TRY YOUR WORST

Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman were born to be rivals.

Their mothers both aimed for a New Year’s Day birth, but only Cleo managed it—Sadie was born two minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve. At school, they’re rivals for valedictorian, and Cleo is known for playing pranks on Sadie. But Cleo has a secret crush on Sadie, and her feelings make her feel too awkward to break their volatile cycle. After some incidents—slashed tires and locker graffiti—the principal decides that things have gone too far, and despite their protestations of innocence, he tells them that if there are further disruptions, he’ll inform the colleges they’ve applied to. The girls begin investigating who might be framing them—and, in the process, start genuinely connecting. This rom-com with an enemies-to-lovers arc quickly pulls readers in and keeps them guessing, although the solution to the mystery feels unsatisfying. Both white girls proudly identify as fat lesbians. Jewish Sadie lives with depression while searching for medication without unwelcome side effects; Christian Cleo has chronic pain as the result of an accident made worse by her hypermobile joints. Despite these distinctions, their voices can be hard to differentiate, and readers might lose track of whose turn it is in the dual narration. The kitschy tourist traps of St. Augustine, Florida, offer an amusing backdrop to the story.

An uneven story featuring welcome representation and a lackluster mystery.