Everything I Know About Love: What This Memoir Taught Me About Friendship and Growing Up

(Relive those teenage tales you left behind)

Theme: Friendship, vulnerability, family 

Book stars: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ (3.7/5)

My ♥️ quote-

“Love was there in my empty bed. It was piled up in the records Lauren bought me when we were teenagers. It was in the smudged recipe cards from my mum in between the pages of cookbooks in my kitchen cabinet. Love was in the bottle of gin tied with a ribbon that India had packed me off with; in the smeary photo-strips with curled corners that would end up stuck to my fridge. It was in the note that lay on the pillow next to me, the one I would fold up and keep in the shoebox of all the other notes she had written before. I woke up safe in my one-woman boat. I was gliding into a new horizon; floating in a sea of love. There it was. Who knew? It had been there all along.”

― Dolly Alderton, Everything I Know About Love

Plot :

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton is a humorous, reflective memoir that traces the episodic events of Alderton's life on love and friends that makes her writing very accessible and engaging, especially for young readers.

It captures the emotional landscape of growing up in the modern world where she reflects on her journey from adolescence through her twenties discovering various friendships, romances, and a search for her own identity with the evolving meaning of—love.

My Review :

This is not a book that follows the usual character-driven storyline, but a memoir which would connect with you as per your own depth and understanding of the phases of life.

I was quite sceptical to choose this over the well-known book—Educated. The dilemma surfaced when I thought Educated may inspire the readers, but then I realised, it's not something impactful a reader seeks but something they can relate to—the ability to inhale the souls of the characters and exhale with the pages.

Dolly Alderton puts her life bluntly: though love is innate in a person, its form of expression is learnt. In her teenage days,, it was movies and music that gave her an idea of the feeling of love. But as it is said, love is not read but felt; she feels the truth of love and life gradually towards her late teens, overcoming her fantasies.

In early teenage, she discovers MSN Messenger, which plays a crucial role in building fleeting connections and disconnections that happened when expectations behind the screen weren't fulfilled when met in person—that is so relatable to many. The 12-minute date story, her Oxford University drunk night etc. felt raw and comical.

The boy talk was as if my friend from childhood was ranting to me about his love life when we were kids. They were just honest feelings. The whole book is feelings and experiences, which might be different or same for the reader, but that is how she led her life. She too has regrets, and even questions her younger self’s beliefs about love, but she ends up with a bigger picture in mind. 

Through her twenties, she realises that love and relationships are not the source of fulfilment. She noticed her dependence on partners and romances for validation, and her career instability that deteriorated her mental health. Excessive partying and over-indulgence in methods to run away from problems rather than dealing with them will irk you at times.

Her friendship with—Farly and Lauren was genuine and most heartwarming connection she could rely on. When one reads the initial pages, they realise that she has never laughed the way she did with her friends with any of her boys. She did make friends that were fairly good to her throughout her growing years, though she didn't truly value them before. 

The dates, messages, and hangover recipes are funny to read—a good read on a holiday. It's not just storytelling—it’s thinking about the meaning behind experiences. Although the book cover mentions everything about love—it ain't all about love; it's also about what feminism is sometimes perceived to be and lots of body and image issues that teens face day by day.

In her early teens, I did find that over-imagination of the thought of romance does lead to one becoming delusional at times when the picture is right in front.

My take-

Her writing style is impressive, but I found a few things too monotonous and occasionally repetitive, perhaps due to the generational gap or cultural differences (as I live in a country with stricter norms, where we are usually not allowed to have alcohol when we are 10, not even a shot). Even her exposure to parties and late-night travels felt distant.

The reader will find deeper meanings behind those incidents that sometimes made her and sometimes taught her. They will enjoy it towards the middle. The book did feel slightly more tilted towards her party life than her academic journey (I thought this much partying would definitely lead her to fail in exams, which would be fair; if she was not studying and she wasn't a prodigy, then how she kept passing felt strange). A slight reference to that would have felt more balanced and authentic.

Recommended To-

This would be a worthwhile read for millennials and teenagers who are struggling with low confidence and fractured relationships with friends and family, to reflect upon themselves and reassure them to rekindle the love.

But, if you don't like memoirs—especially those centred on love and relationships—this may not be to your liking, so you can drop it for sure.

It may also not appeal to conservatives and people who start judging harshly and labelling women on the basis of an incident in a book.

READ MORE OF MY REVIEWS :

• The Loopiness of Life by Tanima Das 

https://booksandthoughtsbydipti.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-loopiness-of-life-by-tanima-das.html

• Of Moonflowers and Memories by Satya

https://booksandthoughtsbydipti.blogspot.com/2026/01/of-moonflowers-and-memories-by-satya.html

• Winners Stand Alone by Paulo Coelho 

https://booksandthoughtsbydipti.blogspot.com/2026/02/winners-stand-alonea-book-by-paulo.html

#BlogchatterA2Z2026

This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026. It contains my honest opinions.