- There will be a secret admirer.
- There will be mean girls.
- There will be drama.
In some ways, Tell Me Three Things is predictable YA – new girl in town, mysterious boy, struggle, annoying family drama. It’s what you do with these issues that makes or breaks a book if it’s taking place in the real world and not some fantasy of a royal kingdom or dystopian imagining of the future. Really, when it comes down to it, good writing is what makes or breaks the fantasies and dystopian fiction, too, right?
And this one works. I say that as a middle-aged reader who heard about it from her teenaged son. It reaches out in ways that most of us can relate to – being an outsider, having to start something new, being the target for a bully, hoping for something really special. It’s not life-changing or anything, but it’s a really wonderful break. Sometimes, that’s enough. Sometimes a book stands out through its simplicity. Give it a try when you’ve had enough and need a maybe happy ending.
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
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