Wrong in All the Right Ways

June 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Emma is an overachieving 16-year-old high school senior with no friends but plenty of ambition. Her family is close-knit, and she and her younger brother, Matthew, are supportive when their parents decide to foster a child. When new foster brother Dylan comes home, however, Emma is surprised that he is a teenager-and that Emma is immediately attracted to him in spite of the painful past that he refuses to disclose. Thus begins this modern-day retelling of Wuthering Heights, which coincidentally Emma and Dylan are reading for their English class. When it turns out Dylan reciprocates Emma's feelings, a clandestine, forbidden romance ensues. Supporting characters and subplots (including one where Emma joins the dance team and is instantly amazing) are underdeveloped, and the relationship feels rushed and unsubstantiated. VERDICT Some teens will be swept away by the romance despite its flaws, but this is a secondary purchase at best.-Laura Gardner, Dartmouth Middle School, MA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 28, 2018
In her YA debut, Brownlee models the ill-advised love affair between her protagonist, Emma, and Emma’s foster brother, Dylan, after Catherine and Heathcliff’s forbidden love in Wuthering Heights. When Emma’s parents bring home her new foster sibling, she assumes he will be close in age to her seven-year-old brother, Matthew. But Dylan is Emma’s peer, and attraction immediately strikes. The duo’s halfhearted attempts to keep apart quickly find them involved in a clandestine romance that could threaten Dylan’s adoption. Meanwhile, Emma is reading Wuthering Heights for class and writing letters to Catherine, confessing about her growing feelings and romance with Dylan, the secret they are keeping from her parents, and her attempt to protect this secret by openly dating her new best friend’s brother. Soon, Emma is enduring Dylan’s Heathcliff-like mood swings, and tragedy looms over them both. Emma’s voice is frank and intelligent, though the story’s obsession with Dylan can make other characters and aspects of Emma’s life seem like filler. For readers looking for star-crossed romance and melodrama, Emma’s rocky relationship with Dylan is sure to satisfy. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jill Kramer, Waterside Productions.

June 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 When Emma's parents announce that she's getting a foster brother, she expects a little kid. What she gets is Dylan, a gorgeous guy her age with a troubled past and real artistic talent. Focused, perfectionist Emma doesn't normally let distractions into her life?she skipped two years of school and has her sights set on college?but she can't ignore her attraction to Dylan. Not wanting to risk Dylan's adoption, they hide their budding relationship; Emma dates another classmate as a cover, igniting Dylan's substantial jealousy. They're reading Wuthering Heights in English, and Emma, finding a kindred spirit in Catherine, begins writing her letters, trying to keep her feelings under control. But pressures from family, school, and each other may be too much. Wuthering Heights is a difficult source for a contemporary romance?there's a certain ick factor, and it falls somewhat flat without its ghosts. This debut's strength is in its focus on Emma's complicated family relationships as much as her first, consuming, and sometimes melodramatic romance. For larger collections, this will appeal to fans of retold classics.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)