LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

Kate Bailey, a white 16-year-old, lives in the small town of Lakesprings with her extended family on their lakefront property.

Her best friend, Alana, who is Polynesian from Hawaii, has convinced Kate to enroll with her in a podcasting class. Kate expects to only do behind-the-scenes work, but when her topic, advice, is chosen by the teacher, Kate is expected to co-host the podcast. Meanwhile, Alana is interested in a handsome Latino classmate named Diego Martinez—and when Kate takes her cousin to tutoring, she discovers that Diego works there and tries to get to know him better so she can relay the information to Alana. When a boy calls into the podcast seeking love advice about a girl whom he’s interested in, Kate is sure that it’s Diego talking about his feelings for Alana. However, Kate slowly realizes her own romantic feelings for Diego—even though she is also trying to get over her ex-boyfriend, Hunter, who moved away and has fallen out of touch. Kate tries to abstain from telling Diego anything due to her friendship with Alana. While Kate becomes known for her straightforward advice on the podcast, she seems oblivious to the problems of people around her.

West (Love, Life, and the List, 2018, etc.) creates a slow but tender story about friendship and love.