Not If You Break Up with Me First captures the changing landscape of friendships in middle school. No longer can a boy and girl just be friends. There has to be more to it. At least that’s the going theory. And when you consider the added peer pressure, it can be overwhelming.

Author G.F. Miller captures the awkward time when dating and “liking” someone collide with childish pranks and lots of emotions.

The story is told from the alternating points of view of Eve and Andrew, which provides readers with a lot of context and builds more appeal across gender lines. Both are dealing with a lot of feelings, and their confusion will be familiar to readers.

Not If You Break Up with Me First is a good sort of intro to romantic comedies without going too hard. While the suggested age range is 10 and up, this book feels less age specific and more interest specific. It’s got short, easy chapters, but would hold absolutely no appeal for my 10-year-old, who thinks even holding hands is gross. But I can see it appealing to other kids in her grade who, this year, were looking for their very own “Valentines.” It sits well in the upper MG and lower YA categories.

This is kind of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, but make it middle grade and where they’re both trying to get the other person to break up with them.

What really makes this great is the writing. Some scenes are hilariously awkward. Others nailed middle school so perfectly, I felt like I had time-traveled. It’s silly, sometimes gross (fart jokes, etc), but it doesn’t skimp on heart.

The chapters alternate between Eve and Andrew’s points of view, so readers are in on each person’s plan to drive the other to dump them and why it seems like a good idea. Writing both viewpoints also shows us how much Eve and Andrew miss their friendship, what they value about one another, and their hurt feelings and loneliness.

The short chapters make this one an easy, quick read. This would work well for readers who aren’t quite sure they’re interested in romance books yet or readers looking for books about changing relationships in middle school or friend drama.

This was so much fun, taking me back to the early, messy, confusing feelings I had about love at age 13/14, when everyone but me seemed to know what they were doing, and when the lines between friendship and romance could blur when least expected. Miller gives us two engaging middle grade voices as best friends Eve and Andrew stumble into a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship neither of them wants, even while they’re starting to think about things like holding hands and first kisses. With some truly terrible advice from friends and family members, tiny lies about their relationship snowball until the two are at each other’s throats, pulling pranks and trying to get the last word, hoping the other will initiate the breakup and be the bad guy, while the other gets to play the helpless victim. The battle of wills is fun to watch as the antics escalate, growing more comical and extreme and yet balanced by real emotion like jealousy, loneliness, and a need to fit in. Miller does a great job depicting the utter confusion of this time of life, when kids have a lot of feelings but little context yet with which to understand those feelings. Overall, a joyful and heartfelt read that celebrates the importance of meaningful friendship, even when kissing *might* start to have an appeal.