CHASING BOYS

Life changed for El Marini when her father walked out. For starters, the family’s finances have tanked, forcing her, her mother and her sister to relocate to a tiny apartment and El to withdraw from her tony private school—which means making a new start at Blair, an overcrowded public high school. El moves forward into her new life, making two new friends who introduce her to Blair—one of whom is Eric, Blair’s stereotypical hot jock and El’s instant crush. Unfortunately, Eric and the gorgeous Angelique are attached, and when El befriends Angelique, things get interesting. Blinded by Eric’s hotness, El barely notices the brooding artist Dylan, but he, over time, helps El realize that people and situations are not always what they seem. El tells her own story in a present-tense narration, her analytical account punctuated by imagined conversations with her therapist, Leonard (she won’t talk to him during their sessions). El’s evolving relationship with Dylan helps the text move beyond a predictable crush story, providing depth and setting up a surprise-twist ending that underscores Dylan’s message. (Fiction. YA)