This Time Next Year

Minnie is the novel’s protagonist, and most of the novel is narrated from her point of view. She turns 30 at the beginning of the novel. She is a professional chef who “[feels] most calm” when baking savory British-style pies (53-54), a refuge from her typically anxious temperament. Minnie’s friendliness and concern for others is accompanied by a cynical streak, especially about New Year’s Eve and her January 1 birthday. She associates New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day entirely with personal and professional setbacks and considers it cursed. Flashbacks show Minnie’s negative associations with her birthday, beginning with her mother’s resentment about Minnie’s birth one minute after Quinn Cooper. Connie coached Quinn’s mother, Tara, through labor only to have Tara receive the cash prize and use the family’s long-chosen baby name, leading to Minnie sharing a name with the popular car instead. Minnie is frequently focused on her curly hair’s tendency to be messy, as it often reflects her attitude toward her own life or stressful circumstances.

Minnie must reassess both her past and present when she meets Quinn on their mutual 30th birthday after being locked in a bathroom at his party.