Meet Cute

“This might be a love story, so I want to tell it the right way,” begins Nina LaCour’s entry in an anthology celebrating serendipitous run-ins that feel bigger than coincidence, in this case a customer-service-related flirtation between two teenage girls. Contributions from Huntley Fitzpatrick, Meredith Russo, Sara Shepard, Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi, and others add to an enjoyable and diverse collection that never feels repetitive, despite the stories’ shared thematic underpinnings. Dhonielle Clayton offers a enticing fantasy in which a girl attempts to see the love that the gods have destined for her when a boy appears at her feet. Jennifer L. Armentrout’s playful “The Dictionary of You and Me” involves an overdue library book, and Jocelyn Davies charms with a tale about New York City junior Samara, who tries to quantify fate for a statistics project after a missed connection on the subway. The stories vary in genre, and although many involve love at first sight, others are about seeing someone in a new light. All 14 leave just enough magic and mystery to inspire readers to trust in a little bit of fate. An Alloy Entertainment property. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)