Who I Was with Her

July 15, 2020
Rival cross-country high school athletes Corinne and Maggie are lovers but have kept their relationship a secret; when Maggie dies, Corinne is left to grieve alone. Corinne and her parents moved to North Carolina from Colorado two and a half years before this, her senior year. It's been a culture shift for Corinne, made more difficult by her parents' divorce due to her mother's alcoholism. Running has been a way for her to fit in, and she shares that love with her best friend, Julia. What she hasn't shared with Julia--or anybody else--is her relationship with Maggie. However, Maggie's brother, Dylan, did know and, after her death, introduces her to Elissa, an ex-girlfriend of Maggie's. As Corinne grieves, she must also grapple with her future and whether she wants to come out. The story is told in alternating before/after timelines, so readers experience Corinne's romance with Maggie as well as the aftermath of her death. Suspense is ramped up well as the plot develops to reveal who else knew about but kept their relationship a secret, why, and at what cost. Clever typography makes delightful small prose poems within the text. The focus on bisexuality is welcome, and asexuality is discussed. Corinne and Maggie are White; several secondary characters are brown-skinned (one is cued by name as South Asian). Love and death, secrets and honesty: a highly readable love story of two girls. (Fiction. 13-18)

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September 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Although she's in love with a rival school's cross country team captain, high school senior Corinne Parker isn't ready to be out as bisexual to her classmates and family. Too concerned about others' opinions and expectations, she feels trapped in a specific role she's learned to embody as a perfect athlete and student. She excels at school and runs track, dates popular boys, and even chooses her clothes in order to fit the mold of who she thinks the needs to be. Corinne's sexuality is a secret, so when her girlfriend dies suddenly in a tragic accident, she has no one to turn to for help. The story of Corinne's developing relationship with Maggie and the grief of the months following her death unfold in chapters that alternate between past and present, slowly filling in details-remembering the track meets Corinne spends chasing behind a talented athlete with a green scrunchie, awkward yet delightful first dates, planning together for college applications. In the aftermath of Maggie's death, Corinne only sees one real outlet-Maggie's ex-girlfriend Elissa. Debut author Tyndall captures Corinne's often overwhelming feelings of grief and isolation with writing that feels at the edge of panic and despair, and will resonate with teen readers who have experienced similar feelings of disconnectedness. Main characters are white, and several secondary characters are described as having dark skin. VERDICT This will be a popular addition to realistic fiction collections or appeal to readers who devour romances served with a side of intense angst. Recommend to fans of Nina LaCour and John Green's Looking for Alaska.-Erin Downey, Boise School District, ID

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