Cover Reveal & Q&A: Jas Hammonds Introduces Their Sophomore Novel Thirsty

Jas Ham​​monds’ debut novel, We Deserve Monuments, was one of the best YA books of 2022, a story of love and family that deftly explored issues of generational trauma and racism. Her second, Thirsty, will arrive next spring, and aims to tackle a similarly difficult subject with care and grace. 

Thirsty follows the story of  18-year-old Blake, who desperately wants to join an exclusive sorority in her first year at college. The mysterious Serena Society promises connections to a network of powerful women of color, but as pledging intensifies she increasingly turns to alcohol to overcorrect for her anxiety about her lack of financial and social status and begins to lose herself to addiction. 

Described as an unflinching and character-driven story set during a time when alcohol abuse is starting at younger and younger ages, Thirsty is a timely exploration of the ways our country dangerously centers drinking culture and the impact that has on a young woman struggling to find herself.

Here’s how the publisher describes the story. 

It’s the summer before college and eighteen-year-old Blake Brenner and her girlfriend, Ella, have one join the mysterious and exclusive Serena Society. The sorority promises status and lifelong connections to a network of powerful, trailblazing women of color. Ella’s acceptance is a sure thing―she’s the daughter of a Serena alum. Blake, however, has a lot more to prove.

As a former loner from a working-class background, Blake lacks Ella’s pedigree and confidence. Luckily, she finds courage at the bottom of a liquor bottle. When she drinks, she’s bold, funny, and unstoppable―and the Serenas love it. But as pledging intensifies, so does Blake’s drinking, until it’s seeping into every corner of her life. Ella assures Blake that she’s fine ; partying hard is what it takes to make the cut . . .

But success has never felt so much like drowning. With her future hanging in the balance and her past dragging her down, Blake must decide how far she’s willing to go to achieve her glittering dreams of success―and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process.

Thirsty won’t hit shelves until May 14, 2024, but we’ve got a first look at the cover for you right now—-and had a chance to chat with Hammonds about what to expect from the story! 

Paste Magazine: Tell us about Thirsty! What can readers expect from the story? 

Jas Hammonds: Thirsty is about a girl named Blake trying to gain admittance into an elite sorority while coming to terms with her alcohol addiction. It’s told over the course of one hot Virginia summer, right before Blake and her friends head off to college. Readers can expect friendship drama, rude awakenings, heartbreak, boozy yacht parties, explorations of race and class, and so many moments of quiet tenderness.  

Paste: Describe your main character Blake Brenner for us and tell us a little bit about her journey.

Hammonds: Blake Brenner is an eighteen-year-old mixed (Black and white) lesbian. As a kid, she was anxious and quiet and was bullied a lot. But when she met the electric and wealthy Ella in ninth grade, her social status skyrocketed, and she became Ella Spencer’s Girlfriend. Ella has deep ties to the Serena Society, an underground group of elite women of color founded at their future university. Ella’s dream to join their ranks is imprinted on Blake, and Blake becomes desperate to prove that she belongs in this world of privilege, despite her working class background. 

However, Blake’s journey is challenged by the drinking culture of the pledge process—as well as the creeping feeling that she and Ella aren’t that golden of a couple anymore.   

Paste: Thirsty is a story about addiction, which is something I feel a lot of YA stories are reluctant to touch on. What made you want to tackle this subject so forthrightly? 

Hammonds: Everyone, especially young adult readers, understands the pressures of fitting in. I had my first alcoholic drink when I was fifteen (FYIW it was a shot of rum in a stainless steel egg cup that didn’t stay in my stomach for long). A lot of my friends drank. It eventually became this thing that was almost expected at gatherings, especially when I went to college. I started relying on liquid courage in an effort to relieve my anxiety in social settings. 

I wanted to explore that isolated feeling and challenge societal expectations. More than anything, I hope to leave questions such as: Why do I drink? Do I even like drinking? Do I have people in my life that pressure me to drink? Have *I* ever been that person?

Paste: What particular element of this book excited you the most while you were writing it? Do you have a particular moment from this story that you are most excited for readers to experience? 

Hammonds: I love experimenting with form. There are endless ways to tell a story, and I’m always trying to find ones that feel exciting while still being the right fit for my narrative. Throughout the book are small “How To” sections told in second person that mirror what’s going on in Blake’s life. The novel opens with a section titled “How to Be the Life of the Party” because Blake is on top of the world when the story opens (or so she thinks…). Similarly, “How to Be a Disaster” is there when Blake is at her lowest. I loved writing these intimate moments, and I hope it helps readers connect with the story in a new way. 

Paste: The premise of this story sounds quite different from We Deserve Monuments. What would you say Thirsty has in common with your debut? 

Hammonds: Both novels share themes that will always be present in my work: mental health, queerness, exploration of mixed-raced identities and Blackness, complicated family and friendship dynamics. I am also a fan of bittersweet endings, so folks who enjoyed the ache of We Deserve Monuments might find a similar tone in Thirsty. 

Thirsty will be released on May 14, 2024, but you can pre-order it right now. 

Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB