Girl Crushed

February 17, 2020
When rising high school senior Quinn, a soccer player, is dumped by her girlfriend, Jamie, a month before school starts, she’s heartbroken and desperately tries to put on a brave front for their mutual friends. As two of the only out queer students at their San Diego school, Quinn and Jamie share a bond that Jamie is afraid of ruining with a relationship that could turn sour. Quinn struggles to recover from heartbreak while navigating her last year of high school (hoping to be named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year or Gatorade Player of the Year), her next steps into the future (at the University of North Carolina), and her place in the adult world (where she wants to be the next Megan Rapinoe). As she grows interested in Ruby, “number one on the list of Straight Girls We Wish Weren’t,” she also struggles to balance friendship with her former girlfriend and her second look at love. Leisurely paced but quietly powerful, this largely internal first-person narrative by Heaney (Would You Rather?) is dedicated to finding one’s self, growing up, and learning to compromise and to reach out for what matters. Ages 12–up. Agent: Allison Hunter, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

Caitlin Kinnunen's pitch-perfect narration is not enough to elevate this YA romance beyond lackluster, though it will surely help keep listeners engaged. When Quinn's girlfriend dumps her, she's determined not to let it ruin her senior year. But as she gets closer to a new crush, she finds herself spending more time thinking about her old love than her new fling. Kinnunen's narration captures all the ups and downs of teenage love; her voice is the perfect embodiment of a teeanger going through a breakup. Sadly, Quinn's character is without much emotional complexity. And though Kinnunen's first-person narration is excellent, she doesn't change her voice at all when portraying the many supporting characters. This makes the dialogue confusing and only adds to the book's one-dimensional feel. L.S. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine