Joined at the Joints

Since her rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis two years ago, Ivy Harding, 17, has gradually isolated herself. Social anxiety has always made communicating difficult, and now Ivy barely has the energy to try. She spends her time recreating her grandmother’s recipes as gluten-free dishes and managing increasingly frequent flare-ups that result in heightened pain and limited mobility. When her family insists she attend a support group for teens with chronic illnesses, Ivy is reluctant. At her first meeting, however, she encounters Grant Deluca, who also has RA. He’s extraordinarily cute and he’s interested in Ivy, and while Ivy isn’t sure she wants to date, she can’t deny their chemistry. But even as their relationship blossoms, Ivy’s flare-ups worsen and her anxieties grow. Neatly paced, insightful prose punctuated by text exchanges and sweet dates depict Ivy and Grant’s slow-burn romance. Ivy’s introspections about RA are realistic, nuanced, and informed by debut author Eller’s personal experiences, as discussed in an endnote. Good-natured secondary characters, many of whom navigate their own autoimmune diagnoses, round out Ivy’s lively, majority-white support network. Ages 14–up. Agent: Emmy Nordstrom Higdon, Westwood Creative Artists. (July)