Thefirsttimeshesawhim,sheflipped.Thefirsttimehesawher,heran.Thatwasthesecondgrade,butnotmuchhaschangedbytheseventh.Shesays:“MyBryce.Stillwalkingaroundwithmyfirstkiss.”Hesays:“It’sbeensixyearsofstrategicavoidanceandsocialdiscomfort.”Butintheeighthgradeeverythinggetsturnedupsidedown.Andjustashe’sthinkingthere’smoretoherthanmeetstheeye,she’sthinkingthathe’snotquiteallheseemed.
Thisisaclassicromanticcomedyoferrorstoldinalternatingchaptersbytwofresh,funnynewvoices.WendelinVanDraanenisatherbestherewithaknockoutcastofquirkycharactersandahilariousseriesofmisunderstandingsandmissedopportunities.Butunderlyingthehumoraretwoteensintransition.Theyareeachlearningtolookbeyondthesurfaceofpeople,bothfiguringoutwhotheyare,whotheywanttobe,andwhotheywanttobewith.