She Gets the Girl

Gr 9 Up–Alex and Molly, completely opposite strangers, both arrive for their freshman year of college with big plans to reinvent themselves. Alex is an independent social butterfly and serial flirt with a difficult family life and an ex-girlfriend she’s desperate to get back. Molly is a wallflower who is extremely close with her mom but eager to individuate and newly determined to finally talk to the girl she’s pined after for too long. After the two meet in class, Alex learns of Molly’s crush and seizes the opportunity to become her relationship coach of sorts and help her land a date. Then of course, romantic comedy high jinks ensue. This sapphic rom-com is delightfully cheesy, fun, and extremely sweet. It also has its serious moments, meaningfully tackling tough topics such as cultural identity and the alcohol abuse of a parent. While the coauthored split perspectives are a little repetitive at times, LGBTQIA+ readers seeking to see themselves represented in fan-favorite rom-com tropes will still very much appreciate this one. Alex’s race was not stated. Molly is biracial; her mom was adopted from Korea by a white American family and she and Molly both struggle internally with their Asian identities.