cover image Always Never Yours

Always Never Yours

Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. Speak, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-451-47984-6

Megan, who aspires to be a theater director, is focused on finishing her senior year and fulfilling the acting requirement she needs to get into the Southern Oregon Theater Institute. Her family life is in flux (her parents are divorced), and her best friend is dating her ex, Tyler. But then she’s cast as Juliet, opposite Tyler’s Romeo. Owen, a new boy with theater aspirations of his own, enters Megan’s life, and as their friendship grows she misses all the signals that Owen might be the love she didn’t know she wanted. Real-life romantic partners Wibberley (the Last Oracle series) and Siegemund-Broka (making his YA debut) collaborated in this theater-centered novel, with a predictable will-they/won’t-they romance at its core. As Megan spends the bulk of her time with yet another guy who’s wrong for her (Will), Owen is there in the wings. The coauthors wisely balance out the romance with family drama, and Megan’s commitment to a future life in the theater will please readers who share a similar love of Shakespeare and want a little romance to go with their drama. Ages 14–up. [em]Agent: Katie Shea Boutillier, Donald Maass Literary Agency. (May) [/em]