Two alienated teens meet in the high-school cafeteria: David likes numbers and routines, takes things literally, and has trouble reading people in social situations; Kit's father died in a car accident a month before, and she can no longer stand her friends' inane conversation. Buxbaum's empathy for her protagonists and careful, stereotype-resisting characterizations make David and Kit's eventual romance feel natural. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

One month after the death of her father in a car accident, high school junior Kit Lowell is beginning to realize that "grief not only morphs time, but space too." Distancing herself from her two best friends, who are back to talking about things like prom, Kit begins spending lunch with her socially isolated classmate David Drucker, appreciating his awkwardness and blunt honesty. David has always considered Kit to be the most beautiful girl at school, but his Asperger's syndrome has left him largely alienated and their interactions brief. As they grow closer, revelations about the car accident and the contents of David's notebook (filled with commentary about his peers) threaten their tenuous relationship. Buxbaum (Tell Me Three Things) uses split first-person narration to give readers striking insight into both teens. Unlike his peers and the school administration, readers will easily see David as a complex, brilliant individual. Discussion of Kit's family and heritage (her mother is Indian) bring additional complexity and depth to this portrait of grief and recovery. Ages 12-up. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 7 Up-After Kit's father dies, she finds herself receding and unable to keep up with the pressures of social life. Unable to deal with the mundane daily gossip and social climbing, she decides to sit with David, an outcast, someone she knows will not pester her. Slowly, over the course of a few weeks, the two find they have more in common than they realized. They begin to trust each other with secrets that they can't tell anyone else, and Kit enlists David to help her figure out the exact reason her father died. Little do they know how much it will complicate things. The text is wonderfully narrated by Kirby Heyborne and Abigail Revasch. Heyborne's flat monotone voice perfectly fits the complicated character of David, and Revasch's narration is young and refreshing. VERDICT Compelling, uplifting, and utterly engaging. For fans of Rainbow Rowell and Jennifer Niven.-Erin Cataldi, Johnson County Public Library, Franklin, IN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Opposites attract after tragedy strikes.Autistic white teen David Drucker spends every lunch period eating alone. When Indian-American popular girl Kit Lowell joins him one day she's just looking for a quiet place to sit. It's been one month since Kit's father, a white dentist, died in a terrible car accident, but Kit is still flailing. As the two teens get to know one another and eat lunch together each day, they find themselves bringing out their own best qualities. Slowly but surely, romance blooms. There's a warmth and ease to their relationship that the author captures effortlessly. Each chapter alternates perspective between Kit and David, and each one is fully rendered. The supporting characters are less well served, particularly Kit's first-generation-immigrant mother. There are two major complications in Kit's story, both involving her workaholic mother, and the lack of development defuses some potential fireworks. The central relationship is so charming and engaging that readers will tolerate the adequate tertiary characters. Less tolerable is a late-in-the-game reveal about Dr. Lowell's accident that shifts the novel's tone to a down note that juxtaposes poorly with everything that came before. The author pulls out in the final few pages, but it still leaves a sour taste in the mouth. A pleasant romance hindered by some curious choices. (Romance. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.