LOVE ME TOMORROW

A Seattle teen who’s skeptical about romance receives letters from the future that try to change her mind.

After witnessing her parents’ marriage fall apart six years ago, 17-year-old Emma Nakamura-Thatcher, who’s white and Japanese American, has vowed to avoid heartbreak. She doesn’t take risks in love or in life, but at the Tanabata festival at the Japanese garden over the summer, she wishes that everlasting love were real. As her senior year begins, Emma starts receiving mysterious letters written by someone who says they’re from the future: “I’ve come back for you, Emma. And if you let me, I’m going to change your life.” This person promises to fulfill her wish, thus ensuring her happy future. As different boys enter her life, Emma tries to determine which one could be the letter writer, her guarantee of “love with none of the risk, none of the pain.” There’s cute, nerdy childhood best friend Theo Beckett, who’s always there for her; hot cello genius Ezra French, who’s her after-school music intensive mentor; and handsome rich kid Colin St. James, whose house she cleans. The boys and the letter writer push Emma out of her comfort zone, allowing her to fully experience life, love, and even heartbreak. This charming, funny, time-traveling romance weaves in themes of personal growth and shifting family relationships, rounding out Emma’s development. Many readers will relate to her frequent struggles with learning to live in the present.

An endearing, lightly magical romantic comedy.