June 19, 2023
Eighteen-year-old Tilly Twomley feels as if no one takes her seriously because of her ADHD. Though her entrepreneurial older sister Mona, a Yale alumna, wants Tilly to model for her environmentally friendly nail polish startup, she rebukes Tilly’s offers to help run the business side of things. Tilly has also been ignoring her mother’s suggestions that she apply to college, unsure of what she wants for her future. Still, Tilly is excited to accompany Mona to London for the summer as her intern, where she plans to launch her business. On the flight over, Tilly meets Mona’s other intern, autistic 18-year-old British Oliver. While the two teens initially struggle to reconcile their clashing personalities—Tilly’s effervescence is sometimes overwhelming for reserved Oliver—they soon begin to offer each other support in navigating both their neurodivergence and their uncertain futures. Via Tilly and Oliver’s titillating alternating first-person POVs, Eddings (The Plus One, for adults)—who is both autistic and has ADHD—organically develops a heartwarming rom-com about two teens who often feel out-of-step with their peers finding balance with each other. Tilly, Oliver, and Mona read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary.
