There’s Always Next Year

Gr 9 Up–A dual point-of-view novel that takes place in 12 hours on New Year’s Day. Readers follow cousins Andy (Andrea) and Dominique (Dom) Cole as each has a separate action-filled day that brings new insights about themselves that will turn their lives upside down. Andy planned to win the heart of a girl she’s been crushing on as the old year winds down. Instead, she wakes up in the new year having to search for her stolen car with the rich new girl whose parents are part of the gentrification problem in her neighborhood. Dom returns home after two years of being swept into the influencer world because of a viral video he made. He replaced Oakrun with the catwalks of New York City, leaving behind family and Tyler, the childhood friend who gave him too many feelings to face. Every hour of the day brings the cousins closer to finding each other and to discovering truer versions of themselves that might just help them save their neighborhood, too. Throughout, the cousins interact with a full cast of fascinating characters that make up the town. The representation in this novel is noteworthy, but it’s not the differences in race, gender, or orientation that create the drama of the story The characters of Oakrun are who they are meant to be, comfortable in their skins, and the story is enhanced because of the perspectives they bring to the table without having to hide any parts of their identity.