Being a teen and trying to fit in is hard, whatever your ethnicity or sexual orientation. This funny and compassionate story from the author of If You Could Be Mine follows Leila, a Persian-American girl on the verge of coming out, who discovers she’s not alone in her confusion—nor in her search for love and acceptance.

Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is a relief. As an Iranian American, she’s different enough; if word got out that Leila liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when beautiful new girl Saskia shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would.

As she carefully confides in trusted friends about Saskia's confusing signals, Leila begins to figure out that all her classmates are more complicated than they first appear to be, and some are keeping surprising secrets of their own.

Sara Farizan