The Fire Between High & Lo

Trauma gets more airtime than romance in Cherry’s dark and depressing second Elements contemporary (after The Air He Breathes). Best friends Logan and Alyssa weathered tough childhoods in True Falls, Wis., side by side. Alyssa wants to share her music with the world, but her verbally abusive and controlling mother is determined to crush her dreams. Meanwhile, Logan’s physically abusive, criminal father gets both Logan and his mother hooked on drugs. The pair find peace only in each other, and their adolescent friendship blossoms into deep love. But after a misunderstanding and a car crash tear them apart, Logan leaves town—and leaves a heartbroken Alyssa behind. Five years later, a sober Logan returns to True Falls to be with his ailing half brother and is forced to face his past demons. The abuse faced by both protagonists is very graphic and verges on trauma porn. It’s hard to root for these characters to end up together when they frequently mistreat each other and both have much bigger problems to address. Even readers looking for high-angst romance will struggle with this. Agent: Flavia Viotti, Bookcase Literary. (June)