Read This Book…

This story is told from the point of view of Abby. Abby is a plus-size fashion blogger with bright pink hair and a bold sense of style that I identify with heavily. Tropical prints? Bright colors? Clothes and accessories with a fruit theme? Literally half my closet. Abby is queer and laments that she is never going to get a girlfriend. She’s convinced herself that she is the sassy sidekick to the “star of the show,” her best friend Malia. (There is no actual show.)

Our heroine is seventeen and got an internship with Lemonberry, a fashion brand that she is obsessed with that also has their boutique within walking distance of Abby’s house. Walking distance is important because Abby pretty much walks everywhere. She doesn’t know how to drive and she really isn’t interested in learning. When she shows up to her internship on her first day, so does another girl that she has seen around her high school. This girl is Jordi Pérez and her style (all black everything) adds to her seeming cool and aloof. Maggie, the brand creator and owner, tells both girls that they both have a summer internship but that the resulting job in the Fall can, unfortunately, only go to one of them. Abby’s strength is social media, as evident by her own fashion blog with a robust following. Jordi’s strength is photography and she always has a camera on her, documenting her life. No one wants this internship to be a competition but it kind of is a competition.

And then Abby starts crushing on Jordi. Hard. We learn quickly that the feeling is mutual.

Abby’s best friend Malia is dating a guy named Trevor. Trevor’s best friend is a guy named Jax and Jax, like Abby, is tired of being the third wheel to Malia and Trevor so Jax and Abby become friends. Jax’s dad is working on an app and he asks Abby to do some field work with him to rate a bunch of different burgers around L.A. This is, in some small way, an act of rebellion from Abby. Her mom is a local celebrity who runs “Eat Healthy with Norah!” and is the kind of person who thinks it’s okay to replace tortillas with leafy greens. She doesn’t approve of Abby’s fatness or gayness or pink hair and they’re constantly butting heads.

This book is an adorable queer, YA romance but it’s also a good exploration on the ideas of public versus private as well as trusting the people who are closest to you you. And I laughed out loud multiple times.