In the Orbit of You

Starred review from December 11, 2023
As children, neighbors Sam and Nova were best friends who engaged in imaginative play between their houses and kissed each other’s physical hurts, of which Sam had many due to his abusive household. But Sam and Nova are abruptly separated when Sam’s abuse is discovered by his aunt and uncle; the kids “promise, promise” to find each other again when they’re older. Now 17, new student Nova and popular Sam attend the same Texas high school, where Sam has become an accomplished, if secretly reluctant, football star with a cheerleader girlfriend. After years of moving around with her nomadic mother, Nova is desperately trying to figure herself out. Sam and Nova’s emotional chance reunion is further complicated by them scoring a 99% on a schoolwide personality matching test, calling into question all of their individual carefully laid plans for the future, and the promises they made as children. Nova and Sam’s achingly earnest love story is depicted in alternating POVs that simmer with searing characterization and a sense of kismet. Schumacher (The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway) expertly captures the acute experiences of childhood nostalgia, deep romantic longing, and the stressors of teetering on the precipice of adulthood. Sam and Nova read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary.

Starred review from January 15, 2024
Two teens meet again for a second chance at romance while dealing with trauma and identity crises. Sam and Nova were best friends and next-door neighbors; at age 5, they played make-believe games under an oak tree. However, Sam was growing up in dangerous conditions with abusive parents. Before he was sent away to live with his uncle, he promised Nova he'd find her again "when we're big." Years later, due to Nova's mom's itinerant career, they find themselves attending the same high school (Nova's sixth) in Texas. Unfortunately, Sam is now in a relationship with Abigail, a popular cheerleader and genuinely kind person. He's also committed to playing football thanks to his innate talent, despite not really enjoying the sport. After the two recognize one another and re-form a connection, the Crush personality quiz they take as part of a school fundraiser registers them as 99% compatible. Sam's and Nova's similar and compelling struggles with self and authenticity, along with meaningful discussions of dealing with the legacy of abuse, make this a perfect fit for Colleen Hoover fans. Some repetitive tropes and occasional plot holes weaken an otherwise compelling drama, but Nora's fatness is refreshingly not presented as a problem. Discussions of anxiety and depression are sprinkled throughout, with effective and realistic descriptions aptly capturing the challenges of high school life and occasional humor successfully lightening the heavy mood. Major characters read white. A theatrical, emotionally intense love story. (Romance. 14-18)

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