10 Things I Hate About Prom

April 1, 2024
A high school senior helps her best friend ask the most popular girl in school to prom. Eighteen-year-old Ivelisse Santos is angsty about her future. Mami wants her to stay close to home by attending Rutgers, and she doesn't want to disappoint her, but Ivelisse's heart is set on going to Sarah Lawrence to study theater and then become a set designer. Ivelisse misses spending quality time with her single mom, an industrious nurse who works night shifts and has recently begun spending every free moment dating new men. Luckily, she can always count on Joaquin Romero, the boy next door and her best friend. They share everything, from a pet dog to a love of slushies, and are always there for each other. (Ivelisse hasn't seen her dad in 10 years, and Joaquin's mom moved back to Puerto Rico to help his ailing grandmother.) But then Joaquin returns home from spring break with a major crush on Tessa Hernandez, a cheerleader known for breaking hearts whom Ivelisse strongly dislikes. Joaquin begs Ivelisse to help him plan the ultimate promposal, and as she helps him woo Tessa, she must confront whether she truly wants to protect Joaquin from rejection, is afraid of losing their friendship, or has been in love with him all along. The story meanders in places, but the central duo's long friendship is sweetly fleshed out, and their characterization will win readers over. A cute love story. (Romance. 13-18)

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May 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 It may seem like the most important event of high school, but prom can create a lot of drama between friends. This realistic story follows Ivelisse and Joaquin, neighbors and close friends who start to feel a strain in their relationship as prom approaches. Ive is taken aback when Joaquin, a star baseball player and her secret crush, asks popular (and, to Ive, irritating) cheerleader Tessa Gordon to be his date, partly because they're at the same level of their high school's hierarchy. As Joaquin scrambles to impress Tessa with a fancy promposal and Ive deals with her frustration and feelings for him--especially when Joaquin asks for her help--the tension rises. Supporting characters add fun as they deal with the difficult task of being in the middle. This story, which plays with the idea of how sometimes love can be right in front of you, will capture hearts. After all, a dance is only one night--friendship is forever.

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June 7, 2024

Gr 9 Up-In this realistic fiction title, longtime neighbors, best friends, and soulmates Ivelisse "Ive" Santos (drama department tech nerd) and Joaquin "Quin" Romero (heartthrob baseball star) face a tumultuous high school. Friends since toddlers, they have shared birthday parties, a pet dog, family drama, and more. The pair always have had one another's backs, except this year when Quin asks her to help him with a promposal to the school darling/head cheerleader. Ive has confused feelings about this request but agrees to help anyway. Subsequently, each of his romantic promposal attempts is thwarted-the first accidentally, although Ive is the culprit for the rest, which Quin only realizes on the final attempt. This threatens to end their friendship, and Ive finally recognizes that she feels more than friendship toward Quin. When she finally discovers his card with its proclamation of like feelings hidden inside the birthday gift their dog stole two months prior, she takes drastic measures to gain his forgiveness and share her sentiments. VERDICT Teens will enjoy this title with its comedic plot twists, U.S. high school drama themes, and the friendship-to-love relationship between two realistic Latinx teens.-Ruth Quiroa

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