Last Chance Dance
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
An utterly charming YA romance perfect for fans of Elise Bryant and Leah Johnson.
"An ode to love in all its beautiful chaos. Leila is funny, irreverent, and next-level charming, and her story is an actual joyride. Sheer delight through and through."--Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Leila is crushed when Dev, her boyfriend of four years, breaks up with her right before graduation. Just when she’s thinking she wasted her entire high school experience on a dead-end relationship, her best friend Bree reminds her that Last Chance Dance is just around the corner.
A high school tradition, the Last Chance Dance gives all the students one last opportunity to find love before they graduate. All Leila has to do is submit three unrequited crushes to the dance committee and if any of her crushes list her too, they’ll get matched. Presto: new relationship, just like that. To her utter amazement, Leila is matched with all three of her choices—and with someone she never expected, Tre Hillman, her chemistry partner and low-key nemesis.
Though at times skeptical, Leila embarks on her Last Chance Dance mission—trying out her matches and going on dates. If Dev wasn’t her true love—then maybe someone else is. She knows it’s definitely not Tre, even though he seems more and more determined to convince her he’s right for her.
But as graduation and the dance approaches, and each date seems to change her mind (and her heart)—Leila must figure out what—and who—she really wants. It’s her last chance, right?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
High school breakups can be tricky, but as this delightful romance proves, they can sometimes be an opportunity in disguise. Leila Bean is beside herself when Dev, her boyfriend of four years, breaks up with her just three weeks before graduation. But being suddenly single means Leila can participate in Baldwin High’s clever Last Chance Dance tradition, where each student submits the names of three former crushes and hopefully finds a match for the big night. Bestselling YA author Lakita Wilson does a great job capturing teenage language and sensibilities and describing serious emotions that run much deeper than puppy love. Last Chance Dance is about what it really means to value your own happiness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wilson (Be Real, Macy Weaver) showcases an expert sense of comedic timing and an emphatic understanding of contemporary adolescent trials in this sparkling rom-com. For all four years of high school, Maryland native Leila Bean has enjoyed "relationship perfection" with boyfriend Dev Rajan—until he abruptly dumps her three weeks before graduation. Determined to distract her from her misery, Leila's best friend insists that Leila participate in her school's upcoming Last Chance Dance. The event pairs consenting students with three former crushes and one wild card match generated by a computer; at the end of a trial period, the participants are expected to ask one of their matches to the dance. When Leila's dates with her first three choices don't pan out, her last option is the wild card pick: class clown Tre', whom she's despised since he publicly humiliated her during sophomore year. Leila's struggles with self-worth following her breakup and anxiety around learning to trust Tre' despite their unfriendly past are brilliantly rendered via snappy dialogue, and the large, three-dimensional cast adds another layer of energy to this optimistic tale of heartache and rediscovery. Most characters are Black; Dev is Indian cued. Ages 12–up.
