cover image The Season of You and Me

The Season of You and Me

Robin Constantine. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-06-243883-6

After Cassidy breaks up with her boyfriend, Gavin, she needs time and space to herself, so she decides to spend the summer three hours away from home at the Jersey Shore bed-and-breakfast run by her father and his new family. Working as a day-camp counselor and entertaining her younger stepbrother are welcome distractions for Cassidy; so is Bryan, a cute counselor and former surfer who is struggling to redefine himself after an accident left him partially paralyzed. He and Cassidy start out as friends, but their relationship soon takes a romantic turn. When Gavin contacts Cassidy, wanting to get back together, she has to decide whether to forgive him for his cheating or to create a new beginning with Bryan. With its dreamy beach setting and sympathetic heroine, this summer love story, alternately narrated by Cassidy and Bryan, will satisfy romance buffs. Readers will likely predict how things will turn out fairly early on, but Constantine (The Promise of Amazing) delivers believable dialogue, relatable dilemmas, and a sensitive exploration of disability%E2%80%94both its challenges and the occasional #wheelchairperk, as Bryan puts it. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Tamar Rydzinski, Laura Dail Literary. (May)