YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY

“Being able to realize a mistake and move on, is what keeps us going in life.”

Adam Stillwater and Whitney Mitchell were the closest of friends growing up, but that ended before freshman year. Now in her senior year, Whitney is rich, popular, and busy running her father’s successful eSport cafe’s social media accounts. Outside of school Adam spends all his time struggling with his mom to keep his late father’s pinball arcade afloat. Now Adam and Whitney’s only interactions are trading occasional insults on social media through their respective businesses. When Whitney’s brother destroys a vintage pinball machine at the arcade, Adam puts him and the eSport cafe on blast, leading to consequences neither could foresee. Suddenly, Whitney is single, her friends are ghosting her, and her relationship with her dad is worse than ever. Adam feels bad and offers Whitney an olive branch. As they awkwardly navigate this new peace, a blizzard hits Philadelphia in the middle of the neighborhood’s annual winter festival. They find themselves alone in the arcade with nothing to distract them from finally confronting old wounds. Each chapter alternates between the perspectives of Sicilian and Palestinian American Adam and White-presenting Whitney, giving insight into their feelings and motivations. Readers will appreciate the sweet and satisfying romance, but what will ultimately resonate are Smith’s well-rounded characters who are dealing with grief, loss, and letting go.

Snappy dialogue, second chances, and heartfelt relationships.