If you're wondering whether 'Dorm Mates' is a good pick for someone who enjoys college-set stories, I'd say yes, but with a caveat. The novel captures the chaotic, sticky-floor energy of dorm living in a way that feels authentic. It's not about grand campus adventures so much as the tiny, weird moments that happen when strangers are forced into close quarters. The tension between the two main roommates, one a meticulous planner and the other a chaotic artist, is drawn with a lot of specific, grimy detail about shared bathrooms and stolen groceries. It nails that specific feeling of your living space being both a refuge and a source of constant low-grade stress.
I found the pacing a bit slow in the middle third, honestly. The plot leans heavily on misunderstandings that could be cleared up with a single honest conversation, which sometimes frustrated me. But if you can lean into that, the payoff in the later chapters—where they're forced to actually depend on each other during a campus-wide power outage—is surprisingly heartfelt. It's less about the glamour of college and more about the unglamorous, necessary friendships that form out of sheer proximity. The ending left me feeling oddly nostalgic for a dorm experience I never actually had.