LOVE SOMEBODY

Three high school juniors navigate messy, changing relationships with one another.

Popular girl Sam used to date nice guy soccer player Christian, but they realized they were better off as friends. When Christian falls for Ros, a supersmart loner, he asks Sam to help him gain her affection. In Cyrano de Bergerac fashion, Sam tells Christian what to say when he is texting or talking with Ros. It works; Ros becomes interested in Christian. However, Sam starts to develop feelings for Ros, too, and wonders if they could ever be reciprocated. Meanwhile, the teens are each navigating issues related to their families and examining how they affect their identities. Sam has an absent actress mother; Christian’s dad is controlling, which caused his older brother to leave the family years ago; and Ros, who was born via surrogate and is not biologically related to her beloved gay dad, feels adrift and seeks belonging. The story shifts among the first-person narratives of these complex and intriguing characters, all implied White. Their family dramas add depth to their characterizations but sometimes lead to the story’s feeling unfocused. Still, the dynamic shifting and evolving relationships between each of the protagonists propel the plot. The romance is compelling, but it’s their friendships that are most heartwarming and memorable. The leads are relatable and realistically flawed, and their stories will appeal to fans of character-driven, slice-of-life relationship and coming-of-age novels.

A promising debut about love in its many forms.