When I Picture You

YA author Laurens (Youngblood) makes her adult debut with this queer, campy escapade into the world of stardom and its accompanying rigmarole. Childhood friends Renee Feldman, now an MFA student in documentary film, and Lola Gray, international “princess of pop,” are reunited at Lola’s sister’s wedding, where sparks fly all the way into a passionate one-night stand. After Renee sneaks out the next morning, she doesn’t expect to hear from Lola again—until Lola calls to ask her to direct a documentary film about the making of her next album. From there, the tension is twofold: first, as director and subject, feelings entering into the mix could make things messy; second, Lola is closeted, and her fans are already dissecting her every move and song lyric for clues about her sexuality. Laurens peppers in plenty of Easter eggs that will put fans in mind of Taylor Swift, though she tempers the real-world parallels somewhat by making her heroines down-to-earth and even nerdy at times. Readers looking for a spot of escapism will find everything they need here. (Oct.)