THE QUANTUM WEIRDNESS OF THE ALMOST-KISS

Caleb Covic has almost kissed Evie Beckham 14 times.

Caleb and Evie have been best friends since kindergarten. From offering comfort during her panic attacks to understanding her difficulty with interpreting feelings, no one can reach Evie the way Caleb can. As unquestionably passionate as Evie is about mathematics, Caleb is certain that when she is ready for romance, she will return his love and choose him. But Caleb doubts himself when Leo McGill, their charming fellow classmate at Newton Academy, a prestigious STEM boarding school, shows interest in Evie and she reciprocates. For her part, Evie cannot imagine her life without Caleb and fears losing their friendship if they were to become romantically involved—and besides, sparks fly between her and Leo, so going out with him makes sense. But after she grows attached to an anonymous boy she meets in an online forum, she begins to wonder if it’s possible to have feelings for more than one person. Parks shows the benefits of therapy through Evie’s growth in overcoming her anxiety and standing up to her overly protective psychologist mother; the mother-daughter relationship is movingly portrayed. She also touches on the lack of diversity in math and sciences and the pressure Evie and her best friend feel as girls in a male-dominated field. Alternating points of view allow readers to truly understand the depth of Caleb and Evie’s relationship from both sides. Most characters are White.

A charming friends-to-lovers romance.