I Wish You Would

by Eva Des Lauriers

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

If you've been patiently waiting for the next season of The Summer I Turned Pretty, this friends-to-lovers romance is the perfect fix.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before meets You’ve Reached Sam—with all the feels of a Taylor Swift song—in this love story in which explosive secrets threaten to tear everyone apart, including best friends (or maybe more?), Natalia and Ethan.

"One of the best YA novels I've read in a long time." —Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of Today Tonight Tomorrow

It’s Senior Sunrise, the epic overnight at the beach that kicks off senior year. But for Natalia and Ethan, it’s the first time seeing each other after what happened at junior prom—when they almost crossed the line from best friends to something more and ruined everything. After ghosting each other all summer, Natalia is desperate to pretend she doesn’t care and Ethan is desperate to fix his mistake.

When the senior class carries out their tradition of writing private letters to themselves—what they wish they would do this year if they were braver—Natalia pours her heart out. So does Ethan. So does everyone in their entire class. But in Natalia’s panicked attempt to retrieve her heartfelt confession, the wind scatters seven of the notes across the beach. Now, Ethan and Natalia are forced to work together to find the lost letters before any secrets are revealed—especially their own.

Seven private confessions. Seven time bombs loose for anyone to find. And one last chance before the sun rises for these two to fall in love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250910554
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	49,617
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Eva Des Lauriers is a California girl who became a diehard romantic when she married her best friend, the boy she sat next to in eleventh grade Calculus. She was a delight to have in class if only she stopped talking and now holds both an MSW and BA in Psychology. As a clinical social worker, she had the privilege of working with the vibrant and complicated teens for whom she now writes. When she isn’t writing, you can find her wandering through the redwoods, staring at the sea, or pretending she’s in a music video while listening to music. She lives with her husband, their two children, and her collection of kissing books in Northern California.

Editorial Reviews

02/26/2024

Self-reflection prompts personal bravery in this high-strung dual-POV romance endorsing honest communication among friends and family. Despite coming from “different worlds,” white-passing scholarship student Natalia Diaz-Price, “the only other Latine person in my class,” is Ethan Forrester’s “favorite person.” Similarly, Ethan, who reads as white, accepts Natalia as “exactly who I am. No armor. No fake smiles.” While acting on a pact to “be each other’s firsts” on prom night, however, a miscommunication leaves each of them believing their romantic feelings are unrequited. After a summer avoiding each other, they reunite during a senior class seaside camping trip, uncertain of where they stand and each jealous of the other’s assumed new love interests. Ethan is the only one around when Natalia accidentally spills a jar containing anonymous secrets from her classmates’ self-reflection exercise, prompting them to desperately hunt for seven missing letters—which might include their own confessions—and forcing them to confront their past along the way. The lovers’ stubborn noncommunication sustains the romantic angst that drives Des Lauriers’ debut. Multifaceted secondary characters and Natalia’s candid examinations of the hypersexualization of BIPOC women add thematic depth. Ages 14–up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Eva Des Lauriers' writing brims with fragile, hopeful beauty—the way I ached for these characters and their huge, complicated hearts as they reveal their truest selves over the course of a single life-changing day. One of the best YA novels I've read in a long time." —Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of Today Tonight Tomorrow

"Utterly charming—full of heart-rending first love and self-discoveries that are the trademarks of the best of YA. Des Lauriers’s fresh voice is undeniable and makes this debut a standout. Natalia and Ethan will absolutely steal your heart.” —Maurene Goo, author of I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Somewhere Only We Know

"I was absolutely swept away by this gorgeous story. A stunning combination of summer, growing up, and young love—you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough!" —Jenna Evans Welch, New York Times-bestselling author of Love & Gelato and Spells for Lost Things

"Eva Des Lauriers wrote the book I had been waiting for. Angsty and heartfelt. Romantic and smart. From the moment I picked up I Wish You Would I could not stop reading it. This book will make you feel ALL the feelings." —Kristin Dwyer, author of Some Mistakes Were Made and The Atlas of Us

* "Des Lauriers’ brilliant debut novel will set readers’ hearts aflutter. Romantic, compelling, and optimistic, I Wish You Would isn't to be missed." —Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher