WE SHIP IT

A complicated story of family dysfunction blended with a frothy romance.

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Schwartz’s drive masks the intense anxiety she’s carried since finding her beloved older brother dead six years ago. Her parents never mention Logan; her 5-year-old twin brothers don’t even know he existed. But on a family cruise, carefree Jules—an old summer camp friend who happens to be there too—tempts Olivia to put aside the science fair research that could get her a prestigious internship with a surgeon, drink alcohol to ease her social awkwardness (consider it “a trial run” for college parties, Jules says), and go after sexy fellow passenger Sebastian. Olivia’s deep repression starts to ease as she tries a more relaxed teen life for the first time, but when she opens up about Logan, Sebastian and Jules keep saying things about him that bother her, leading to an explosive revelation that shakes up Olivia’s understanding of her family. Wooden characters serve only to reflect and refract Olivia’s story, and the thin plot contrivances are distracting. The thematic disconnect is troubling: This is both a book in which addiction is a leitmotif and also one in which problematic drinking is normalized, as Olivia repeatedly asks for Jules’ flask to ease her emotional distress. Olivia is Jewish, and most characters read White; Jules is cued East Asian, and there is some diversity in race and sexuality in the supporting cast.

Tackles deep subjects but misses the mark.