Better Together: A Novel

by Christine Riccio

Overview

The Holiday meets The Parent Trap in this clever comedic whirlwind brimming with romance, and just a touch of magic.

Estranged sisters Jamie and Siri are quarter-life crisis-ing: hard. With adulthood breathing down their necks, suddenly their promising career aspirations feel way out of reach, and romance — completely implausible.

After thirteen years apart, on opposite coasts, the sisters run into each other at a nature retreat. Desperate for a change of pace, they decide to go home in each other’s stead to see how the other half lives.

It doesn't take long to realize: swapping lives might be more than they bargained for. Turns out, pretending to be a sister you hardly know can really complicate your previously non-existent love life. Navigating their new surroundings proves to be a precarious task, but turns out there’s no better way to learn about yourself than by trying to live as someone else.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250760067
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	753,888
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.70(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Christine Riccio is the New York Times bestselling author of Again, But Better. She’s been on a quest to encourage more humans to read since the third grade. Her YouTube channel PolandbananasBOOKS has over 410,000 book-loving subscribers. She makes comedic book reviews, vlogs, sketches, and writing videos chronicling the creation of her own novels. She’s also one of the three YouTubers behind BOOKSPLOSION—YouTube’s longest-running book club. She graduated from Boston University in 2012 with a degree in Film and TV and now lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Editorial Reviews

"Thoughtful and entertaining." —Kirkus

Praise for Again, But Better

"This funny, poignant debut by a popular BookTuber is full of life and honest reflection, and it’s packed with adventures that will charm readers, whether they’ve traveled abroad or not. Give this to anyone who enjoys tales of self-discovery and first love." —Booklist

“Half wish fulfilment, half cautionary tale and full of charm." —Kirkus

"Again, But Better is a fantastic debut novel! Entertaining, clever and impossible to put down." —Colleen Hoover, New York Times bestselling author

"A story of finding love and finding yourself. Prepare to be completely charmed." —Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling authors of Autoboyography

From the Publisher

07/01/2021

Gr 9 Up—Siri, an 18-year-old ballet dancer, receives the devastating news that a back injury has derailed her career. Jamie, a 20-year-old aspiring stand-up comedian, is unsure about her future after a humiliating performance. Both girls turn to the Rediscover Yourself retreat to refocus their lives. While neither girl attends willingly, both hope the experience will be life-changing. It is, just not in a way either girl imagined. When the two literally run into each other, Jamie recognizes Siri as the sister she has not seen for 14 years, due to their parents' bitter divorce and custody agreement. After spending the week tentatively reconnecting with Siri, Jamie convinces her to pull a Parent Trap switch. The sisters, with a boost from a magic glitter bomb, swap homes, parents, and personas. But the big reveal falls flat; the pair discovers revenge is unfulfilling and reality is messier than a movie script. With the assistance of a therapist, the sisters examine how their manipulated upbringing shaped their emotional development, and they eventually attain a more satisfying rapprochement with their parents. The overall read is compelling, particularly the after story, as the girls pick up the messy pieces. There is romance for both girls; one is heterosexual and the other is bisexual. The sisters present as white, their love interests are Pakistani and Filipino, and other minor characters vary in race. VERDICT Both realistic fiction and romance readers will enjoy this updated Parent Trap that focuses on the psychological trauma wreaked by selfish grown-ups.—Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor Sch. Dist., Lancaster, PA

School Library Journal

2021-04-30
Estranged sisters plan a scheme à la The Parent Trap but are met with an unexpected twist.

Eighteen-year-old Siri Maza from New Jersey is mired in anger and uncertainty after an injury cuts short her burgeoning ballet career. At her mother’s insistence, she agrees to attend a wellness retreat in Colorado—and crashes into a barely remembered long-lost sister she’s been told was an imaginary friend. After bombing spectacularly onstage, 20-year-old Los Angeles comedian Jamie Federov is happy to escape to the Rediscover Yourself retreat, even if it is one of several conditions set by her father upon her moving back home. Jamie’s shocked when she encounters the younger sister she hasn’t seen since their parents split up 14 years ago. Spotting an opportunity for comedic inspiration, Jamie hatches a plot for the two to temporarily swap places and confront their parents. Only when they’re on their respective flights home do they realize that they’ve been transformed to look like one another. The relative ease with which various characters accept the magical element strains belief, but the sisters’ growth over the course of the story is convincing and satisfying. With help from their love interests, Pakistani Zarar and Filipina Dawn—both of whom are well developed and endearing—Jamie and Siri, who are White, confront their individual flaws and strengths and learn to accept the work inherent to healthy familial relationships.

Thoughtful and entertaining. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews