have been published in Flash Fiction Magazine, Gingerbread House Literary Magazine, and Soft Star Magazine.
YOUNG ADULTING 