The Summer Love Strategy

Gr 7 Up–Hayley and Talia have been friends since birth—born on the same day, in the same hospital. Of course they are destined to go through life’s milestones together, like when Hayley tells her family she is gay and Talia tells her family she is trans. Every event in life is marked by their undying support for each other, and now in high school, they want to embark on another summer adventure—helping each other find a romantic partner. Hayley has only had crushes and never taken the next step, while Talia feels she may be demisexual and demiromantic and doesn’t know where to begin to feel connected. With supportive families and an eclectic group of friends offering to help develop a strategy to find love, their plan should succeed. Looking for “meet cute” situations, they do find some success, but when Talia seems to get serious with someone, Hayley realizes she’s having romantic thoughts about her friend. Is this lifelong friendship about to end because of her catching feelings that may not be reciprocated? Suddenly this strategy to find love seems to be leading to only heartbreak. Stoeve’s novel is chock-full of all the feels of first loves and deep friendships. The cast of characters includes neurodivergent friends who know each other’s needs to make all feel comfortable and accepted.