The Calculation of You and Me

Gr 9 Up–Marlowe is left feeling like a failure when she is dumped by her boyfriend before senior year. To win her ex back, Marlowe works out a deal with the mysterious boy Ashton in her English class; she’ll revamp his band’s social media if he teaches her all about romance. What begins as a simple agreement, quickly turns into something more as all the calculations in the world cannot help Marlowe anticipate Ashton Hayes. A celebration of embracing differences, trusting the process, and demanding better for oneself, Kaylor’s sophomore novel shines as a delightfully fun romance filled with an abundance of humor and hope. Marlowe’s autism is seen as a detriment not only by her ex, but as Marlowe eventually realizes, by herself. Her friendship with Ashton reveals she’s surrounded by family and friends who unquestionably accept her neurodiversity as her quest to learn about romance inspires her to speak up more. The story’s pacing flows nicely as Marlowe and Ashton’s relationship reveals the joy of finding that person who gives you space to grow and be yourself. While the overarching plot is solid, there are some building points for the characters that could've been explored more. Marlowe has red hair and Ashton has ink-black hair: both are cued white.