Lake Life
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli, this charming, chaotic romance follows two teens who agree to fake-date when stuck together one summer in a quirky, scenic lake town.
This is definitely not how Maya wanted to spend the summer—depressed at her once-beloved cabin in Spruce Lake, and unable to avoid seeing her lifelong best friend, Rashida, after confessing her woefully unrequited love to her last year. Maya can’t decide if she wants to escape, or convince Rashida they’re still meant to be.
Gabe is sent to Spruce Lake by her mom in hopes she stays out of trouble. Gabe is NOT excited to be here. She does NOT like nature. She does NOT want to spend her summer in a tiny town with outdoorsy environmentalist types.
Gabe is pretty sure she’ll be spending this entire summer bored and alone…until she meets Maya. Together, they hatch a fake-dating scheme to make Rashida jealous and convince Gabe’s mom that Gabe has turned a wholesome new leaf.
But as the plan plays out, and Gabe and Maya contend with protests, a relentlessly concerned community, and romantic twists, they start to realize that their assumptions about friendship and love might have led them completely astray. Can they find their way through this mess without hurting each other in the process?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two teens fake-date to make it through summer in the latest from Boteju (Messy Perfect), a tender romance with an undercurrent of environmental activism. White and Southeast Asian teen Maya is nervous about returning to Spruce Lake for vacation, still stung by a public romantic rejection from her best friend, Rashida, the previous summer. Meanwhile, Gabe, who is white, arrives at the close-knit lakeside community, forced to spend the season in what she dubs a "tiny hellhole" by her overwhelmed mother, who hopes the scenic setting will temper Gabe's party-loving persona. When Maya and Gabe meet, Gabe proposes a seemingly perfect plan: they'll fake-date to make Rashida jealous and to convince Gabe's mom that she's abandoned her reckless ways. As they spend time together exploring town, soon becoming embroiled in preparing for a local ecological protest, their staged romance begins to blur into something real. Maya and Gabe's complementary personalities, revealed via their alternating narration, make their unfurling love story a joy to experience as each balances the other's vulnerability. The protest story line lends momentum and space for growth, adding gratifying layers and emotional depth to the central romance. The result is an uplifting yet grounded exploration of first love and environmental stewardship. Ages 13–up.
