Another First Chance

Gr 9 Up–High school senior River Lang, who is white and gay, is still reeling after the texting-and-driving death of his best friend Dylan one year ago. Believing Dylan was texting him back and that he is therefore responsible for his friend’s death, River feels guilt and anger, and steers clear of his former best friend (and Dylan’s former girlfriend), Mavis. That is, until he is blackmailed into joining a mysterious psychosocial experiment for isolated youth called the Affinity Trials with none other than Mavis and a handful of other acquaintances. Everyone seems to be finding connections, including River, whose new friend turns into a new crush; however, the participants begin to get suspicious of the organization. This novel is told in alternating perspectives and is well paced and intriguing. While some of the repetition in the book is a bit grating (one character calls everyone “babe” in nearly all her dialogue across hundreds of pages), it is still highly readable and poignant at turns. In the end, River learns a valuable lesson about moving through grief. The main character and several supporting characters are queer, which is readily embraced by peers and family members.