Take Me Home Tonight

On the day the cast list for the school play should be up, but isn’t, Kat decides to ensure she’s cast by persuading best friend Stevie to travel from their affluent Connect- icut suburb to New York City, where Kat secretly plans for them to see the play their drama teacher has written and directed. But the trip is plagued with disasters, including a lost cell phone, a huge fight, getting separated, and Stevie—a dog-phobe—being stuck with her stepsister’s Pomeranian. The high school seniors, both white, detail their adventures and mishaps in alternating chapters that pick up steam as the book continues. Matson (Save the Date) interweaves romance, family relationships, secrets and growing self-knowledge, and even a missing masterpiece into the intricately plotted book. The adventures of another friend, who’s stuck with Kat’s hilariously deadpan babysitting charges, initially seem extraneous, but add a charming, harebrained quality to this jam-packed tale of a long night that brings two friends closer to each other and their true selves. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary. (May) [/em]