WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME

Troubled rich boy Holden Parish and star quarterback River Whitmore are an unlikely pair, who find themselves longing to be together the more they push each other away.

Fresh out of treatment at a sanitarium in Switzerland and haunted by his traumatic past, Holden goes to stay with his aunt and uncle in California. He’ll spend his senior year at Santa Cruz Central High School. In an effort to distance himself from painful memories of the conversion therapy in Alaska that his parents forced on him—and that necessitated the year of recovery in Geneva—Holden drinks and spends profligately. River is the last person Holden expects to be closeted—and when the two are together, there are undeniable sparks. What starts with simple attraction builds to a secret romance and steamy encounters, ultimately forcing both white-presenting teens to face their own demons before they can build a meaningful, lasting relationship. River and Holden, who were secondary characters in the first book, take center stage in this second entry in the Lost Boys series. Though they have diverging stories of coming out as gay, some of their most tender and vulnerable moments involve their coping with similar feelings of loneliness and grief. Their life circumstances are extraordinary—Holden’s parents are billionaires, River is considered NFL material—but Scott highlights their humanity. This compelling story, which follows its leads beyond high school, will appeal to romance fans.

An absorbing love story.