Love & Other Carnivorous Plants

In her YA debut, Gonsalves’s wonderfully named protagonist, Dandelion (Danny), is at a moment of personal crisis. Following a disastrous first year at Harvard and time spent in treatment for an eating disorder, Danny is home for the summer. Her best friend is thrilled, but she is struggling with her own issues (substance abuse), and their relationship turns rocky quickly; the narrative veers toward the melodramatic as a way of amping up tension. Danny is also uncertain whether she’s gay or straight, though she’s definitely attracted to Bugg, a young woman she met at the treatment center. Just as Danny begins a romance with Bugg, tragedy upends her progress. Gonsalves realistically conveys Danny’s wide range of emotions, especially her anger. As Danny finds her footing, her most profound realization comes through accepting that she can live her life on her own terms and that she need not have it all figured out quite yet. Ages 14–up. [em]Agent: Danielle Burby, Nelson Literary Agency. (May) [/em]