I Miss You, I Hate This

A fictional pandemic places two Los Angeles high school seniors’ lives on hold in this timely novel by Saedi (Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card). Iranian American Harvard hopeful Parisa and best friend Gabriela, a Mexican American artist, have always made as much time for each other as they could between extracurriculars and after-school jobs. But when a global virus forces them into quarantine, they find themselves spending their final year of high school stuck in their homes, unable to see each other before imminent adulthood separates them. As the girls adjust to their new normal, Parisa’s anxiety disorder worsens and Gabriela—who has always wondered about the extended family who cut themselves off from her mothers before her birth—feels more isolated than ever. Despite these stressors, the distance makes space for the teens’ tertiary relationships to flourish, including Gabriela’s long-simmering crush and Parisa’s slowly thawing dynamic with her older sister. Alternating perspectives interspersed with text messages and email threads, all rendered in realistic teen voices, chronicle their lives from the start of senior year to graduation, resulting in an emotionally layered novel that earnestly demonstrates how life continues moving forward. Ages 14–up. [em]Agent: Jessica Regel, Helm Literary. (Oct.) [/em]