Granados’s writing calls to mind the on-your-toes thrill of a lively FaceTime catch-up with your most bon-vivant friend as they update you you on their enviable escapades.

Written in diary entries with a transatlantic tone, Isa’s voice is so self-assured and distinct that, at times, “Happy Hour” feels like nonfiction. The novel does a brilliant job of capturing the sparkly mood of New York City summer soirees and devil-may-care youth without forcing overplayed tropes. These ventures are fueled by a dedication to a mortifying diet of cheap hot dogs and free drinks from generous men. What they lack in legal working visas and cash for groceries, they make up for in snappy charm, well-connected company, and the shamelessness to pursue unorthodox methods of funding like selling feet pics and working at a weekend market. The girls have an acute awareness of what makes up the “good life” - upscale clubs, hors d’oeuvres, aristocratic crowds - and how their keen understanding of overly feminine, effortless confidence is the ticket to join in the fun. Many of their peers attempt to climb corporate ladders and establish careers, but Isa and Gala only make ends meet in order to support their hedonistic lifestyle. Seeking only to experience the city, the girls dedicate themselves to mingling and partying. “Happy Hour” follows Canadian 21-year-old Isa as she moves to New York with her best friend, Gala. Her affinity for such decadent leisure can be attributed to a handful of other literary girls strutting about New York City, and perhaps why I, as a now-adult reader, am drawn to Isa, the lead of Canadian writer and filmmaker Marlowe Granados’ debut novel “Happy Hour,” for her similarly observant and mischievous nature. I devoured Eloise’s cheeky personality and her unsolicited frankness about room service, Dior and New York’s inhabitants. Like many young readers in the early 2000s, my mom raised me on Kay Thompson’s iconic “Eloise” books that feature the eponymous 6-year-old living in the Plaza Hotel.

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