Another First Chance

February 12, 2024
A grieving gay teen joins a mysterious research study in this worthwhile speculative novel by Couch (If I See You Again Tomorrow). Upon graduating from high school in Teawood, Mich., 18-year-old River Lang defaces a texting and driving PSA billboard featuring his best friend Dylan Cooper, who died in a car crash the year before. A classmate threatens to expose River’s actions and upend his college scholarship unless he takes part in the Affinity Trials, a weeklong social experiment for individuals struggling to connect with others. When River learns that his brain scans are logging unusual activity, the researchers inform him that the data indicates he just met somebody important—and secretly plan for a teen attending football camp at the facility to bunk with River. But when trial participants start noticing strange things—like Dylan’s ex-girlfriend Mavis Meyers, who’s certain she’s had conversations with River that he can’t recall—they pair up and covertly seek answers. Flashbacks to instances before Dylan’s death reveal
what happened and serve as a powerful
emotional ballast while distinct characters with strong presences, steady pacing,
and a meaty mystery combine to deliver a rewarding experience. River is white; s
upporting characters are racially diverse. Ages 12–up. Agent: Moe Ferrara, BookEnds Literary.

April 1, 2024
A decision borne of frustration lands a grief-stricken young man in a questionable research trial about friendship. Dylan, River's best friend (and maybe more), died while texting and driving, leading their town to put up an awful billboard that seemingly reduces his death to a pithy slogan. After River's grief and frustration finally boil over into vandalism, he discovers that someone knows he spray-painted the mustache on Dylan's face. Blackmailed into joining the Affinity Trials, a study about friendship, River finds himself in close quarters with Mavis, a childhood friend who despises him and was also Dylan's girlfriend. Over the course of the weeklong study, River starts new friendships and mends others, all while digging for the truth behind the trial's technology and attempting to unravel his possible romantic feelings for Dylan. As the trials draw to a close, even reality itself comes into question for the participants, and River faces a difficult choice. Couch juxtaposes realistic, emotionally affecting scenes that expose the events of the night Dylan died with a week's worth of present-day speculative-fiction intrigue, swiftly pulling the narrative along beside heartbreakingly accurate depictions of grief. The three main characters, who have layers of hurt feelings between them, are captivating and sympathetic. Readers who think they know what's coming will be surprised. River is white; Mavis and Dylan are loosely described and read white. An emotionally intense exploration of grief combined with creative speculation about the nature of friendship. (Fiction. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Gay 18-year-old River has to see it every day on his drive to school: the billboard with his dead best friend Dylan's picture under the headline ""Don't Drext Like Dylan Did."" Yes, Dylan died texting while driving and River blames himself because it was he whom Dylan was texting. Today is Dylan's one-year deathiversary, and River has clandestinely spray-painted a mustache on his friend's face--he has his (benign) reasons. Unfortunately, someone knows he's the one who did the deed and blackmails him into participating in a national study called the Affinity Mind and Body Trials that examines social connections. Nineteen other students are participating, including Mavis, Dylan's girlfriend, who hasn't spoken to River since Dylan's death. Students participating in the Trials are sequestered in a wing of their school for a week. They are fitted with a small disk affixed to their temples so the administrators can monitor what's happening in their brains. River is the first-person narrator of the compelling story, but the flashback interludes are narrated by Dylan on the day he died. The narrative grows in strangeness as Couch expertly ratchets up suspense. A superb, thought-provoking effort that is sure to delight readers who enjoy original, beautifully imagined efforts.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-High school senior River Lang, who is white and gay, is still reeling after the texting-and-driving death of his best friend Dylan one year ago. Believing Dylan was texting him back and that he is therefore responsible for his friend's death, River feels guilt and anger, and steers clear of his former best friend (and Dylan's former girlfriend), Mavis. That is, until he is blackmailed into joining a mysterious psychosocial experiment for isolated youth called the Affinity Trials with none other than Mavis and a handful of other acquaintances. Everyone seems to be finding connections, including River, whose new friend turns into a new crush; however, the participants begin to get suspicious of the organization. This novel is told in alternating perspectives and is well paced and intriguing. While some of the repetition in the book is a bit grating (one character calls everyone "babe" in nearly all her dialogue across hundreds of pages), it is still highly readable and poignant at turns. In the end, River learns a valuable lesson about moving through grief. The main character and several supporting characters are queer, which is readily embraced by peers and family members. VERDICT Recommended for high school libraries with fans of queer sci-fi romance books, such as Adam Silvera's They Both Die at the End.-Mallory Weber

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