Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling

After biracial (Black and white) 16-year-old Delilah Cole joins her friend’s punk rock band, Fun Gi, as the lead singer, she finds that being onstage offers a blissful respite from her self-doubt and chronic migraines. Despite the freedom she feels while performing, though, she worries about being singled out because she’s Black (“Am I just... a novelty to them?” she says of the band). Meanwhile, Black 16-year-old Reggie Hubbard has always felt different because of his interest in D&D, which garners his parents’ silent disapproval, and his dyslexia. Reggie and Delilah’s lives intertwine after he watches her in a Fun Gi performance and, over the course of a year, they meet up serendipitously on various holidays, such as Valentine's Day and St. Patrick’s Day. Through these chance encounters, their relationship unfolds, initially as a kinship among their largely white peers, before blossoming into earnest courtship. Together, they learn to embrace the parts of themselves they feel they must hide from others, including Delilah’s desire to make Taylor Swift–inspired music and Reggie’s determination to continue critiquing racism in the D&D community. Via inspirational self-discovery arcs with fated romance vibes, Bryant (One True Loves) pens a tender tale prioritizing conversations on disability and tokenism. Ages 13–up. (Jan.)