PROMPOSAL

High schoolers try to outdo one another in elaborate, romantic ways to pitch invitations to the prom.

Camilla swoons over Benjamin, who probably doesn’t know she’s alive. Meanwhile, her bestie, Joshua, has been secretly crushing on his other bestie, Ethan, since middle school, when they both realized they were gay. Camilla finds herself in trouble when Zach gets his TV-reporter mom to film his “promposal” to Camilla in the school hallway. Camilla can’t figure out how to say “no” on camera, so she thinks she’s stuck with him. Meanwhile, unaware of Joshua's feelings, Ethan asks Joshua to help him concoct an elaborate invitation to Noah, the hot new guy in school. Despite the frothy subject matter, Helms keeps the narrative nicely straightforward and sometimes humorous as she puts her characters into increasingly awkward situations. She delves into common teen anxieties over social and romantic situations, even showing both sides of a girl who becomes a pariah when she turns down a promposal too harshly. The book alternates narration from both Camilla’s and Joshua’s points of view, treating the gay and straight romances equally. It all adds a little bit of depth to the standard who’s-going-to-date-whom plot.

Chick lit to the max.