Perfect on Paper

January 1, 2021

Gr 8 Up-Darcy Phillips excels at giving others relationship advice. Her anonymous Locker 89 advice business is booming, despite the fact that she can't seem to admit her own feelings to her best friend Brooke. However, when Alexander Brougham (whom Darcy can't stand) catches her taking letters out of Locker 89, he convinces Darcy to help him win his ex-girlfriend back, threatening to out her as the locker's owner. And if there's one thing Darcy doesn't want, it's Brooke finding out about Locker 89. Gonzales creates a cast of characters whose relationship woes are painfully relatable, yet satisfying to devour. Darcy is not an expert when it comes to relationships, but she does her research, which makes her success rate much more believable. She applies relationship theories and practices in her advice letters (seen between chapters) and with Brougham, highlights that tone and intent are the main foils in these characters' relationships. There's a strong suggestion of seeking advice when one's personal insight may be compromised, as seen through Darcy and Brooke's interactions. Most importantly, as Darcy struggles with her evolving feelings for Brougham, she confronts her own internalized biphobia to understand that it's completely valid to be attracted to someone who identifies as another gender and still be bi. Darcy has shoulder-length blond hair and a gap between her front teeth. Brougham has blue eyes, dark brown hair, and an Austrian accent, and Brooke has a Vietnamese surname. VERDICT A highly inclusive read with many characters identifying as LGBTQ+, this delightful foray into the world of high school relationships is a fantastic read for romance fans.-Emily Walker, Lisle Lib. Dist., IL

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2021
A teenage relationship expert deals with some tricky situations. Every student at St. Deodetus' school in California knows about locker 89: Slide $10 and a note confessing your relationship woes inside, and you'll get an email with personally tailored advice. The anonymous proprietor, junior Darcy Phillips, enjoys crafting letters and has a high customer satisfaction rate. She's always been careful to collect the letters after school, when no one's around, and has managed to escape detection until Australian rich kid Alexander Brougham catches her in the act. Instead of spilling her secret, he hires her as a private coach to help him rekindle things with his ex-girlfriend. Darcy agrees--as a faculty kid on scholarship, the extra cash is welcome--but finds that dealing with a customer face to face has unique challenges, particularly given Brougham's curt demeanor and reluctance to share basic information. Meanwhile, Darcy's own love life (crushing on her best friend, Brooke Nguyen) continues to stump her expertise. This story is a classic teenage rom-com packed with misunderstandings and slow-burn attraction. The culmination of the main storylines is more than satisfying. In contrast to the unsuccessful parental relationships on display, Darcy gives well-researched advice that prioritizes communication, consent, and healthy realism. Gonzales similarly presents mature perspectives on recreational drug use and biphobia. There is strong representation of various queer identities, with some racial diversity implied through names; Darcy is bisexual and presumed White. Thoughtful and well executed. (Romance. 14-18)

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March 1, 2021
Grades 9-12 Darcy Phillips is great at one thing, and that's romance. Other peoples' romances, that is. She runs a covert advice column (for a fee--she's on a scholarship!) out of abandoned locker 89. Darcy guarantees a refund if the advice doesn't work--and it almost always does. She's kept her letter-writer identity a secret from everyone, including her best friend, Brooke, whom she's madly in love with. But when standoffish and annoyingly hot Alexander Brougham catches Darcy collecting the letters, he makes her a deal: he'll keep her secret if she helps him win back his ex-girlfriend. But their uneasy alliance becomes something more as Darcy and Brougham start to understand each other. Gonzales (Only Mostly Devastated, 2020) has crafted a lively story with multilayered appeal: she addresses accountability and armchair psychology as well as biphobia (Darcy experiences it even within the supportive "Queer and Questioning" club founded by her transgender older sister), then wraps it all up in an electrifying love story. A natural, emotions-driven sister-read to L. C. Rosen's Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) (2018).

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