August 15, 2022
A road trip with her rival becomes a journey of self-discovery for Kelsie Miller. Kelsie hasn't heard from her best friend, Brianna Hoffman, for 30 days, not since Brianna left upstate New York and moved to Seattle to live with her mom. Brianna has been posting on social media, so Kelsie knows she's OK but not what went wrong with their friendship. When Kelsie literally crashes into Eric Mulvaney Ortiz, quarterback of their elite private school's football team and her rival for valedictorian, at a party, they start chatting. They realize that Brianna and Jessica Lovelace, the girlfriend who ghosted him, are both going to be at the University of Pennsylvania that weekend, and they come up with a plan to road trip there to win them back. Their time together leads to revelations for Kelsie about misconceptions she's held about Eric, her friendship with Brianna, and herself--including the fact that she is demisexual. Kelsie's realization that she has to address her own issues before she can fix her relationships with other people evolves naturally, and her budding romance with Eric is believable and sweet. Eric and Kelsie also know what it's like to be different in their predominantly White town: Kelsie is a transracial adoptee from Korea, while Dominican and Irish American Eric has two dads and was born to a surrogate mom. They bond over an exploration of family and their origins. With its focus on personal growth, this is a sweet romance with substance. (Romance. 12-18)
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September 5, 2022
Two teens join forces to figure out why they’ve been ghosted in this humorous novel by Ireland (The Jasmine Project). Korean Kelsie Miller and Dominican and Irish Eric Mulvaney Ortiz, rivals since kindergarten, are currently in competition for valedictorian at their predominantly white upstate N.Y. prep school. Kelsie’s best friend of 12 years, Brianna Hoffman, recently moved to Seattle and hasn’t communicated with Kelsie since. Similarly, Eric’s girlfriend, Instagram model Jessica Lovelace, has been incommunicado following his return from football camp. When Kelsie and Eric realize that Brianna and Jessica are both going to be on campus at the University of Pennsylvania, the two put aside their rivalry and travel to confront them. While on the road, the duo grow closer, sharing their past wounds and current insecurities, and bonding over the all-consuming pressure of growing up. When they arrive at their destination, they must contend with their own perceptions of themselves to fix their broken relationships, especially if they have any hope of moving forward. In this breezy road trip romp, Ireland employs quick-moving plot beats, articulate verbal sparring, a will-they-won’t-they romance, and plenty of fun-in-the-sun shenanigans. Ages 12–up.
September 15, 2022
Grades 9-12 Kelsie Miller, a high-achieving senior at a competitive high school, has only ever had one best friend: Brianna Hoffman sat next to her in kindergarten, and the rest was history. But now Bri has gone to Seattle to spend senior year with her estranged mother, and she's inexplicably ghosting Kelsie. But when Kelsie--literally--runs into her longtime nemesis and academic rival, Eric Mulvaney Ortiz, at a party, she learns he's in a similar bind: his summer girlfriend has gone dark. Jessica goes to UPenn, the same campus Bri will be touring in a week. Eric proposes a wild plan: he and Kelsie will road trip together to UPenn and learn, respectively, what went wrong with Jessica and Bri. Eric and Kelsie's prickly relationship, built on years of rivalry and misunderstandings, is fertile ground. Kelsie, who's slowly unpacking her asexuality, is frustrated that Eric's months-long romance is considered more meaningful than her decades-long friendship. But as the two come to learn more about each other, they come to understand themselves. A sweetly satisfying journey through love and the many forms it can take.
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December 1, 2022
Gr 9 Up-Ireland takes the age-old friends-to-lovers story and injects it with relevant social commentary for teens, balanced with a healthy dose of comedy. Kelsie Miller and Brianna Hoffman have been inseparable for most of their childhoods, until Bri ups and moves to Seattle to be with her mom, leaving Kelsie in radio silence for a month. Not sure what to do, Kelsie tries emailing and texting her best friend, hoping for a clue as to what happened. In walks Eric Mulvaney Ortiz, the best-looking and most well-liked boy at her high school, who is equally confused as to why he hasn't heard from his girlfriend Jessica. He offers Kelsie a deal-to drive together to the University of Pennsylvania, where both Briana and Jessica are supposed to be, to see why they were ghosted. Hilarity ensues during their adventure, and the tension between them is palpable. Throughout the story, readers catch glimpses of sexual assault and racial prejudice, along with topics such as children of adoption and surrogate parenting. While none of these themes takes up a particularly large amount of text, Ireland handles them gracefully and with enough intent that they will resonate with teen readers. The novel's main characters are Asian and Latine. VERDICT An excellent addition to any YA collection, especially those seeking love stories with diverse characters.-David Roberts
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