I THINK I LOVE YOU

Hopeless romantic Emma butts heads with cynical Sophia over love and filmmaking.

Emma and her friends enter a short film contest in the hopes of winning college scholarships. The only issue is Sophia—who, before moving away, was the only other out queer girl in their grade. She’s back in town, and everyone seems to expect them to end up together. They are resistant, but the film and their mutual friend group keep dragging them together. Tensions rise, as Emma wants to make the gay rom-com of her dreams while Sophia thinks an avant-garde piece is the way to go. Emma is the quintessential romance enthusiast while Sophia has soured entirely on the concept of romantic love. The interplay between these two attitudes serves to form the bulk of the plot as the two find their ideas about love growing closer to a middle ground in tandem with their growing feelings for one another. In terms of style and plot beats, the novel reads like a rom-com film distilled into book format; it is easy to imagine these characters acting out their lives on screen. The queer romance and the narrative’s determination not to shy away from discussing attitudes of entitlement distinguish this title. Emma and Sophia read as White.

One to read on a rainy day when nothing but chocolate and a (mostly) lighthearted romance will do.