Meg & Linus

Gr 7–10—A week before senior year, Meg is dumped by her girlfriend. Sad, confused, and in desperate need of distraction, Meg dives into her best friend Linus's love life. As she maneuvers Linus into the path of new kid Danny, Meg has to start dealing with her own emotional fallout. In alternating chapters, Meg and Linus tell their tales. The dynamics of the teens' friendship are intriguing but get lost in the slow storytelling and lack of interaction between the two. Between Linus's angelic perfection (though we are constantly reminded that he is "chubby") and an overall lack of emotional depth, the characters come off as two-dimensional and bland. Scenes with little significance are drawn out, while more compelling emotional moments are told rather than shown. Readers who get past the increasingly obscure geek culture references and repetitive scenes will find a mild romance with a happy ending.