Booklife Review

In this joyful romantic YA romp through 1990s high school culture, Backus immerses readers in the cringe-worthy antics of five fairly disparate students as they struggle to find their own paths. Sixteen-year-old Zack is a loner, existing as a scholarship student on the outskirts of his Christian academy near Seattle. When his former best friend, Josh, returns from parental exile in California, the slightly boring year of lusting from afar for Missy, the girlfriend of his hated rival, the football golden-boy, Brian, doesn’t look so bad—especially when he finds out that Josh is gay and in love with Brian. Brian’s not as unaffected as his reputation would seem, and his sister, Jamie, is the high school’s Machiavelli—with a heart. She has her eye on Zack and won’t let little things like ethics get in her way.

What follows is a delightfully sharp, somewhat familiar comedy of errors, aptly studded with pointed social commentary. The coming of age of this group of teens speaks to, and transcends, more than just one generation, and each individual comes to the story with their own unique challenges that will resonate with readers. The Breakfast Club-esque cast spans the breadth of academic institution social-strata with a perfect mix of personalities comprising the secondary characters.

Though the current generation of young adults will find plenty to relate to in the pages, many of the references—from Jamie’s love of old Katharine Hepburn movies, to hints of the dawn of the internet, to cheeky reference to the 1983 film War Games—may speak more to older audiences who are looking for that touch of nostalgia. This is a well-written, laugh out loud (even during the painful scenes) epic that takes the best of high school, Twelfth Night-inspired dramedy and infuses it with current social sensibilities, wrapping it all in a warm, hopeful hug.

Takeaway: A high school romantic dramedy that perfectly captures late 1990’s culture while staying up to date.

Great for fans of: Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being A Wallflower; Lindsay Sproul’s We Were Promised Spotlights.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A