Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid

Lu writes a column for a hot online teen magazine. The column is kind of a big deal - Lu just graduated from high school, and her scholarship to NYU is contingent on her being a staff member of the magazine. But Lu has been recently dumped, and she can't stop thinking about a couple she met by happenstance at the park ... a couple she wants to write a column about, but they keep saying no. 

While I read this, I kept thinking about Donna Tartt's The Secret History. They are NOTHING alike (for one thing, Tartt's book is not a YA), other than the premise of someone falling in love with a group of people, rather than one person. While the topic is skirted here, I think that Lu does fall in love with both Cal and Iris, and the "perfect" romance they share. 

Lu was kind of a hard character to love. I write, and I know all about writer's block (believe me!), but sometimes I wanted to yell at her, or at least get her mom more in the know so she could yell at Lu. We make dumb decisions, all of us do, but Lu doesn't seem to come to the realization of all the dumb decisions she's making, even at the end of the book. So yes, that was frustrating. 

I also wanted more for Pete. Pete is pretty much Lu's rug - she stomps all over him, ignores him, and he lets her. Poor Pete!! And who wants to be called a wise old uncle when they're 18 years old?

One other thing. She's heartbroken because her high school boyfriend breaks up with her, but I just didn't buy it. There isn't enough substance about their relationship to really get a sense of Lu-and-Leo, and what made them special. 

Okay, so maybe this novel wasn't for me. It was well-written, and I certainly wanted everything to end up well for Lu at the end. But YA contemporary romance isn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.