Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler is about a young woman named Tess, who moves to New York City to build a new life and discover her path. She finds work at a prestigious restaurant in Manhattan and is pulled into a world of new relationships, late nights, and noise. As she learns about food, wine, and the people around her, Tess becomes attached to the rush of the restaurant and the attention she receives when working there.
As she spends more time with her coworkers, specifically Simone and Jake, Tess begins to see the gossip, secrets, and social hierarchy that exist behind the restaurant doors. She overhears rumors, learns who can and cannot be trusted, and watches how people talk about each other when they aren’t around.
He looked at me. Perhaps it was raining that night, a stifling tropical storm. Perhaps someone struck a match and held it to my cheek. Perhaps someone cleaved my life into before and after. He looked at me. And then he laughed. From that moment on he became unbearable to me (p. 44).
This quotation ties into the idea of self-discovery both in the story and in real life. Everyone goes through phases of being lost or shaped by other people’s opinions, but at some point you have to wake up and choose yourself. Growing up isn’t about being liked by everyone or following the crowd; it is about making choices that actually serve you, owning the consequences, and coming out of it more confident and self-aware than before.