Look

Romanoff (Grace and the Fever) expertly weaves feminist ideology throughout her captivating queer romance. Following an accidental public post of herself making out with a girl, 17-year-old Lulu Shapiro becomes a minor celebrity on Snapchat-like social network Flash. The post, meant solely for her boyfriend, precipitates the end of that yearlong relationship, and Lulu reacts by cultivating a carefully insouciant social media presence. When Lulu meets Cass at a party, Cass takes her to her favorite place in L.A.: the Hotel, which is being lavishly renovated by Cass’s best friend, Ryan Riggs. The mega-wealthy Riggs family likes its heirs to choose a project that will teach them how to run a business—another Riggs started Flash—and this is Ryan’s. Though Ryan is awfully keen on photographing beautiful women, his hotel bans phones. For Lulu, the hotel offers a refuge from her social media persona, one that allows her to work through her identity without filtering it for an audience. As Lulu comes to terms with her sexuality, she begins to fall in love with Cass, but the relationship is thrown off course by Ryan’s possessiveness, resulting in an unpleasant betrayal. Romanoff’s coming-of-age novel indicts social media, the public gaze, and its effects on self-image; through Lulu’s transformation, the author shows that no one is as perfect as their feed appears, and that identity is often messier than a single post can capture. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Burnes, the Gernert Co. (Mar.)