EPICALLY EARNEST

Eighteen-year-old New Yorker Janey is blindsided by the possibility of contact with her biological family while also trying to win over the girl of her dreams.

It’s the end of senior year for Janey and her wealthy best friend, Algie. For years, Janey has been totally smitten by Gwen, a cousin of Algie’s who will be visiting for spring break. Meanwhile, Algie is pursuing Janey’s wide-eyed cousin, Cecil. Janey’s life is complicated by her notoriety as former viral internet sensation “Bag Baby,” so called due to her adoptive father’s finding her abandoned in a Gucci handbag in a train station in Poughkeepsie. Janey was happy not knowing anything about her biological family until a DNA test—submitted without her consent by Algie, a violation that is treated relatively lightly—reveals an aunt and a cousin whom Janey is not sure she wants to meet. The story, inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest, is a lighthearted romance with just enough drama and some sincere exploration of familial and romantic relationships. However, Oscar Wilde fans should be aware that it only really offers the window dressing of the play that inspired it—names, a top hat, a baby left in a handbag—and not the farcical plot, witty dialogue, or social satire. Readers who can accept that will find this to be a fun, easy, and romantic read. All of the characters read as White.

A breezy, queer teen romance that is Wilde-inspired but not Wilde-an in execution.