After Care: A piercing debut exposing the toxicities of reality TV and influencer culture

Grace is no longer famous. She sits alone in her New York apartment, endlessly watching reruns of herself on the reality TV show Speed Daters. Then, one evening, a man breaks in through her window. A rare, still-obsessed fan or raging incel – Grace is unsure. Before she can find out, he disappears.

That same night, the world is rocked by the news that Anoushka, Grace’s onscreen rival, has taken her own life. Suddenly thrust back into the public eye, Grace is thrilled to be relevant again.

But fame is fickle, and when the fans begin to turn on her, Grace escapes with her unreliable boyfriend and Speed Daters co-star Cal to his isolated cabin in the woods. With nothing but each other, can they mend what’s broken without destroying what little is left?

A piercing debut exposing the toxicities of reality TV and influencer culture, After Care is a disconcertingly recognisable portrait of reckless consumerism, spectatorship and the attention economy. Perfect for fans of Eliza Clark, Caro Claire Burke, Sarah Rose Etter and Ottessa Moshfegh.

'A compelling and perceptive exploration of the dangers of seeking validation in a society that increasingly mistakes a carefully constructed existence for reality. Maniar has crafted a story I did not know I needed, but one I was deeply grateful to uncover. Wholly absorbing' - Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of Cursed Daughters

'Bold and haunting, After Care dissects the delusions of fame, parasocialism and the attention economy. Who do we become when we're being watched? And what happens when people stop?' - Stacey Yu, author of Kitten

'Searing, visceral and sincerely uncomfortable, but like a deep dark doomscroll into the psyche of 2026, I found that I just couldn't look away. An unmissable debut. Let it jab at your tender insecurities' - Genevieve Jagger, author of Fragile Animals

'Crackles with sharp insight into the human condition and wry comment on the 21st century world it does its business in. Here is a writer to watch' - Laird Hunt, author of Zorrie

'Completely riveting... Will appeal to fans of Yesteryear and The Guest' - Jemimah Wei, author of The Original Daughter

'A pitch-perfect and utterly compelling portrait of one of modern society's most ubiquitous and troubling figures - the reality TV star turned influencer - and of how far any of us might be willing to go for the illusory approval of strangers on the other side of a screen' - Naomi Xu Elegant, author of Gingko Season

'Dark, so shrewdly observed, and written in beautiful, dreamlike prose, After Care is as compulsive as the reality TV it skewers. It made me squirm and I couldn't look away' - Hannah Beer, author of I Make My Own Fun

'A triumph of a debut. Unflinching and brilliantly drawn in its portrayal of performance versus feeling, the loneliness of reality (tv) and how easily we consume young women and discard them' - Celia Silvani, author of Just Between Mothers

'An edgy, ice-cool debut... It reminded me a little of Jennifer Egan's prescient early novel Look At Me and My Year of Rest and Relaxation' - Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

'Insightful, clever and raw... Maniar is a writer to watch' - Luan Goldie, author of Between Yesterday and Tomorrow

'Exposes the economic machinery behind online performance: attention as survival, visibility as currency... An unsettling and compassionate novel, with an exhilarating and edifying ending' - Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal

This novel contains discussions of suicide and graphic depictions of sexual assault.

© 2026 Verve Books (E-bog): 9780857309617

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 8. oktober 2026