How to Love

There’s a big gap between where 18-year-old Reena Montero expected to be and where she is. Instead of studying journalism at Northwestern after graduating from high school a year early, she’s living with her parents in hot, sticky Florida, taking courses at the local community college and caring for her toddler, Hannah. It’s not what Reena planned, but she’s making the best of it. Then her one love—Hannah’s father, Sawyer LeGrande—comes back to town. In a confident debut, Cotugno structures Reena’s story in alternating “before” and “after” chapters that explain how Reena and Sawyer got together, what brought them to where they are now, and where they could end up, maybe, if they can push through a tangle of guilt, anger, and complicated family connections. Cotugno draws even the minor characters well, and although Sawyer, as a reformed bad boy, is something of a stock figure, Reena is complex and appealing. It’s impossible not to root for the two of them to beat the odds. Ages 14–up. Agent: Alloy Entertainment. (Oct.)