"Such a delight! Alex Light's sharp sense of humor shines on every page. But it's the wonderful Rom under the Com that will keep readers rooting for Jackie and Wilson. Simply terrific!" — Jenn Bennett, author of Alex, Approximately
"Set in the endearingly comedic world of Monte’s Magic Castle, It’s Not Me, It’s You thoughtfully captures how it feels to be directionless and unsure at the outset of adulthood. Jackie’s voice is funny and engaging, and I loved watching her progress from enemies to allies to much, much more with Wilson. Alex Light has gifted us a sweet coming-of-age romance about one girl’s journey to chart her own course and figure out who she is—and what happens when we stop focusing on everyone else’s stories to start writing our own." — Ellen O'Clover, author of Seven Percent of Ro Devereux
"Witty banter, written by Light (Meet Me in the Middle), endears in this sweet romance with underlying themes of self-discovery and enduring friendship."
— Publishers Weekly
"While a great enemies-to-lovers romance endures, the core of the novel is the bonds of sisterhood between Jackie and her siblings.... Jackie’s unsure adult path is also refreshing, offering to readers that you don’t necessarily need life after high school sorted. A great romance, but an even better family story." — Booklist
Praise for Alex Light: “A syrupy ode to what it feels like to slowly fall for someone for the first time.” — Kirkus Reviews
"Light has done it again—this is a great YA contemporary romance. The writing is heartbreakingly beautiful. Readers will immediately be drawn into this interestingly painful journey as the characters try to find their way out of the darkness, alone and together." — School Library Journal (starred review)
"A sweet and fun debut that neatly riffs on the unrealistic expectations romance novels can set for real life." — Booklist
"A compelling look at complicated grief." — Kirkus Reviews
2024-08-30
A new high school graduate in Ridgewood, New York, grapples with her future and her relationships.
Eighteen-year-old Jackie has three goals for the summer: spend as much time as possible with best friend Suzy, earn enough to buy a used car for their long-anticipated cross-country road trip, and figure out what she should do next. What she didn’t have planned was being demoted from waitressing to wearing a frog costume at work. Why was she sent to “amphibian jail”? Wilson, the annoyingly handsome new assistant manager at Monte’s Magic Castle, where Jackie helps with kids’ birthday parties, disciplined her for a minor infraction, thus becoming Jackie’s “mortal enemy” whom she takes pride in annoying. As she tries to find herself, Jackie secretly draws on her older twin sisters’ dating experiences to launch a social media account giving break-up advice; it quickly goes viral. But when she learns that her anonymous guidance has led Wilson’s girlfriend, Kenzie, to break up with him, she guiltily tries to help him win her back. Jackie’s summer soon becomes more complicated than she could have imagined. This novel told in Jackie’s first-person perspective is a leisurely enemies-to-lovers story. The light tone is entertaining, and Jackie’s growth is (refreshingly) not dependent on her male love interest; however, the dialogue feels flat and repetitive in places. Jackie and Wilson present white, Kenzie is cued Black, and Suzy is Korean and white.
A breezy, if slow-paced, teen romance with a healthy dose of self-discovery.(Romance. 13-18)
