Move over, Hallmark. Mariah Carey? Don’t start. All Sad Janet—our endearingly cynical protagonist—wants for Christmas is to be left alone with her sadness, listening to The Smiths and working with shelter dogs in the forest, far from the forced cheer of the holidays and her family’s relentless push for her to “fix” herself with happy pills.

“I want to feel all my feelings, not swallow them. So if they want to swallow me, so be it.”

Janet’s family sees her perpetual depression as a problem, but this is exactly how she wants to be. With Christmas fast approaching, her doctor introduces her to a new medication: a Christmas pill, designed to help people like her “get through the holidays.” Worn down by a recent breakup and her mother’s incessant nagging, Janet reluctantly decides to give it a try. What follows is a holiday season unlike any other, and a twist that made me literally stop in my tracks while listening to this as an audiobook.

A self-proclaimed “depression comedy,” Lucie Britsche’s Sad Janet offers readers a front-row seat to Janet’s brutally honest, no-filter inner monologue, which is pure black comedy gold. The writing is sharp, witty, and unexpectedly poetic, leaving me with a permanent smirk and frequent outbursts of laughter.

Sad Janet is a refreshing, original take on the holidays, perfect for readers who want a little more cynicism and a lot less Hallmark in their seasonal reads. Highly recommend if you’re looking for something hilariously unconventional to read this holiday season!

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