A little try-out due to many request: our very first Online read. From your couch, in your pyjamas, phone in hand. Same club, same chat, same honest book talk. Just no need to leave the house. 🛋️
Go gay. Go sad. Go dark.
That's the advice she gotten, the new main character from Josh Silver. For anybody that loved Yellowface and wants to read the next BIG thing, because Josh Silver did it again: write a timeless classic.
The book
Mallory Maddox was once the literary it-girl. Now she’s seven years into writer’s block, her name is slowly fading, and she needs a comeback. Fast. Then she meets Leo. He’s young, battling addiction, sleeping under bridges and doing whatever it takes to survive. He’s fragile. He’s mysterious. And he’s exactly the story Mallory has been waiting for.
The world wants stories like Leo’s right now, and Mallory is convinced she’s the one who should tell it. After all, she’s the one doing the writing. So whose story is it, really? But secrets start to surface, and suddenly much more than her career is at stake. How far will Mallory go to write the perfect book?
A sharp, darkly funny satirical thriller.
Why this book?
Because everyone is talking about it. And with this theme, there is enough to discuss: who gets to tell someone else’s story? When does inspiration turn into stealing? And can you root for a character you can’t stand?
Fruit Fly was picked by the BBC as one of the must-read books of 2026, and A24 just snapped it up for a TV series. So we’re reading it before it hits our screens.
And as it's made for a group chat, we're bringing it online. Two narrators you can’t fully trust, short chapters, and twists that will have you typing “wait, WHAT?” at midnight. The perfect book to read together online!
How we read together
For one month, our WhatsApp group is where the reading happens. We move through the book together, chapter by chapter, and make it to the last page within the month. First thoughts, favourite lines, hot takes and plot twist outrage all go in the chat. We close the month with The Book Review, online: one hour on a video call, one question. Is this book worth a finish?
Joining means joining the reading. The chat is the heart of this club, not a bonus. That’s what makes the call feel like catching up with friends, not a meeting with strangers.
Finishing is not required. Reading together is.

Every format counts. Paperback, ebook, library copy, audiobook.
Half-read is enough. Many of us don’t finish.
See you in the chat, lovely!

Good to know
Signing up for the event means taking part in the online chat.
You can join until 48 hours before The Book Review. After kick-off, First timer tickets are no longer available, and you’ll have missed part of the conversation.
No refunds. Until 48 hours before the event, you can pass your ticket to a friend or swap it for another Monthly via info@herhalfreadbookclub.com.
Content warning: this book deals with addiction, homelessness, sex work and trauma.
Club member discounts are only for people in the WhatsApp group. If you leave the community, you lose the discount.
We sometimes take screenshots of the call for our socials. Prefer not to be in them? Just let us know at the start, or keep your camera off.