Description

This heartfelt, poignant YA debut is a second-chance summer romance that will steal your heart—perfect for fans of Heartstopper, Some Girls Do, and It’s Not Like it’s a Secret.

This summer, Elsie is finally going to confess her feelings to her longtime—and long-distance—crush. Ada’s fanfics are to die for, and she just gets Elsie like no one else. That is, until Joan, Elsie’s childhood best friend, literally walks back into her life and slots in like she never left. Like she never moved away to Hong Kong and never ignored Elsie’s dozens of emails and letters.

Then Ada mentions her grandmother’s own long-lost pen pal (and maybe love?), a woman who once lived only a train ride away from Elsie’s Oxford home, and Elsie gets the idea for the perfect grand gesture. But as her plan to reunite the two older women ignites a summer of repairing broken bonds, Elsie starts to wonder if she, too, can recover the things she’s lost…

With a beautifully earnest voice and a dash of fandom, this wistful and delightful novel is a love letter to queer coming-of-age, finding community, and finding yourself.

Childhood Friends to Lovers: Joan was Elsie’s best friend before she disappeared for years. Now she’s back, and Elsie has to navigate the ghost of their past and the promise of a second chance she never expected. Long Distance Romance: Elsie is ready to confess everything to her online crush Ada, whose fanfiction has captured her heart. But can a relationship built on screens survive the realities of an ocean between them? Oxford Setting: From comic shops to university gates, this story is a love letter to Oxford in the summer, where a quest to reunite two long-lost pen pals from a past generation ignites Elsie’s own journey. A Heartfelt Coming of Age Story: More than just a romance, this is a moving story about finding your voice, your community, and yourself during one unforgettable summer between high school and university.