Anyone who has felt the ache of first love will relate to Henry Page, a bookish high school senior unexpectedly swept off his feet. Henry, who has never had a girlfriend, isn't immediately attracted to new student Grace Town, who enters the school with a conspicuous limp, "dressed head to toe in guys' clothing" ("I'd seen junkies that looked in better shape than she did that morning," Henry says). Yet after Grace and Henry are asked to co-edit the school newspaper, his interest in her grows, fueled by Grace's on-again-off-again flirting. As romance blossoms, secrets about Grace's past and current situation emerge, and Henry begins to think that Grace may be beyond his help. Eloquently conveying the complexity of love and grief, debut novelist Sutherland creates a story filled with intriguing and memorable characters. Henry's quirky friends, dry-witted parents, and rebel-turned-neuroscientist sister (who offers sage advice on matters of the heart) add touches of brightness to this dark romance. Ages 14-up. Agent: Catherine Drayton, Inkwell Management. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Two teenagers suffer through their first heartbreak.Henry Page has spent his high school years with his nose to the grindstone, avoiding romantic relationships and focusing on becoming the editor of the school paper. At the start of his senior year Henry is offered the job, but theres a catch: transfer student Grace Town is offered the gig as well, making the two white teens co-editors. Sparks fly as Henry works with the aloof, unkempt new girl, who walks with a cane. As Henry and Grace grow closer, Henry falls deeper for her even as he learns just how broken she is. In her debut, Sutherland mixes her love story with equal parts hope and ominous dread. There is never any doubt that this couple is marching toward romantic oblivion, but its an effectively drawn journey. The characters speak with a John Greenesque voice, but they are never overbearingly precocious. Narrator Henrys a smartly rendered character, a decent kid who has goals and works hard to achieve them. His new goal is Graces affection, and the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object that is Graces emotional unavailability provides the novel some of its sharpest moments. When the walls tumble down, the connection between the two is clearly an unhealthy one, and the author pulls no punches, devastating Henry, Grace, and readers in equal measure. An emotionally engaging and draining debut. (Fiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 9 Up-First love can be painful. When Henry Page meets Grace Town, he senses she is different-she dresses in boys' clothes that are too big for her, walks with a cane, and seems unwashed and unkempt. The teens are thrown together to work as editors on the school newspaper, and Grace's mysteriousness draws Henry to her. Grace has a secretive and unstable home life, and she is recovering from horrific injuries from a car accident that killed her boyfriend. On her good days, life is great, but other days she withdraws into herself. Secondary characters add much-needed comic relief to the dark romance-quirky best friends Lola and Murray, Henry's offbeat parents, and his brilliant and rebellious older sister. Voice-over actor Robbie Draymond's youthful tone effectively brings Henry to life, conveying the uncertainty and obsession that can come with first love. Draymond's performances of the other characters are not as notable, with the exception of two teen characters read with Australian and Irish accents. Witty banter peppered with pop culture references balances the drama and angst. VERDICT Give this to fans of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower or Ingrid Sundberg's All We Left Behind. ["Delves far deeper than the typical high school romance, [with its] savvy wordplay and Henry's self-deprecating charm": SLJ 8/16 review of the Putnam book.]-Julie Paladino, formerly at East Chapel Hill High School, NC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this bittersweet telling of a great and everlasting love, Henry, the editor of the school paper, realizes with a slow, unfolding wonder that he isn't just fascinated by his coeditor Grace Town, he loves her. Grace is brooding, aloof, and mysterious. She walks with a cane, takes Henry on quirky excursions, and looks nothing like her social media pictures of a bright, beautiful, smiling athlete. Henry's best friends, Australian party guy Murray and lesbian graphic designer Lola, dub Grace a manic pixie dream girl, but Henry knows there's much more to her than that. Perhaps too much. Grace's physical and emotional pain stems from a car accident so traumatic that she transferred schools and is now uncertain about her once carefully planned, hopeful future. As she palpably struggles with her past, Henry similarly grasps for a way to be close to someone who is emotionally broken. Emotionally complex, funny, filled with well-realized and diverse characters and realistic motivations, Sutherland's debut will stick with readers.--Booth, Heather Copyright 2016 Booklist

The new girl in school, Grace is, in Henry's words, "straight-up weird"; she wears guys' clothes, smells unclean, and uses a cane. But Henry desperately falls for her during their senior year, even after he learns about her tragic past. Sutherland balances witty banter, Facebook messaging, and teenage lust with mature philosophical musings about love, loss, and human existence in this sharp and affecting debut. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.