Ava Gallanter is the librarian in residence at the Lazarus Club, an ancient, dwindling Manhattan arts club full of eccentric elderly residents stuck in a long-gone era. Twenty-five-year-old Ava, however, feels right at home, quietly surrounded by her beloved books and sequestered away from her peers. When Ava’s enigmatic friend Stephanie returns to town on the hunt for fame and fortune, she promises to make Ava’s dream of becoming a writer come true. Together they start a literary salon at the Lazarus Club. However, Ava’s romanticized idea of the salon quickly erodes as Stephanie’s aspirations take the women in an unexpected—and precarious—direction. In this humorous yet keenly observant coming-of-age story, Cohen brings us into a boisterous literary world. With eloquent prose and affecting storytelling, is both a wickedly fun yet sharply insightful look at friendship, feminism and finding yourself in your twenties.