A fun romance for early high school and middle school students.

9th graders Pacy and Cecil are not expecting any romance, until they bump into each other in the nurse's office. Pacy is there with an injury due to her clumsiness and Cecil is there due to his IBS and it's love at first for them. Since neither of them has had any dating experience, they are both like a fish out of water trying to flirt, date, and kiss making things very awkward, and it escalates after they serve on the small freshman dance committee together. In addition, Cecil's parents are having marriage difficulties as they are working on trying to open a new hotel.

There aren't many good romances for this age group, and this was cute and laugh-out-loud funny at times, and I hope these two can collaborate again for another rom-com! This book demonstrates you can have a condition like IBS and have humor instead of a depressing book that adults love and want students reading, but they don't to. This one will be an easy sell, so I better purchase several copies.

A lower YA book coauthored by two-time Newbery winner Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia? Yes please!

Just as I was looking in the universe for some YA books featuring freshmen for my own 8th grader, this popped up on my radar. I could not request it fast enough! And for extra fun, I read it out loud with my 13 year old. She declared it to be cringe which is pretty much the highest compliment a middle school can give.

Let's talk about Cecil. We LOVED Cecil. Stylish, allergic to everything, IBS ridden, djembe drum playing, unique Cecil. They don't make high school love interests like him very often. Super relatable, very endearing, and just so entertaining. Cecil is not a character, Cecil is a movement. Very quickly after we began reading this, we referred to it solely as the Cecil book. Thank you Cecil, and thank you Filipino Soul.

That's not to say that Pacy wasn't beloved by us either. She was! Her entire family was! Star Trek loving, accident prone, One-Hit Wonder super fan Pacy. She was the best! And perfect for Cecil. The two of them together was comedy gold. My daughter laughed out loud while hiding her face in a pillow during most of their scenes together. Here's to Pae-Pae, Va-va, Gigi, and the whole family.

Enjoyed the side characters and friend group. Very fun plot device of planning the freshman dance. Lots of pop trivia and while the kids might not appreciate it, I cracked up at the hip hop references, especially the locked in a dark corner with Flavor Flav (side note - I watched Flavor of Love a couple of decades ago and I don't regret a moment of it).

All in all, a perfect book for middle graders venturing into young adult. And a reminder that this Lower YA age range is missed, and we need more of this!

Thank you to ABRAMS Kids/Amulet Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

Erin Entrada Kelly is, in my humble opinion, the best writer working in the Middle Grade field and to see her collaborate on a book for a slightly older audience is a real treat. I have cherished all of her books and this one is no different. Great read full of heart.

A high school freshman romance, fresh and fun from Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia. Pacy and Cecil are independent young people who don’t have a need to fit in, but when their eyes meet and their hearts stutter, they think they might need to. An enchanting take of self-discovery and joy, I loved it all.

Thank you to NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids for this DRC.
#OnAgainAwkwardAgain #NetGalley

Easily one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. The realness and vulnerability of the main characters was pitch perfect for the target audience. We need more books with 9th grade protagonists! Highly recommend.