Imagine Us Happy

Gr 9 Up—Trying to deal with her depression, pretending to ignore her parents constant fighting, and feeling disdain for her classmates, Stella doesn't believe things are looking too positive for her junior year. However, after being forced to go to a party with her two best friends, she meets Kevin. Readers are told from the start that their relationship will not have a happy ending. A glimmer of hope remains until teens begin to learn about their relationship, realizing that there's no way this will end well. Yu's high school romance is filled with the extreme emotions of first love, strained friendships, marital strife, and mental health issues. The narrative doesn't follow a linear time line but jumps around, giving glimpses to the end of their relationship when things fall apart and back to the beginning when all was wonderful. This device is skillfully implemented and will keep readers wondering how things began to collapse. Though this story is focused on a romantic relationship, its true message is about the strength of friendship.