• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2022 May #1
  *Starred Review* Shara has been Chloe's academic nemesis since the day Chloe started at Willowgrove Christian Academy in False Beach, Alabama. Chloe refuses to feel at home in False Beach, where she and her moms moved to care for Chloe's grandmother and win valedictorian over Shara, the principal's daughter. But then Shara kisses Chloe and disappears, leaving behind one clue to her whereabouts. Shara also kissed her boyfriend, football player Smith; and her next-door neighbor Rory. As Chloe, Rory, and Smith begrudgingly work together to find Shara, the three peel back the layers of who she really was, doing the same with themselves in the process. McQuiston's YA debut is a compassionate look at what makes people who they are and what's left of us when we take away everyone else's expectations. Chloe and the supporting cast of witty, lovable characters are given the necessary space to be flawed and imperfect teenagers, and False Beach is a character itself, with Chloe discovering the ills and joys of what it's like to grow up in an Alabama suburb. Chosen family and LGBTQIA+ elders are given weight to the central romantic story lines in this thoughtful meditation on LGBTQIA+ identity, pride, popularity, academic success, jealousy, and idolization. A must-read for fans of dark academia with a hopeful spin on the premise that students can create real change in their environment. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.

CASEY MCQUISTON is the New York Times bestselling author of One Last Stop, Red, White, & Royal Blue, and I Kissed Shara Wheeler, as well as a pie enthusiast. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City with Pepper, a poodle mix and semipro personal assistant.