Review by Booklist Review
Lu is ready to graduate from high school without letting anyone, not even her two bestest apples, Zoe and Maya, get close to her heart's truth. Her quiet pining for a lovely English teacher comes to an abrupt end when simultaneous bathroom dramas reunite Lu with Eve, her long-lost middle-school bestie. The two parted ways when Eve turned gorgeous and soared through high school on a popular-girl trajectory, while Lu bonded with likable fellow misfits. But that doesn't seem to matter now: the intervening years drain away as Lu carefully but ardently schemes a way back into Eve's orbit. Lu's exuberantly original narrative propels the reader through a roller coaster of emotions that includes not only the nerve-wracking pursuit of Eve but also the death of a beloved grandmother and the bittersweet nostalgia of high school's final days. Although Lu's loneliness is in large part due to her closeted sexuality, many teens will relate to the sense of isolation she feels in relation to family and friends. In her debut novel, Bonneau expertly wrangles slang expressions into snappy dialogue and vibrant introspection with an ease reminiscent of Francesca Lia Block. Hand this to teens looking for same-sex romance or offbeat, character-driven storytelling.--Diane Colson Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Lucy "Lu" Butler is in heart-wrenching, agonizing love. Lu believes there are only two kinds of love: "Never-Ending Pending Love" and "Happily Never After," and she assumes that both end in heartbreak. Lu first pines for her English teacher, Ms. Hayes, but after a high-stakes chance encounter in the bathroom with her former best friend, Evelyn "Eve" Brooks, Lu's feelings shift. Unfortunately, Miss Popular Eve is dating the school's universally beloved Nate Gray, and Lu doesn't know how to own and accept her sexuality let alone pursue a former friend. Lu's senior year brings heartache, loss, and complication: an aging grandmother, an absent mother, an overworked father who spends more hours performing trauma surgery than at home, conflicts with her sister, and growing doubts about her long-held assumption that she'll grow up to be a doctor too. Although Bonneau's debut novel offers an unconventional lesbian romance and is narrated in original language, the confluence of young adult tropes feels slightly derivative: stress around prom, using drugs to escape, pining lust, and insurmountable familial conflictnone of which is explored in sufficient depth. The prose is highly stylized and evokes the mid-20th century: cigarettes are "tars," friends are "apple-Jacks," and girls are "betties." The onslaught of invented slang is ultimately disorienting, distracting readers from the heart of the novela tender, queer coming-of-age story. All characters are assumed white. An experimental story that teaches young readers that love takes courage. (Romance. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
