Not About a Boy

Black 17-year-old Amélie “Mel” Coeur has spent most of her life under the supervision of an exclusive foster care agency in Connecticut. Close to aging out of the system, she is sent to live with affluent white foster parents in Manhattan for a last chance at adoption. Never having known her father and orphaned from a very young age, Mel is also traumatized by the death of her boyfriend less than a year earlier. Despite the support of two close peers back in Connecticut, a new circle of friends at her elite progressive school, and a burgeoning relationship with handsome, wealthy Black classmate Hayden, she struggles to engage fully in her own life. The sudden appearance of a forgotten twin sister threatens Mel’s tentative stability, throwing into question her memories about her early childhood. Debut author Hollis constructs a world populated by privileged teens participating in the use of drugs and alcohol. Though the large cast and their relationship dynamics can be difficult to follow, the slowly unfolding narrative presents a compelling look at Mel’s past, her endeavors to manage her mental health, and her journey toward wholeness and belonging. Ages 13–up. (July)