Planning Perfect

(Hardback)

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Description

Sixteen-year-old Felicity Becker is always a girl with a plan. Next up: winning the social committee chair position at school so she can put her many ideas into action. But when she unexpectedly loses, shes thrown for a loop and then another, that evening, when her moms boyfriend proposes. She and her mom may be very different, but its always been them against the world. Now, everything is going to change. Still, Felicity cant help but be excited by the wedding planning thats suddenly before her. Even more so when her mom agrees to travel to Vermont for the summer to a cabin that just so happens to be on the grounds of Felicitys crush Nancys family vineyard. She framed it as the perfect scenic wedding locale, but shes hoping this will be her chance to get to know Nancy better, too. Theres just one potential hiccup Felicity knows she falls somewhere on the asexuality grayscale, but she hasnt quite figured it out yet. As her plans for Mom get more and more intricate and distracting (to the chagrin of the not-so-plan-oriented bride), shes consumed with gnawing worry about whether its okay to explore things with this girl... she likes Nancy a lot, but she isnt sure shed ever want them to get physical. What will happen if Nancy has a different idea of what it means to be more than friends Haley Neil offers another poignant and layered story about identity, family, and finding where you belong.

Reviews

"A deeply touching narrative about embracing mess in order to reinvent ourselves for the better." --Jean Meltzer, Author of The Matzah Ball and Mr. Perfect on Paper

"This is a tender, lovingly depicted capture of self-discovery and dating while asexual--one that is infrequently portrayed for readers of any age." --Booklist, starred review

"A sweet and charming book with a slow-burn romance and relationship at its center." --School Library Connection

"A sweet, feel-good, coming-of-age rom-com with satisfying character development and deeply insightful, much needed ace representation." --School Library Journal

"Neil deftly examines challenges surrounding dating and sexuality, intergenerational friction, and mental health." --Publishers Weekly

"An engrossing, emotionally dynamic coming-of-age story." --Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

Haley Neil is a recent MFA grad from The New School, where she specialized in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She previously obtained her Masters in Education while working full time as a preschool teacher. She loves school, teaching, and going to school to learn about teaching (as well as walking her rescue pup through her Massachusetts town and pretending shes on a home baking show). She is also the author of Once More with Chutzpah. haleyneil.com Twitter: @haleyeneil Instagram: @haleyeneil