All-nighter

Seniors Autumn Povitsky and Tara Esposito are sworn enemies. Ever since a failed attempt by Autumn to welcome newcomer Tara to the all-girls school by way of stumbling through their anti-smoking policy, the two have antagonized each other nonstop. Valedictorian Autumn has a penchant for rules and ruling the school with an iron fist, and Tara is a certified bad girl determined to fill her time with pranks and noncompliant mischief. But fate is fickle, and Autumn needs Tara's help breaking the rules by attaining a student ID for the local college so she can see her crush read poetry at 2 a.m. What could go wrong? Not too much, but just enough as the duo navigates Autumn's twin brother's prom night, a flash mob, a secret roller-skating party, sunrise ocean dives, and more. In an all-in-one-night whirlwind with plot-relevant flashbacks, this sapphic rom-com jumps between the two girls' perspectives, always picking up where the other left off with amusing perspectives. In this work that is loaded with pop-culture references (that may eventually date the work), Vinesse has captured not just a great will-they-won't-they enemies tension, she's also effectively encapsulated how goodbyes aren't forever and connection with others can help a post-graduation future seem less scary.

Just before graduation, two nemeses are thrown together for a whirlwind adventure. Type A Autumn Povitsky, who's lesbian and Jewish, is ready to leave high school as class valedictorian with a bright future awaiting her at Wellesley. Sure, she's never kissed a girl, she's worried her best friend is abandoning her, and she's scared and "falling apart at the seams," but she's determined, driven, and ready to succeed. Tara Esposito, who's pansexual and has "beige skin," is a quintessentially edgy, tattooed bad girl with a vape pen and a failing grade in English. Autumn urgently needs a fake college ID so she can flirt with her dream girl at a poetry reading taking place on a local campus later tonight. By 7 a.m. tomorrow, Tara must write a passing essay on Virginia Woolf'sMrs. Dalloway--or she won't be able to graduate. They agree to help one another, and their subsequent hijinks-filled night reveals that they might not be so different after all. In fact, they might actually like each other. The alternating close third-person points of view reveal the protagonists' mindsets, and the narrative--an utterly fun read with a realistic and sensual central romance--flies by. Despite the casual tone, the characters work through serious issues, including recovering from a serious accident and managing ADHD. The supporting cast is broadly diverse in makeup. A delightful, feel-good Sapphic romp.(Fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.