November 1, 2022
Three 17-year-olds--an illustrator, a beauty vlogger, and a TikTok star--orbit a queer love triangle in greater Boston. It's been six months since Shani, a YouTuber who specializes in Black hair care, hired Jonas to draw her an anime avatar through his Instagram. Jonas wants Shani, who is mixed and identifies as Black, to be his online girlfriend but is anxious she won't like the real him. He was raised since age 7 by a loving foster mother and doesn't know his racial background, a mystery soon to be solved by a 23andMe DNA kit. Jonas has lived in a subsidized studio apartment since his foster mom moved into hospice care. After being catfished twice, Shani becomes suspicious when Jonas doesn't want to meet in person even though they talk every night and live only 6 miles apart. She recruits Ash, her Indian and Cuban trans best friend, to uncover the truth about Jonas. Ash poses as a client commissioning him to make gay Marvel backdrops for his TikTok, and sparks begin to fly between them as well. All three eventually fall for each other, clouding their relationships with doubt and duplicity. The bloated plot is held together by corporate name-dropping and pop-culture references. Told through alternating third-person perspectives, the sexually fluid trio's story is depicted with an attention to detail that sometimes conveys warmth but too often weighs down the story without adding substance. A convoluted soap opera. (author's note) (Fiction. 12-17)
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November 14, 2022
Valdes (Spin Me Right Round) thoughtfully crafts a jam-packed story about three teens learning the importance of honesty and struggling to understand their identities. Sixteen-year-old biracial (Black and white) beauty YouTuber Shani has been burned by boys before, but she thinks she’s ready to open her heart again, this time to 17-year-old artist Jonas. The only issue is that they’ve never met IRL; their friendship has blossomed exclusively through Instagram DMs and phone calls. Jonas, worried that Shani won’t accept his foster care upbringing, keeps it secret from her. Shani, sensing he’s hiding something and nervous about getting catfished, enlists her best friend, trans 17-year-old Ash, who is Indian and Cuban, to uncover the truth about Jonas. When Ash strikes up an online friendship with Jonas under the guise of commissioning art, their romantic chemistry takes them both off guard. With friendships in turmoil, the trio must maneuver their budding romances while balancing their individual struggles of self-expression. Discussions of identity and privilege occasionally become muddled amid the teens’ clashing traumas, but an overarching theme of forgiveness and lifelong discovery provides valuable insight. It’s a sweet story that positively explores the validity of online friendship and romance. Ages 12–up. Agent: Annie Bomke, Annie Bomke Literary.
Starred review from February 24, 2023
Gr 7 Up-Jonas and Shani, both 17, meet online when Shani gets Jonas to draw something for her. Their relationship quickly progresses to epic texting sessions and video chats. Shani, who is mixed race (Black and white), exudes confidence (she is a vlogger and a nursing student), which makes the shy Jonas hesitant to ask her out. He's also shy about how he just started living on his own, his unclear background, and other secrets-secrets that Shani begins to sense exist but can't figure out. She enlists her bold best friend, Ash, a trans boy with Cuban and Indian parents, to try and uncover Jonas's secrets through hiring him to do an art project. While undercover, Ash becomes smitten with Jonas, but he doesn't tell Shani about his strong feelings. Some authors would stop with the standard "love triangle with a queer spin" trope, but Valdes turns his story into something entirely new and reflective of life today. The story begins in the midst of the first dilemma and then builds its characters and plot carefully, even quietly at times, but always with compassion and intensity. While some of the secondary characters are a bit thin, the book shines through the three main characters, each with distinct questions, conflicts, and desires, who tell the story in alternating segments. Jonas's story in particular provides significant emotional depth, and the ending (without spoiling it) opens new possibilities for teen romances and coming-of-age stories. VERDICT Give to anyone who has ever questioned their identity, their story, or just themselves. Highly recommended for any teen library collection.-Kate Fleming
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Starred review from January 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Valdes (Spin Me Right Round, 2021) calls his new novel "a love(s) story." And why not, for three 17-year-old hearts are involved. Consider: Jonas is head over heels for beautiful Shani, even though they have only met online and through texts and evening phone calls. Shani is intrigued by Jonas but uncertain of her own feelings. Then there is Ash, Shani's flamboyantly gay best friend, who is trans and, like Shani, mixed race. When Jonas finally finds enough courage to ask out Shani, she wonders if he is telling her the whole truth about himself, and so she turns to Ash to investigate. But when Ash meets Jonas, he falls hard for him and--what's this?--Jonas seems to reciprocate. To make things even more complicated, Ash then realizes he has feelings for Shani, too--feelings that she shares. Confusion reigns as the complexities pile up, but readers will be rewarded with a sweet solution. Decidedly modern in his handling of themes tied to love triangles and polyamory, Valdes handles his intensely romantic--and perhaps controversial--material well, and he creates principal characters in whom readers will be fully invested. The heart wants what the heart wants, and Valdes artfully gives all involved their heart's desire.
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