Like We Were in Paris

Gr 7 Up–Hopeless romantic Ben Lim was recently dumped by his boyfriend ­Lucas shortly before a school trip to Paris. Ben has been looking forward to this trip for most of his life; he has even drafted a list of things he would do in the city during the short four days there. Ben won’t let the trip get derailed by anyone from his school’s French Club, especially childhood friend-turned-enemy Tyler Travers. A rich kid who moved away when they were young, Tyler is perfectly happy to move back and pretend he and Ben never met. Ben tries to steer clear of Tyler as much as he can, but then his phone gets pickpocketed at the first stop; further, on the very first night, Ben gets locked out of his hostel. Tyler stays behind and offers to give him a guided tour of the city. What starts out as an antagonistic slog through the City of Lights quickly becomes an adventure that Ben will never forget. Ben spends a lot of time dealing with a multitude of emotions: mourning his deceased father, missing his ex-boyfriend Lucas, loving the city of Paris, and processing his complicated feelings for Tyler. The story is littered with pop culture references that will make any young person a burgeoning Francophile. Ben and Tyler are easy characters to like: the reignition of their friendship and budding romance easily makes readers root for them. Ben is Asian ­American; Tyler has blond hair. ­