Orlando’s reigning Big Time Celebrity Author does it again with her third novel, another sexy, funny, queer classic. You don’t need to be Orlandoan to love Arnett’s books — as her dozens of critics’ picks and weeks on various bestseller lists over the years prove — but if you are a local, the level of astute detail will enrich the wisdom and whimsy of Stop Me. Scenes set in 7-Eleven parking lots, Publix aisles, plastic McMansions and DIY punk houses, soundtracked by I-4 traffic and alt-right comedians, capture the anxiety felt by each of us, every day, “in this economy,” haha. But felt just a little bit more in the South. And just another little bit more if you’re gay in the South. And, well, still more if you’re underemployed and gay in the South. And Arnett makes the heartbreak hilarious.
This article appears in Best of Orlando (R) 2025.