DANNY CONSTANTINO'S FIRST DATE

A seventh grader invites a celebrity to the school dance.

Danny Constantino was best friends with Natalie Flores Griffin throughout primary school. When Natalie went on to become a famous child star in Hollywood, the pair emailed back and forth for a bit, but the emails eventually stopped. Three years later, Danny’s dealing with the loss of his childhood dog and a mom who’s running for mayor. Luckily for Danny, the big dance is coming up and Natalie has accepted his emailed invitation to be his date…and everyone is losing it. Danny’s mom wants to use her in the mayoral campaign. Danny’s principal wants to get Natalie to take part in the pep rally. Danny’s friends want her to go trick-or-treating with them. Danny juggles everyone’s desires as best he can while reconnecting with an old friend who hoped for nothing more than a few days out of the spotlight. Danny and Natalie’s blossoming romance is well drawn, and Acampora steers clear of treacle territory with deft deployment of subplots. The book’s structure is a bit uneven, and some of the supporting players are thinly developed, but Danny’s relationships with his grandmother, his mother, and Natalie reinforce one another, painting a strong portrait of a young boy coming in to his own with the help of three strong female characters. Danny and Natalie seem to present white, but Danny has several friends of color.

Every first date should be this charming.