Nobody in Particular

Gr 9 Up–Gonzales does it again—another swoony romance filled with deep emotions and characters who are witty and smart. This time she utilizes the popular trope of royalty falling for commoners, but with the twist of the princess falling in love with the new girl at school. Princess Rose of Henland has it all, or so everyone thinks. She’s trying hard to forget a tragic moment in her past, but the public and press won’t let her. Her image is shot, and the last years of boarding school loom ominously without her best friend, who turned her back on her after the “incident.” Enter new girl Danni, who is on a music scholarship. Gonzales is wise not to use the overdone theme of snobby rich students picking on the scholarship kid, and Danni fits in nicely—but she’s hiding a secret that is similar to Rose’s. Danni is bisexual and Rose is gay, which they discover as their friendship blossoms into something more. The story runs the gamut of heartbreak and pure joy. Rose must reconcile the public figure she is pressured to maintain with living the truth she wants desperately to have with Danni. Yes, there is palace intrigue and misunderstandings, but it all feels fresh and original with moving dialogue and love at the core. Contains drug use and underage drinking, an off-page overdose death, and a fade-to-black sex scene.