Meet Me Under the Lights

Gr 9 Up–Eliza Crowley and Reed Fulton grew up as frenemies, and their family’s historical conflict, as owners of rival minor-leage baseball teams in baseball-obsessed Fairfield, NC, still leaves them hesitant to reconnect now, after four years apart. Reed sees Eliza as the spoiled “Princess of Fairfield” with a surprising new interest in theater; Eliza sees Reed as an annoying farm boy with an impressive pitching skillset rivaling the members of her dad’s baseball team. Both teens are soon the center of town discussion when they discover that their family heads bet ownership of Fairfield’s stadium on the results of the baseball season. While their relatives seem determined to push each other out of town, the Romeo-and-Juliet romance between Eliza and Reed fights to survive a decades-long dispute. Miller’s debut encompasses all the building blocks of a feel-good summer romance that will be a quick, fun read for many. The Crowley-Fulton feud mirrors the classic rivalry of rich versus poor, resulting in the two family heads learning to work together. Eliza and Reed are likable characters who are struggling to emotionally connect with family members. Though their transition from frenemies to sweethearts is slightly abrupt, the romance is endearing, if somewhat entangled with cliched moments. Secondary characters, such as Reed’s friend Ben, lack crucial development, which consequently detaches readers during important plot points in the novel. Quotes about theater precede each of Eliza’s chapters and about baseball precede each of Reed’s chapters, setting the tone as readers switch between their points of view. Eliza and Reed are cued white.