On Again, Awkward Again
by Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia
High School    Amulet/Abrams    272 pp.
4/25    9781419775635    $19.99
e-book ed.  9798887073392    $17.99

A clumsy accident and an IBS incident lead to an unlikely meet-cute between Pacy Mercado and Cecil Holloway, two high school freshmen whose quirks make them stand out. Immediately, sparks fly, and the teens fall for each other, but with this new, unexpected first-romance-in-the-making comes countless trials and tribulations, as the universe seems determined to make every encounter between them as catastrophically awkward as possible. Questionable advice from others and their own misguided impressions about romance add to the mix, while the responsibility of planning the freshman formal dance on a weekly committee creates some forced proximity, which is both blessing and curse. Once they learn to take the awkwardness in stride, they can be their best imperfect selves around each other. Kelly and Mbalia create a dynamic duo, animating their characters through first-person narration packed with personality and pop-culture references engineered to appeal to audiences of a nerdy persuasion. Readers will laugh out loud, cringe in secondhand embarrassment, and root for these two geeky teens of color to get their rom-com happy ending.

From the ">May/June 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.