Recommended Reading

October 14, 2024
Bobby Ashton has his summer all planned out—until his flash mob declaration of love ends in disaster. Not only does his crush reject him, he also accidentally smashes the window of the town’s luxe bookstore and misses his first day of training at his new job, leaving him heartbroken, unemployed, and kicked off the planning committee for the upcoming book festival. He narrowly escapes losing his college scholarship by persuading his sculptor mother to come out of retirement to donate a piece to the university. Bobby takes a job at family friend Andy’s run-down bookstore, where his knack for recommending the perfect title starts to build a loyal customer base that includes lifeguard Luke, a recent transplant who questions Bobby’s extravagant matchmaking schemes. Yet even as the boys grow closer, Bobby doubts the potential for romance. After all, Bobby can’t imagine Luke being interested in a flamboyant, fat, romance-loving guy like him. Sharp dialogue and steady narration by Coccia (Leon Levels Up) highlight the complicated insecurity of budding adulthood, and Bobby’s empathetic characterization as a fat gay teen trying to salvage his tumultuous final summer before college makes for a warm and delightful rom-com. Protagonists read as white. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from November 15, 2024
Bobby Ashton has a plan for the "perfect summer before college." Too bad it's already ended up in the drink--literally. Bobby's grand gesture--to profess his undying love to an older co-worker--results in a shattered bookstore window and his ending up soaked in the campus fountain. He loses his summer job, and his crush rejects him! So that he can at least keep his scholarship, his semi-famous and kind-of-retired sculptor mom gets roped into repurposing the broken glass into a statue that will be donated to the college. Meanwhile, Bobby finds another job at his Uncle Andy's downtown used bookstore, which is in serious need of a facelift. Bobby thrives on planning and designing; he can take on the challenge of sprucing up the shop, especially as more customers come in for an always spot-on recommendation from the new bookseller--like new pansexual guy in town Luke, who peruses the romance section even though he claims "true love" is a flawed concept. Maybe Bobby's summer can be salvaged, just like the broken glass? This fun read is ideal for romantics, pragmatists, book lovers, and underdogs alike. The appealing characters' clever, sometimes snarky dialogue supplies readers with plenty of laughs. Bobby describes himself as "extra," but he just wants to be appreciated for who he is: plus-size and gay. Bobby and Luke present white. 10/10 would recommend!(Romance. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from January 1, 2025

Gr 9 Up-Bobby Ashton has big plans for the summer before college-including making a grand gesture to the boy he loves and recording it for the world to see. The one thing Bobby loves even more than the boy is the idea of love and all the swoonworthy tropes in romance novels. But plans go off the rails immediately, and the epic fail of his declaration leads to a bookstore window crashing and Bobby finding out that the love of his life has friend-zoned him. How did he read everything so wrong? Taking inspiration from Jane Austen's Emma and a little bit of the film The Shop Around the Corner, Coccia creates an entertaining world where Bobby sees the sparks flying between the people he meets, but not when it pertains to himself: for instance, he thinks there is no way his friend, the perfectly beautiful Luke, could ever love someone who looks like him. As Bobby gains confidence in his romantic matchmaking skills and his book-matching skills (at his job at Corner Books) he begins to learn that maybe he shouldn't judge a person by the cover-including himself. This is a beautiful body positive story with unquestioned LGBTQIA+ acceptance. Readers will laugh at the antics Bobby seems to always find himself in and also feel his angst as he learns to love himself and find his own epic love story. VERDICT Teens who love retellings of Emma will devour this story; it is full of smart banter and lovely romantic moments throughout.-Maria Ramusevic

Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Bobby Ashton is a love guru--except, apparently, when it comes to himself. Bobby, a proudly fat romantic, is known for his ability to engineer love for others. When he plans his own confession to his coworker Truman, complete with a flash mob, he expects it to go perfectly. What he didn't plan for was to be rejected and for his very public stunt to put his college scholarship in jeopardy. Suddenly, he's working at his uncle's tired bookstore, complete with grumpy coworkers who don't appreciate his pizzazz. When new customer Luke enters Bobby's life, he can't tell if he's reading more into it, like with Truman, so he aims for friendship instead. He doesn't account for the fact that sometimes the best love stories are ones not orchestrated by a grand plan, and as he and Luke fall for each other, Bobby learns to let go of his preconceived romantic notions. With lived-in, realistic secondary characters and robust familial relationships, Coccia aptly explores the many ways that love in all forms can surprise us.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.