Full flight

Schumacher's (Amelia Unabridged) slow-burn romance follows high schoolers Anna James and Weston Ryan, who both read as white and yearn for a life away from Enfield, portrayed as "one of those absurdly small Texas towns" where football is paramount. Since gossip is the town's "lifeblood," Weston left the teens' high school to escape rumors surrounding his parents' divorce and another involving his having chopped down Enfield's memorial tree. He's now returning for his senior year, but the occurrences have shaken him. Anna, meanwhile, struggles to navigate her overbearing, financially stressed parents. When the two are paired to play a duet in marching band, their introspective tendencies and quirks make for a powerful and surprising connection. Their differences inspire each other, too: Anna is a motivated student, but struggles in band and often reverts to people pleasing, while Weston, a driven musician, struggles academically. Alternating first-person chapters slowly lay out the believably wrought teens' obstacles and budding feelings for one another in this character study that's interspersed with mentions of mental health and an extended metaphor about a nearly extinct bird searching for family. Ages 12--up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Feb.)

What happens when you find someone who truly sees you as you are? In her small Texas town, Anna James wears Christmas socks year-round and secretly worries she's never going to be good enough. She's struggling to perform her part of a marching band duet and risks having it assigned to someone else. But Weston Ryan--the other half of the duet and a social outcast accused of destroying the school's memorial tree--reluctantly agrees to help her practice. Weston excels in music but, distracted and upset by his parents' recent divorce, has trouble keeping his grades up. As Weston and Anna grow closer and inevitably fall for each other, Anna lies to her parents about where she's spending time, knowing they wouldn't approve of her seeing him. Echoing beautifully throughout the novel is Weston's imagining of the last Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird, the final survivor of his species who in 1987 flew toward a scientist's recording of a bird call, searching for family who would never come. Schumacher's gorgeous writing immerses readers in the aching emotions of close friendship and first love before delivering a gut punch of an ending. Told in alternating first-person perspectives, the narrative memorably portrays anxiety and depression without explicitly naming either, weaving these subjects into well-drawn everyday scenes. Main characters are implied White. A powerful, unforgettable story of loneliness and belonging. (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.